New SAG board to make call on strike vote
Los Angeles Times , 10.2.08
By Richard Verrier
"The balance of power shifts away from the actors union's negotiating committee."
Reflecting a key shift in the balance of power in the Screen Actors Guild, the union's negotiating committee Wednesday punted on authorizing a strike vote, leaving the matter up to the guild's newly configured national board.
In an 11-2 decision, the union's negotiation committee recommended that the national board authorize a strike vote among the guild's 120,000 members, saying such a move was "necessary to overcome the employers' intransigence" in contract negotiations. Talks have been at a standstill since the actors' contract expired June 30.
The move appeared to be as much an intra-guild political maneuver as a message to the studios that the negotiating committee was holding fast on its demands over how much actors should be paid for their work when it is distributed over the Internet.
.....In a statement, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers reiterated its view that SAG should accept terms already agreed to by other Hollywood unions -- and suggested that financially fearful Americans should take in a movie.
"Is this really the time for anyone associated with the entertainment business to be talking about going on strike? Not only is the business suffering from recent economic conditions, but if ever there was a time when Americans wanted the diversions of movies and television, it is now."
Full article
posted by thereel @ 8:50 AM
6 Comments:
Doesn't sound good. Get my padded room ready. Some of the participants might need padded rooms, too........
Good heavens;
This thing is going bad places........
Do the negotiating committee actually believe to be "the good guys" of this scenario ?
They're not acting quite like one...
The 120,000 SAG members are probably not unanimously with, or against, a strike; there may not even be a winning majority, either on the national board, or among the SAG members.
At best, all this will result in discord.
Let's tell it like it is -at the cost of being called a "drama queen", and for the sake of our dear, much respected actors.
They have recently made it clear -they wish their union, to take up a moderate and logical course of action, in working towards fair contracts.
But considering all that's been going on in the past few days,I'm afraid this could be a long and winding road, leading to eventual
disband, or resignation of the newly born National Board, and it's policies, altogether...
Hope, either I'm wrong, or the SAG members and National Board would outsmart this carefully designed "Power Game".
Saghy
I'm not feeling an ounce of optimism about this, and will therefore join Lozzie in having a nervous breakdown...
I am afraid this might be the end of some really good shows, including our favorite. A long strike would be awful, for everyone including fans and actors.
Those who will suffer most from a strike are the bit part actors-production will shut down and with the economic conditions as they are, they will even have trouble getting jobs as waiters or bartenders-
Regi.
Very well said Regi;
There are always those little people -no one even notices them, but they usually have families; others who depend on them....
This is not just a duel between the Negotiating Committee and the producers...
Think of all the famous -and not so famous- actors, and all the people who -directly and indirectly- earn a living through this inddustry...
There's alresdy been enough damage, due to the writers 100 day strike.....
But dear, most respected actors;
Please don't get me wrong, when you want something that's rightfully yours, me, and all of your fans, are 100% with you !!
I'll make your picket fences, should you ever come to the conclusion, that this was the right way to go...!!
But please, take a moment, to consider the big picture -the blurry economic horizon- and then let us -your humble fans- know, whether you'll still be needing those picket fences...
You're already working under last year's expired contract; with all due respect, is the new offer that ugly......??
Going for a strike, considering the current situations, is gaurantied to make you look like the bad guys of this scenario, while its duration, and every other feasible results, are -needless to say- indetermined.
It's obvious that you can always go on a strike, as soon as the economic dust settles, and we can all see things the way they really are.....
For now, maybe you should all be thankfull to have a job, and pray that the econmiczilla won't get to your industry.
I've said this several times before, but it never seems enough:
"Part of something, is usualy better than all of nothing"....
Always your humble fan;
Saghy
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