January 5, 2009 by Number Six.

Joel’s Stein’s Op-Ed this morning is worth a look. It’s a funny pro-merger column. Here’s the final bit: 

I ran my mega-union idea by Patric M. Verrone, the president of the Writers Guild, and he loved it. “Why stop there? Let’s merge with AFTRA, the IATSE, Teamsters Local 399, the basic trades unions and the AFM,” he said, clearly making up extra unions to seem tougher. “If the AMPTP can unite competitive, global media conglomerates, why can’t talent do the same?” Verrone’s eagerness to join hands with the other guilds told me one thing: Writers definitely are the least important people in Hollywood.

I hope the directors’ and actors’ unions are just as enthusiastic. If we can all come together, we’ll have the leverage to avert a SAG strike and get much of what we all want. Besides, in a few years, our mega-union is going to have to merge with the AMPTP itself so we can take on our common enemy: people with video cameras and a YouTube account who are willing to work for free. You think negotiating with Rupert Murdoch is tough? Try getting concessions out of a funny cat.

Posted in Media Business, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA | Print | No Comments »

January 1, 2009 by Editor.

>Our first post in the SAGWatch blog was June 8, 2008, as the Allens were gearing up their anti-AFTRA Exhibit A campaign. It drew three comments.

Since then, there have been 5069 comments (not counting the spam or other stuff we deleted). This will be post #653.

From June 8 until December 31, 2008, people had looked at those posts 537,672 times.

In the pre-blog format our first post was Dec. 13, 2007, and we logged 51,018 visits prior to switching over to the blog.

From 107 visits that month, we had hits 117,698 one year later. Our only publicity has been word of mouth.

When we started this, we weren’t sure where it was going, or even if we were going anywhere. We’re just blown away. Thanks for caring about your unions enough to visit us.

Posted in SAG Politics, Union Politics, Media Business, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 12 Comments »

December 29, 2008 by Editor.

Here’s the e-mail just out tonight:

From: “Unite for Strength”
Date: December 29, 2008 7:27:14 PM PST
To:
Subject: Strike authorization - UFS wants to hear from you.
Reply-To:

As you may already know, SAG’s strike authorization referendum has been put on hold until the national board meets on January 12-13. The announcement was made last Monday after Unite for Strength’s Ned Vaughn and Adam Arkin met with SAG president Alan Rosenberg and National Executive Director Doug Allen to request a meeting of the board to consider whether the referendum should proceed.

Several concerns were addressed. Growing numbers of prominent and rank-and-file members have added their names to online petitions such as the one at www.nosagstrike.com. Others have voiced their opposition through increasingly blunt public letters and statements. Within SAG’s leadership, the New York Division Board issued a statement calling for the referendum to be dropped, a position supported by board members from other regions.

These developments, along with the many private expressions of opposition we’ve received, make it clear that SAG’s National Board must determine if it is wise to go forward with a process that is causing such a rift in the Guild. Board members from UFS will play a key role in that decision, and we’d like to know what you think:

1. Do you want the strike authorization referendum to proceed despite increasing member opposition? Or…

2. Do you want the national board to withdraw the referendum and adopt a different approach toward negotiating the best deal possible?

Tell us how you feel and please forward this to any SAG members you know, so they can weigh in too. Unite for Strength is working hard to unite professional performers into one powerful union; that’s the best way to avoid situations like the current one. Listening to members is a vital part of that and this decision is no exception, so please let us hear from you.

Respectfully,

Amy Aquino and Arye Gross

Posted in SAG-AFTRA | Print | 56 Comments »

December 24, 2008 by admin.

We’re taking a break for the holiday. Barring the unlikely event of the AMPTP playing Santa and us noticing that they did it, we’re all putting union activity aside, and heading for family activities.

We hope you’re all doing the same, and that your holidays are a lot better than this past year!

Posted in Commercials Contract, Interactive, Animation Contract, Basic Cable, SAG Politics, Editorial, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, Media Business, Union Politics, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 31 Comments »

December 23, 2008 by Editor.

Variety has caught up with the implications of the Allens’ sudden reversal on the strike authorization vote referendum.  

Unite for Strength spokesman Ned Vaughn told Daily Variety that he and his colleagues expressed concerns about going ahead with the vote, given the growing numbers of SAG members - particularly high-profile stars such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks - coming on the “no” side.

“We felt that in light of what’s been happening that it would have been reckless for the national board to proceed without having the chance to reconsider,” Vaughn said. “We appreciate that they’ve taken our concerns seriously.”

The victory by Unite for Strength wrested away control of the national board from the more assertive Membership First faction for the first time in three years and gave the moderates - comprised largely of New York and regional reps — a narrow ruling margin.

The question the move raises is whether Doug Allen has figured out that he no longer works for Membership First.

Even Hollywood’s Oscar winner for self promotion has weighed in, proposing a vote on the AMPTP’s last, best and final offer. Hmmm…where have we heard that one before? Back then, her Membership First patrons were dead set against…and she gave the idea short shrift.

In the analysis category, Variety’s Cynthia Littleton is out with her thoughts. We think she’s slightly off base on some of it - the National Board can’t replace negotiating committee members (though it can ask for their resignation.)

But she’s right on the money with this:

The move to delay is a reaction to the rising chorus of SAG members saying “What are you, nuts?” in response to the guild’s call for a strike authorization vote. That list includes the bulk of the guild’s New York board, which requested the emergency meeting; the Chicago board; and more than 1,500 members, many of them marquee names, who have vowed to vote against the authorization.

