Actors Strike?

[lou2099]

More rich actors whining about their money while sipping margaritas in their in-ground pools at their mansions. I feel worse for the low paid actors who chose such a competitive field to earn a living.

 

[Lighthouse]

More rich actors whining about their money while sipping margaritas in their in-ground pools at their mansions. I feel worse for the low paid actors who chose such a competitive field to earn a living.

To be fair, I haven't seen any big actors whining about their money. In fact, many actors called for negotiations to begin as soon as possible.

I think the truth is, I don't think most of the actors are to blame on this one, its the bureaucrats like SAG's leaders, movie moguls, and the AMPTP. To think all this bickering BS started with a damn soap opera.

 

[triplet]

Well, there's an article about the potential fallout from AFTRA's contract vote. The results of that should be released tomorrow evening sometime...

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117988574.html?categoryid=18&cs=1

The ballots are due today from AFTRA's 70,000 members. SAG has spent a month in strident opposition, urging a no vote from its 44,000 members who also belong to AFTRA. Both SAG and AFTRA have lobbied hard, and a strong acceptance -- or rejection -- will provide a gauge of SAG's influence and its clout at the bargaining table.

It's widely anticipated the terms will be accepted, with two key factors driving the yes vote: the faltering economy and the lingering impact of the WGA strike. People want to work and don't want to risk another strike or even a slowdown.

Still, ratification isn't a sure thing -- particularly since SAG has told the actors who belong to both guilds that voting no is the path to a better deal. (The companies have offered SAG a pact that is virtually identical to AFTRA's.)

 

[Webhead2006]

Yea i really hope AFTRA deal was accepted and signed, cause if it isnt then SAG will most likely be striking then. But if aftra's deal goes through sag will look like fools if they dont take what ever offer they have.

 

[triplet]

Yea i really hope AFTRA deal was accepted and signed, cause if it isnt then SAG will most likely be striking then. But if aftra's deal goes through sag will look like fools if they dont take what ever offer they have.

AFTRA accepted the contract:

http://www.variety.com/VR1117988635.html

So, maybe this turns into a non-issue and SAG has to sign that "final offer" the AMPTP had given them last week...

 

[Webhead2006]

Cool thankfor the update, hopefully SAG will finally take the deal they were given because really no one is really going to support them if they strike. So hopefully we hear they will take their offer.

 

[Lighthouse]

I'd like to congratulate SAG leaders for leading an absolutely terrible campaign. The term "divide and conquer" isn't supposed to refer to your own factions.

 

[triplet]

I'd like to congratulate SAG leaders for leading an absolutely terrible campaign. The term "divide and conquer" isn't supposed to refer to your own factions.

I don't believe the two unions have gotten along very well recently, so their animosity toward one another may have been responsible for how they've both been acting.

Hopefully, when the AMPTP and SAG meets tomorrow, they'll come to some understanding.

There's another report that talks about that here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap_en_mo/hollywood_labor;_ylt=AsrOJIyyhoiKcj04gujrqy0wFxkF

The article also goes into some of the problems between the two unions and that up until these contract negotiations, they'd negotiated jointly for the past 27 years...

They've been pissing off each other lately, it sounds like....

 

[RickO'Connell]

At this point only the actors can start the strike. If the majority vote yes then they all suck majorly

 

[Lighthouse]

I don't believe the two unions have gotten along very well recently, so their animosity toward one another may have been responsible for how they've both been acting.

Hopefully, when the AMPTP and SAG meets tomorrow, they'll come to some understanding.

There's another report that talks about that here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap_en_mo/hollywood_labor;_ylt=AsrOJIyyhoiKcj04gujrqy0wFxkF

The article also goes into some of the problems between the two unions and that up until these contract negotiations, they'd negotiated jointly for the past 27 years...

They've been pissing off each other lately, it sounds like....

I actually was refering to the factions in SAG. The NY division has been at odds with the Hollywood division. The NY division publicly denounced the Anti-AFTRA campaign, along with several big stars. If the factions within SAG itself were actually unified, they wouldn't give two ****s what AFTRA does.

 

[triplet]

I actually was refering to the factions in SAG. The NY division has been at odds with the Hollywood division. The NY division publicly denounced the Anti-AFTRA campaign, along with several big stars. If the factions within SAG itself were actually unified, they wouldn't give two ****s what AFTRA does.

Oh, okay... gotcha.

So, it's the LA folks who were trying to torpedo the AFTRA contract deal?

Interesting...

 

[Doright]

I don't really understand all this but which of these unions are the folks on Smallville under?

 

[triplet]

I don't really understand all this but which of these unions are the folks on Smallville under?

SAG.

Most network TV primetime scripted shows are under SAG contract, like most movies are...

