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N.Y. SAG Branch Splits From Hollywood leadership; "irresponsible to strike right now"
Topic Started: Dec 13 2008, 03:49 AM (794 Views)
Rick
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Dreamlander

Variety.Com

N.Y. SAG leaders oppose strike
Union's New York reps disapprove of vote
By DAVE MCNARYMore Articles:

Leaders of SAG's New York branch have split from the Hollywood leadership and called for the guild to stop its strike authorization vote. In a statement issued Friday, the New York reps cited the nation's worsening financial crisis for the move. The division leaders noted that while they had voted in October to support seeking a strike authorization if federal mediation failed, conditions have changed since then.

"While issuing a strike authorization may have been a sensible strategy in October, we believe it is irresponsible to do so now, in the face of widespread layoffs, cutbacks and reduced programming," the NY board said in a statement. "The hardest and most important decision any union member must make is whether or not to go on strike. Before we ask you to make that choice, we feel we must, as your elected representatives, make every move we can to get you a deal."

The New York reps asked that all plans for a strike referendum cease; that SAG president Alan Rosenberg immediately call an emergency national board meeting; that the national board appoint a new negotiating task force to replace the current negotiating committee at this emergency meeting; and that the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers be encouraged "in the strongest of terms" to return to the bargaining table.

"With a fresh team, the AMPTP will return to the table, and we can get a fair deal," the NY reps said. "A deal that will not cost careers, homes, lives. We want our members to understand that while strikes are sometimes unavoidable, we will do everything in our power to avoid this one."

SAG president Alan Rosenberg responded by denouncing the move while agreeing to hold an emergency national board meeting at a yet to be announced date.

"I am shocked and troubled that some members of our New York Board have issued a statement to the press regarding our October 2008 national board directive to send a strike authorization referendum to SAG members. Oddly, a portion of the group that now holds the majority of votes on our national board, and who voted as part of the 97% majority to send this referendum to members, has now reconsidered."

On Friday, the AMPTP sent a letter to elected officials that excoriated SAG leaders for refusing to accept the AMPTP's final offer, which contains similar terms to those in Hollywood labor agreements concluded this year by the WGA, DGA, IATSE, casting directors and AFTRA.

Guild leaders have insisted that the needs of actors -- particularly in new media -- have not been adequately addressed in the AMPTP's final offer, issued June 30 as SAG's contract expired.

SAG plans to send out the strike authorization vote to its due current members -- estimated at 110,000 -- on Jan. 2 with results announced Jan. 23. At least 75% of those voting must affirm the authorization for SAG's national board to call a strike.

SAG leaders have insisted that the authorization vote won't necessarily lead to a strike and have asserted a "yes" vote is designed to force the AMPTP back to the bargaining table. The AMPTP's declared repeatedly that it won't revise the terms of its offer.

A federal mediator brought negotiators together last month to try to relaunch bargaining, but those talks collapsed after two days on Nov. 22 amid a blizzard of accusations from both sides.

SAG held its first town hall meeting last Monday in Hollywood, with 400 members attending. It's scheduled two more such gatherings, one in New York on Monday at the Westin Times Square and another Wednesday at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel.
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bellcurve
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I hope SAG members do not authorize this strike. If they indeed do, we may see alot more networks cutting back primetime hours, the way NBC is doing. Either that, or more shows are going to go AFTRA.

SAG needs to swallow the pill this time and negotiate a new deal that would be up around the same time the WGA deal is up in 2010, so they can all negotiate together. The WGA got a really shitty deal. Another strike is totally going to happen, but SAG needs to play their cards right.

Rosenberg wouldn't be putting just working primetime actors out. He would also be putting many crew people who don't make as much as them and desperately need that paycheck in these unsure economic times.
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Janelli
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I think the NY branch has the right idea. Just today I was telling my mom that the SAG actors would be nuts to strike with the economy the way it is. I know they don't want to get screwed but they need to think about everything else that is going on with our economy. :-/
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FanODays


Its nice to see someone acting responsibly during these tough times. I gotta say that the Hollywood side of SAG isn't looking too good in all of this if they don't think beyond their own pockets and find a way to end this without a strike.
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nancyhan77
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WOW! The times they are a changin'!! Never would have thought SAG would split between NY actors and CA actors, go figure!
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SpriteEyes
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They're right.

I think the actors strike hurt the television industry tremendously. If the actors strike next it may not recover and we'll have more of the insipid programming we've been seeing.
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ladyofthelake
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Professor-in-training

I'm glad NY is wising up. There's no reason for actors to have a sense of entitlement while others are having a tough time.
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brimike


Thank God for cooler minds.

They were offered the same deal the writers and directors FOUGHT for - and it isn't good enough?

Talk about not getting any sympathy from ANYONE. California SAG leadership really needs to get its head out of its ass, and while I always think having a force (any force) split down the middle, and the divisiveness it gives birth to, I'm thrilled to hear somebody speak up against this authorization vote.
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bellcurve
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ladyofthelake
Dec 14 2008, 01:51 PM
I'm glad NY is wising up. There's no reason for actors to have a sense of entitlement while others are having a tough time.
In fairness, I don't think it's a sense of entitlement. I think it's more/less a feeling of what's fair.

The bigwigs get most of the money from the stuff they did the hard work on. It's kind of sad thinking about that.

However, I don't think that now is a good time to authorize a strike. SAG should have went on strike when the deal with the networks first came up(which was back in July). With AFTRA having made a deal with the networks, there really is no leg for SAG to stand on at this point.

SAG would be better off accepting the deal NOW, and then, like the writers, renegotiate and even strike in three years.

Another labor dispute is bound to happen in 2010/11 and it will. The WGA is not happy with what they received AND there's also talk that some of the studios are not paying up on their new media promises.
Edited by bellcurve, Dec 14 2008, 05:21 PM.
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PhoenixRising05
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I'm glad some are playing it smart.

Hopefully, the others do as well because another strike under the circumstances won't help ANYONE.
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