As summer approaches and Hollywood’s actors and studios are more and more aware of the lapsing time, a surprising development occurred Saturday as the two major actors’ unions had a falling out.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have jointly negotiated the unions television-theatrical contract over the past 27 years.

Saturday however, AFTRA announced it had suspended Phase One of the joint bargaining process it conducted with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) along with SAG “so we could sit across the table from the industry with total and unequivocal unity.”

In a press release, AFTRA President Roberta Reardon said: “The board’s approval of a suspension of Phase One—not a termination—was mindful of the fact that there many among SAG’s leadership that are as troubled by the events that have led us to this point as we are. “We are hopeful that someday, the historic trust between these two organizations can be rebuilt—in the best interests of all performers,” she added.

The contract the unions’ members currently have expires on June 30 and discussions between the unions and the studios are just around the corner. Now that AFTRA and SAG could each negotiate its contract independently, it may come to a situation of who is first to the negotiations table and how the other copes with this, should their proposals be significantly different.

AFTRA’s contract covers 70,000 members, while SAG represents 120,000 members. Some 40,000 actors are members of both unions.

Both unions said Sunday that they would contact the AMPTP within the next few days, Reuters reports. Reardon said informal discussions “are happening” and that “we expect to set a timeline soon,” while SAG executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen said the union plans to call the AMPTP Monday.

“We’ve discussed it informally with them,” Allen was quoted by Reuters as saying. “This is what we were waiting for to get started on bargaining: To get this process finished and for the input of the members who were all participating.”

As to the studios’ reaction, the AMPTP issued a statement Saturday saying it was pleased that AFTRA is ready to start formal talks and is determined to “work hard and bargain reasonably” to avoid another damaging walkout. The Hollywood writers’ 100-day strike last year is still fresh in the memory of many.

The event that appears to have determined AFTRA to set itself apart from SAG was the latter’s alleged “relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement” conducted to lure actors in the soap drama “The Bold and The Beautiful” to abandon the federation.