SAG Seeks Strike Authorization

LOS ANGELES, November 24:
After two days of meetings with a federal mediator failed to break the
stalemate between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion
Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP),
SAG is asking its members to authorize a strike.

"Our
leadership was optimistic that federal mediation would help to move our
negotiations forward, but despite the Guild's extraordinary efforts to reach
agreement…management continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly accept
on behalf of our members," SAG said.

"As
previously authorized by the National Board of Directors, we will now launch a
full-scale education campaign in support of a strike-authorization
referendum."

In
response to SAG's decision to seek strike authorization, the AMPTP said,
"SAG is bizarrely asking its members to bail out the failed negotiating
strategy with a strike vote—at a time of historic economic crisis. The
tone deafness of SAG is stunning."

The
studios' bargaining arm sent a message to its 300 members indicating that it
would do everything it could to educate SAG members and the industry about its
offer and why SAG should accept it. "The more SAG members understand about
the fairness and strength of our offer, especially during a time of historic
economic distress, the less likely they will be to authorize a strike,"
the message stated.

SAG
president Alan Rosenberg said that a strike-authorization vote does not
necessarily mean the union will immediately go on strike.

The
AMPTP, however, has said otherwise. "Make no mistake about this: If SAG
members authorize a strike, then a strike is all but guaranteed because SAG has
shown no willingness to compromise on its unrealistic demands," the
organization told its members.

No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the
strike-authorization ballots.

—By Kristin Brzoznowski