NY SAG ultimatum & fallout

[Noah Timan]

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-35069920080819

"Coastal split widens in actors contract stalemate

Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:41pm EDT  Email | Print | Share | Reprints | Single Page | Recommend (0) [-] Text [+]

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tensions within the Screen Actors Guild mounted on Monday as the union's Hollywood-based leaders rejected a call by SAG's New York branch to bring in a federal mediator to break a deadlock in contract talks with major studios.

Members of the New York regional board also publicly challenged the assertions of SAG president Alan Rosenberg and chief negotiator Doug Allen that the union is holding informal talks with studio representatives in a bid to close a deal.

And they accused SAG negotiators, in a resolution passed unanimously last week by the 23-member New York board, of "failing to bargain realistically ... and remove unattainable items from the table."

"There's no discernible plan here," New York division board member Paul Christie told Reuters. "You can't have a plan that just says, 'We're holding secret meetings.' And our question is just what the hell does that mean?"

Rosenberg condemned the resolution as "political" in nature and "an attempt to damage SAG's negotiations."

The sharply worded exchanges on Sunday and Monday further heightened a growing internal split over the seven-week-old contract stalemate.

A moderate faction within SAG's Hollywood branch recently launched a campaign to wrest control of the powerful union from the Rosenberg-led Membership First coalition in national board elections set for Sept. 18.

The insurgent Hollywood bloc, Unite For Strength, has joined the New York division in blaming Rosenberg and his group for the current deadlock with management. Both accuse his coalition of straining relations with SAG's smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, through SAG's failed campaign to scuttle a contract negotiated separately between AFTRA and the studios.

The contract now at issue covers the work of 120,000 SAG members in prime-time TV and movies, an industry still recovering from a 14-week writers strike that ended in February.

In its resolution, the New York board demanded SAG seek the help of a federal mediator to reach a settlement if "there is no clear and obvious movement forward in the negotiating process by August 25."

The old SAG contract expired hours after the studios presented the union with a "final" offer as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition on June 30.

The terms essentially mirror those in the AFTRA deal, and in contracts negotiated with Hollywood writers and directors, which SAG leaders have branded as falling short in several respects, including payments for actors in new media.

SAG presented a counteroffer last month, but the studios refused to budge, insisting negotiations were over and that their proposal be put to union members for a vote.

SAG leaders have so far been unwilling to do so, or to seek the authorization of members to call a strike. Many industry watchers doubt SAG could muster the 75 percent majority needed to back a walkout, in part because of lingering fatigue from the writers strike.

In the meantime, SAG members continue to work under terms of the old contract, a situation the New York board members say is costing members $1.7 million a week."

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/19028.html

'New York Division of SAG Sets Deadline

18-Aug-2008

Written by: Meghan Moynihan

The group claims they will call in a mediator if the controversy is not resolved.

The New York branch of the Screen Actors Guild is saying that they will call in a federal mediator on August 25 to help them to reach a contract agreement if the Los Angeles based negotiators cannot sign a deal by then, Multi-Channel news reports.

In a statement, sent to members late on Friday, the Screen Actors Guild negotiator, Doug Allen, claimed that SAG negotiators and “industry representatives” have been holding informal meetings during recent weeks. He says that negotiators believe that the “majority of issues” between the actors and film producers have already been resolved.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, however, have denied these claims, stating that no talks, either formal or informal, have taken place since the producers gave actors a “last best” offer on the 30th of June.

As a result, the New York based division (one which holds only 4 members compared to Hollywood’s 11), issued its ultimatum, criticizing both Allen and the union president for their failure to bargain with the AMPTP, and not removing “unrealistic goals” from the bargaining table. The New York division claims that SAG leadership is pursuing a course that is more about politics and less about a positive contract outcome for all parties.