AFTRA is more for TV ad actors, video-game/radio ad/TV ad voice-over actors, soaps, and non-acting on air talent, like TV news reporters and anchors...

 

[RickO'Connell]

The strike was avoided

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/aftra-members-ratify-amptp-contract/

 

[Webhead2006]

well that is just another article about aftra deal is accepted. Sag could strike still if they get enougn members to do it.

 

[RickO'Connell]

well that is just another article about aftra deal is accepted. Sag could strike still if they get enougn members to do it.

At this point if they did strike they would be super ****ing ******s & would only make themselves look really bad

 

[triplet]

Actually, I found one article on Deadline Hollywood very interesting...

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/sag-vs-aftra-the-nastiness-ramps-up/

 

[Webhead2006]

Yea SAG will look like freaking idiots if they did strike. Alot of reports have said amptp's last offer to sag was very simular to the deal aftra accepted so sag should just take the offer and then in 3 years when next contract is up try to get more things they wanted but didnt get this time around.

 

[Doright]

SAG.

Most network TV primetime scripted shows are under SAG contract, like most movies are...

AFTRA is more for TV ad actors, video-game/radio ad/TV ad voice-over actors, soaps, and non-acting on air talent, like TV news reporters and anchors...

Thanks for the info!

 

[triplet]

Thanks for the info!

You're welcome!

 

[triplet]

Anyone surprised?

SAG rejected that "final offer" from the AMPTP:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080711/ap_on_bi_ge/hollywood_labor

 

[Lighthouse]

Anyone surprised?

SAG rejected that "final offer" from the AMPTP:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080711/ap_on_bi_ge/hollywood_labor

Even so, this is pretty much over. This whole thing is going to go out with a slow whimper. SAG can't strike, and AMPTP won't give in. SAG's gonna drag it out till the very end, but eventually they will have to cave, unless AMPTP gets pissed and does a lockout.

 

[triplet]

Well, I don't think they're going to strike, but there was a board election recently (results were announced yesterday) and the hard liners that supported the head of SAG in not sending the last AMPTP offer to the SAG membership for a vote had lost some traction there...

A shake-up in the SAG governing board might give new contract talks some hope for getting the actors a contract finally:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080918/en_movies_eo/29812;_ylt=AkL410Js5ctX7Txckco9kmEwFxkF

Merger Fans Have Strong Showing in SAG Election
by Natalie Finn
Thu Sep 18, 3:40 PM ET

The actors looking to move forward are one step closer to taking the bull by the horns.

Unite for Strength, the platform launched by Screen Actors Guild members such as Kate Walsh, Amy Brenneman and Doug Savant who have been ready to vote on a new contract for months, won six of a possible 11 Hollywood seats on SAG's national board, according to ballot results announced Thursday.

Two of the seats will be occupied by Brenneman and veteran character actor Ken Howard.

Among other things, the group has objected to SAG president Alan Rosenberg and executive director Doug Allen's continued refusal to let members vote on the three-year deal proposed in June by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studio and network heads.

SAG's dissidents had also won the support of Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Alec Baldwin and other thesps who urged members of the smaller American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to approve the deal that their leaders arrived at in May.

Unite for Strength also supports the idea of a SAG-AFTRA merger, saying it would make the actors, broadcasters and other performers that much more powerful when they run up against studio and network execs.

On the other hand, heavy hitters such as Jack Nicholson, Viggo Mortensen and Martin Sheen have stood up for the side that thinks AFTRA agreed to unsatisfactory terms.

In the meantime, AFTRA went on to ink a new contract and SAG remains mired in a contentious funk, its members working without a contract since June 30.

But now, at last, there may be an end in sight to the nearly five-month stalemate.

The AMPTP has called the contract that it put forth months ago the alliance's "final offer," but a shakeup in SAG's leadership could start bringing people back to the table—although many agree that making a major change, such as unseating Allen as chief negotiator, might only breed hostility between opposing factions.

Joely Fisher, Keith Carradine and Scott Bakula—all members of Membership First, which is opposed to merging SAG and AFTRA and wants further negotiations to ensure improved conditions for "middle-class actors"—have also won seats on the board.

But with all this change in the air, here's something we're used to: Nothing's going to happen for now, at least until the board meets Oct. 18.

 

[Webhead2006]

Hopefully everything works out for SAG members.

 

[triplet]

Actually, SAG is being stubborn and they're not going to accept the AMPTP's final offer from last summer...

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997167.html?categoryid=18&cs=1

SAG could strike by end of January
Guild to send out ballots on Jan. 2
By DAVE MCNARY

The Screen Actors Guild has made its strike threat official, announcing it will send out authorization ballots Jan. 2 and reveal the results Jan. 23 -- setting the stage for an Oscars boycott and a halt to most production.

