As the Hollywood union strikes have dragged on, key characters have taken turns in the spotlight.There is Fran Drescher, the comedic actress who, with surprising ferocity, has rallied the actors’ union against television and film companies, and enraged studio executives in the process. Robert A. Iger, who leads Disney, publicly pushed back against the striking workers, and found himself jeered on picket lines as a robber baron.But one crucial participant has remained an enigma: Carol Lombardini, 68, the top union negotiator for studios and a 41-year veteran of Hollywood labor battles.For someone who sits at the center of two increasingly bitter strikes — writers walked off the job on May 2, followed by actors on July 14 — very little is known about her. Ms. Lombardini has not given an interview of more than a few words since 2009, when she ascended from the No. 2 job to become president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization that bargains on behalf of the eight largest entertainment companies.Until now, her tenure had been marked by labor peace. Studios reached an agreement with the directors’ union in June; the writers last struck in 2008, the actors in 1980. Over the years, she has told colleagues that cultivating a public persona would only undercut her effectiveness at the bargaining table. Or at least it would not h …
