So, How’s that Non Disparagement Thing Working Out?

November 3, 2008 by WW.

On your sets, have you noticed a change?

We’ve seen signs that at 5757, the message is hitting home. We think it’s just a coincidence that the whole page on the TV-Theatrical negotiations disappeared from the SAG website - because a lot of the really hostile material hasn’t been purged (like Doug Allen’s “letter” from the Fall 2007 magazine.) But the rhetoric has seemed to be toned down lately, as two things have happened.

1. The unions have moved to put together joint proposals for the upcoming Commericals Contract negotiations.

2. The new leadership has taken hold, and Membership First has lost control of the machinery of SAG, including its website and magazine.

The official cease fire hasn’t meant the end of sniping. Membership First supports including some former SAG board members, who aren’t covered by the non-disparagement pact, have been out with occasional blasts. For the most part those efforts to rekindle the hostility of the past two years seem to have been ignored.

Also, a lot of the political energy and firepower has been directed elsewhere, as the national elections come down to the wire. We’ll be a bit unfair and note that the name Membership First echoes in a certain campaign. We’ll wait until tomorrow to say whether the slogan has had the same result nationally that it did within SAG.

Posted in Commercials Contract, Union Politics, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 13 Comments »