SAG announced the timeline Wednesday with the goal of forcing congloms back to the bargaining table, even though the companies declared five months ago they were finished with negotiations. The companies have insisted they won't change their final offer to SAG, made June 30 as SAG's contract expired, and they've blasted guild leaders for insisting they deserve a sweeter deal than the other Hollywood unions.

More than 75% of voting members will have to affirm the authorization for SAG to go on strike. Final say over a walkout will come from the guild's national board of directors, and SAG toppers insist such a step is only a last resort.

Although SAG has about 120,000 members, ballots will go out only to those who are dues current, so the actual number of eligible voters will probably be closer to 110,000. SAG has launched an ambitious PR effort, with guild prexy Alan Rosenberg and national exec director Doug Allen meeting for 90 minutes Wednesday with 20 publicists and managers at SAG headquarters in Hollywood and videoconferencing with another 10 in New York to brief them about the guild's plans.

According to people with knowledge of the meeting, the SAG toppers said it was premature to discuss whether the guild will tell its members to avoid the Feb. 22 Academy Awards and indicated the question would probably be addressed when the guild issues its strike rules.

SAG has set a similar session for Hollywood agents to meet today with its agency relations chief, Zino Macaluso. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers noted Wednesday that SAG voted down a revamp of the master franchise agreement six years ago, leaving the guild without oversight of major agencies ever since.

"We imagine that agents will view SAG's words with skepticism, since these are the same agents who saw the proposed new agents agreement defeated in 2002 because of the same type of flawed approach that SAG is now pursuing in yet another unresolved negotiation," it said.

If a strike comes in February, it would probably be more disruptive to feature production than to primetime since studios have been planning to ramp up activity in coming months. Primetime series would be near the end of their seasonal production cycle at that point, and with producers of many pilots having opted to go with AFTRA deals, those pilots would not be affected.

High-profile actors have largely avoided taking sides so far. Rosie Perez has announced she'll back the authorization, while Jason Alexander, Danny DeVito, Mike Farrell and Rhea Perlman have come out against it.

Opposition has been mounting, with former New York SAG president Eileen Henry coming out against the authorization vote. She suggested that Allen, who's also SAG's chief negotiator, should be fired for bungling the negotiations.

"A strike authorization is a tool of leverage for your negotiator and negotiating committee, but it's crystal clear that the timing is wrong," she said. "It's time for the membership to look behind the curtain and see the naked emperor. Only then can we clothe him and send him on his way."
As usual, each side issued statements Wednesday blasting the other for the current stalemate.

"SAG members understand that their futures as professional actors are at stake, and I believe that SAG members will evaluate the AMPTP's June 30 offer and vote to send us back to the table with the threat of a strike," Rosenberg said. "A yes vote sends a strong message that we are serious about fending off rollbacks and getting what is fair for actors in new media. I am encouraged by the response of the capacity crowd at our Los Angeles town hall meeting Monday night."

In response, the AMPTP blamed SAG leaders for mishandling the contract talks -- which involved 46 sessions between April and November -- and asked SAG members to read the final offer.

"It's now official: SAG members are going to be asked to bail out a failed negotiating strategy by going on strike during one of the worst economic crises in history," the AMPTP said. "We hope that working actors will study our contract offer carefully and come to the conclusion that no strike can solve the problems that have been created by SAG's own failed negotiation strategy."

The AMPTP's also been passing out fliers at casting sessions.

Given the current level of hostility, there's virtually no chance of a back-channel deal emerging in coming weeks. A federal mediator brought negotiators together last month to try to relaunch bargaining, but those talks cratered on Nov. 22 with wide gaps remaining between the two sides.

Rosenberg said two weeks ago that SAG would send the ballots out by the end of December, but that provoked criticism from the companies that the guild was trying to hold down turnout with the goal of boosting the odds of a yes vote. Allen said pushing back the vote gives the guild more time to persuade members to vote yes.

"We want SAG members to have time to focus on this critical referendum, so we have decided to mail ballots the day after New Year's," Allen said Wednesday. "We will continue our comprehensive education campaign and urge our members to vote yes on the strike authorization. I am confident that members around the country will empower our negotiating team with the leverage and strength of unified SAG members. Our objective remains to get a deal that SAG members will ratify -- not to go on strike."

SAG held its first town hall meeting on Monday at the Harmony Gold in Hollywood, with 400 members attending. It's scheduled two more such gatherings, one in New York on Monday and another Wednesday at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel.

How likely will they vote to strike given how different the econonic situation is now than it was last year, or even six months ago when they turned down the AMPTP's last offer?

I think it's unlikely, but I guess we'll see.