…

There’s growing speculation that Allen’s fate in the guild’s top paid position may also be on the line.

Littleton’s worth a read.

Posted in Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 44 Comments »

December 22, 2008 by Voiceguy.

Here’s the release:

A Message from Doug Allen

Notice of Special National Board Meeting

Dear Screen Actors Guild Member,

A number of National Board members have expressed concern about the organized opposition to SAG’s vote “yes” campaign to encourage members to authorize the National Board to determine whether to call a strike in the TV/Theatrical contracts.  While almost 100 high profile members and 2524 total members have endorsed the strike authorization vote mandated by the National Board, more than 100 high profile actors and 1373 actors have lent their names to the opposition campaign.  This division does not help our effort to get an agreement from the AMPTP that our members will ratify.

Accordingly, President Rosenberg and I have decided to call a special face-to-face National Board meeting in Los Angeles, during the week of January 12, to discuss how we can address this unfortunate division and restore the consensus demonstrated by the National Board at our October meeting.

The Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and the Commercials Contract W&W plenary in New York the first week of January, preclude scheduling such a meeting before the week of January 12.  In accordance with our Constitution, this special meeting will constitute one of our two face-to-face plenary meetings for 2009.

In light of the subject matter of this special meeting, the strike authorization balloting will be re-scheduled to take place over a three-week period immediately following this special board meeting.  This will provide us with more time to conduct member education and outreach on the referendum before the balloting.

This meeting will replace the January 24, 2009 plenary and will occur in Los Angeles all day January 12, and part of January 13.

Doug Allen

National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator

This is a special national board meeting for national directors and selected alternates only and is not open to the general membership or public. This notice is provided to members for informational purposes and is not an invitation to attend.

Richard Verrier of the Los Angeles Times provides further background here:

Allen’s e-mail was sent out after he and Rosenberg met earlier in the day with actors Ned Vaughn and “Chicago Hope” star Adam Arkin, representatives of Unite for Strength, a coalition of actors with moderate views that recently won key seats on the national board.

In a statement, the actors said they expressed their concerns about the “growing rift” over the strike authorization referendum. “We feel it’s imperative that the National Board have a chance to reconsider whether the referendum should proceed, given what’s been happening. We appreciate that they’ve taken our concerns seriously.”

Variety adds little in its story.

Posted in SAG Politics, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 14 Comments »

December 22, 2008 by admin.

Hedgpeth and Reardon, interviewed by Andrew Salomon. Largely history, but well worth a read.

Posted in Interactive, Animation Contract, Basic Cable, Commercials Contract, SAG Politics, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, Media Business, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 19 Comments »

December 19, 2008 by admin.

We received this via e-mail:

A bunker mentality has set in with Alan Rosenberg and it is alarming.

In todays’ Variety Alan Rosenberg states that his reception in New York was not nearly as frigid as reported. I was there and it was clear to me that there was very, very little support for him or Doug Allen in the room. This seems to be an example of Alan misperceiving the current realities.

Another example: During the meeting Alan said in no uncertain terms that the current negotiating committee had done, was doing “a terrific job”. Really? I would be curious to know what would, in his opinion, constitute a rotten job. He really only sees what he wants to see.

One more example: After Alan had a meeting with actors in an AFTRA organized TV show last spring I sent him an email stating that in my opinion such a meeting was incendiary and tactically clumsy. His return email was a curt dismissal of the meeting as “no big deal”, and I shouldn’t be concerned, that everything was fine between SAG and AFTRA. Really? He was poking at the scabrous relationship between the unions and profuse bleeding has ensued. But he didn’t see it that way.

The strike authorization should not be sent out. If it is sent out the union will be weakened no matter what the response. “Nay” will emasculate us - “Yea” will force us to walk the walk we cannot afford to walk at this time. The union will be rent asunder. This will be the Rosenberg legacy.

If the strike authorization is sent out it should include a vote of confidence - yea or nay - in the current leadership. I do not doubt the sincerity of Alan and Allens’ intentions but I have no confidence in their methods and believe that they have lost the credibility necessary to lead the union.

Stephen Lang

Posted in SAG Politics, Exhibit A - TV Theatrical, SAG-AFTRA | Print | 22 Comments »

December 18, 2008 by Editor.

With all the negativity floating around it’s always nice to see that someone still remembers what this is really all about. The New York Times puts SAG on the front of its website this morning, with an almost politics-free post about the SAG awards.

“The SAG awards are important because at about 1,400 voting members, SAG is far and away the largest guild and much can be discerned from checking the entrails of the results. For instance, there has been talk of “The Dark Knight” sneaking into the best picture race, but SAG members gave no indication they got the memo. (It is no surprise that “Wall-E”, another longshot, did not get in. Working actors are not going to push a movie where the lead role is occupied by an ambulatory pile of animated junk.)” 

Posted in SAG-AFTRA | Print | 1 Comment »

December 17, 2008 by Editor.

We’ve heard that Fox publicists have spent the morning telling reporters that the company is “no longer considering” trying to switch existing SAG shows to AFTRA. Funny how little things like Labor Law and the cooperation of SAG and AFTRA can come together to shoot down a ridiculous threat.

Posted in SAG-AFTRA | Print | 8 Comments »