SAG Postpones Strike Vote

LOS ANGELES, December 23: With its membership base divided,
the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has delayed the strike authorization vote
originally scheduled for January 2.

After failing to accept the final contract offer from the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), SAG's leadership
has been lobbying for its members to authorize a strike. While the initiative
has received some high-profile support, there has been equally vocal
opposition, with many noting that a strike now, in a worsening economy, would
have a crippling effect on the entertainment industry. The union's New York
board has already spoken out against a strike, and a host of A-list stars have
signed a petition calling on the board to call off the vote.

In a letter to SAG members, Doug Allen, the union's national
executive director and chief negotiator, stated that 2,524 members had endorsed
the strike authorization vote, while 1,373 had publicly opposed it. "This
division does not help our effort to get an agreement from the AMPTP that our
members will ratify," Allen said.

As a result, SAG is calling for a national board meeting in
Los Angeles on January 12 to discuss the rift in the organization. "The
strike authorization balloting will be re-scheduled to take place over a
three-week period immediately following this special board meeting," Allen
stated. "This will provide us with more time to conduct member education
and outreach on the referendum before the balloting."

—By Mansha Daswani