As a result of all the controversy, members who were harmed by last year’s Writers Guild strike are losing out again, as studios are not pursuing movies and other productions out of fear of another strike and shut down. "

[Philip Perkins]

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-35069920080819

"Coastal split widens in actors contract stalemate

Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:41pm EDT  Email | Print | Share | Reprints | Single Page | Recommend (0) [-] Text [+]

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tensions within the Screen Actors Guild mounted on Monday as the union's Hollywood-based leaders rejected a call by SAG's New York branch to bring in a federal mediator to break a deadlock in contract talks with major studios.

Members of the New York regional board also publicly challenged the assertions of SAG president Alan Rosenberg and chief negotiator Doug Allen that the union is holding informal talks with studio representatives in a bid to close a deal.

And they accused SAG negotiators, in a resolution passed unanimously last week by the 23-member New York board, of "failing to bargain realistically ... and remove unattainable items from the table."

"There's no discernible plan here," New York division board member Paul Christie told Reuters. "You can't have a plan that just says, 'We're holding secret meetings.' And our question is just what the hell does that mean?"

Rosenberg condemned the resolution as "political" in nature and "an attempt to damage SAG's negotiations."

The sharply worded exchanges on Sunday and Monday further heightened a growing internal split over the seven-week-old contract stalemate.

A moderate faction within SAG's Hollywood branch recently launched a campaign to wrest control of the powerful union from the Rosenberg-led Membership First coalition in national board elections set for Sept. 18.

The insurgent Hollywood bloc, Unite For Strength, has joined the New York division in blaming Rosenberg and his group for the current deadlock with management. Both accuse his coalition of straining relations with SAG's smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, through SAG's failed campaign to scuttle a contract negotiated separately between AFTRA and the studios.

The contract now at issue covers the work of 120,000 SAG members in prime-time TV and movies, an industry still recovering from a 14-week writers strike that ended in February.

In its resolution, the New York board demanded SAG seek the help of a federal mediator to reach a settlement if "there is no clear and obvious movement forward in the negotiating process by August 25."

The old SAG contract expired hours after the studios presented the union with a "final" offer as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition on June 30.

The terms essentially mirror those in the AFTRA deal, and in contracts negotiated with Hollywood writers and directors, which SAG leaders have branded as falling short in several respects, including payments for actors in new media.

SAG presented a counteroffer last month, but the studios refused to budge, insisting negotiations were over and that their proposal be put to union members for a vote.

SAG leaders have so far been unwilling to do so, or to seek the authorization of members to call a strike. Many industry watchers doubt SAG could muster the 75 percent majority needed to back a walkout, in part because of lingering fatigue from the writers strike.

In the meantime, SAG members continue to work under terms of the old contract, a situation the New York board members say is costing members $1.7 million a week."

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/19028.html

'New York Division of SAG Sets Deadline

18-Aug-2008

Written by: Meghan Moynihan

The group claims they will call in a mediator if the controversy is not resolved.

The New York branch of the Screen Actors Guild is saying that they will call in a federal mediator on August 25 to help them to reach a contract agreement if the Los Angeles based negotiators cannot sign a deal by then, Multi-Channel news reports.

In a statement, sent to members late on Friday, the Screen Actors Guild negotiator, Doug Allen, claimed that SAG negotiators and “industry representatives” have been holding informal meetings during recent weeks. He says that negotiators believe that the “majority of issues” between the actors and film producers have already been resolved.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, however, have denied these claims, stating that no talks, either formal or informal, have taken place since the producers gave actors a “last best” offer on the 30th of June.

As a result, the New York based division (one which holds only 4 members compared to Hollywood’s 11), issued its ultimatum, criticizing both Allen and the union president for their failure to bargain with the AMPTP, and not removing “unrealistic goals” from the bargaining table. The New York division claims that SAG leadership is pursuing a course that is more about politics and less about a positive contract outcome for all parties.

As a result of all the controversy, members who were harmed by last year’s Writers Guild strike are losing out again, as studios are not pursuing movies and other productions out of fear of another strike and shut down. "

Great.

Philip Perkins

[Marc Wielage]

In the post world, we've been told by several studios and networks that after Labor Day, "we'll be back to business as usual." We'll see...

--Marc