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(Photos, Lea Thompson and Sally Kirkland rally while Carlos Granda of ABC News reports; SAG president Alan Rosenberg with actress and former SAG VP Anne Marie Johnson; Keith Carradine speaking at rally; SAG’s exec director Doug Allen; and board member Justine Bateman. All except Carradine photo by Jim Stevenson.)
LAPD unofficially estimated the SAG Solidarity Rally crowd at 550. SAG leaders Rosenberg and Doug Allen gave impassioned speeches explaining that they want to negotiate a fair deal for actors and a cohesive pay grid on New Media. Rosenberg began his remarks by reminding the rally that 75 years ago at the height of the depression the studios instituted a 50% pay cut for actors, and the actors responded by founding the Screen Actors Guild on June 30, 1933 — almost exactly 75 years ago. Also taking the podium was actor Keith Carradine. In the crowd could be seen former SAG prez Ed Asner, David Arquette, William Mapother, Joe Bologna, Renee Taylor, Justine Bateman, David Clennon, Scott Wilson, Lisa Ann Walter, Kate Flannery, Willie Garson, Joely Fisher, David Marciano, Erica Gimpel, Michael Dorn, Marg Helgenberger and more. WGA leaders Patrick Verrone and Dave Young also spoke and urged SAG to improve upon the writers’ terms and “move the ball down the field.” Other WGA members spotted were Joss Whedon, Dianne Burroughs, Joey Gutteriez, Alan Sereboff, Jill Kushner. 
As expected, the subject of the AFTRA-AMPTP deal came up. Hundreds of assembled SAG/AFTRA dual-card holders chanted “Vote no! Vote no!” when the subject of the current AFTRA contract proposal came up. One of their signs read, “Vote no on AFTRA’s ‘give away’ contract! Send them back to get a better one!” As one SAG board member attending told me. ”They understood that a ‘yes’ vote on that proposal would have us agreeing to sub-par conditions considering what SAG can potentially achieve for us. Really, I think you can better rates by standing out in front of Home Depot.”
Some members of the SAG negotiating committee from regional branches said they wouldn’t attend the rally in Los Angeles because they saw it as an action to “thwart” the ratification of the AFTRA contract vote. There has been a huge schism between SAG NY vs LA for months now. NY division president Sam Freed said in a statement: “This is one of a series of miscalculations by Membership First that jeopardizes our negotiations and the interests of the membership. There is absolutely no evidence that this effort to defeat the AFTRA contract will help us. It will only serve to create more uncertainty in a community that is desperate to get back to work. It is an irresponsible embarrassment.” Negotiating committee co-chair Mike Pniewski echoed: “We cannot support anything which jeopardizes our negotiations at this very sensitive time and that is just what this ill advised action does. There’s simply too much at stake to engage in such a divisive initiative.”
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How many paid SAG staffers are in the picture?
Ah, it is as I thought. No working actors to be seen.
Man, in this economy… I hate to see another strike authorized. There will be blood on the streets. Both SAG AND the AMPTP.
no matter how principled the issues…a strike in this economy, like a previous poster said, will do MAJOR damage to an already struggling industry. some families/businesses are just beginning to recover from the wga strike, what’s the cost of living out a che guevarra/cesar chavez fantasy?….
but hey, some of these people will get cool photo-ops though
I personally saw lots of SAG staffers coming down in the elevators, putting on their T-Shirts and grabbing up their signs. Maybe Doug should give ‘em background pay. Oops, I forgot, Sag only covers the first ten. “Come back with your picket sign or on it!”
By the way, thanks AFTRA, we’re with you. Great job.
Better rates at home depot. God such rhetoric. Ask those people outside of home depot if they want to trade places.
I was working today and there were a lot of extras there. None said they would vote for any kind of strike, they just want it to be over. In fact they think in very end they will get thrown under the bus.
I can’t see this ending well for SAG. The AMPTP is in a position of strength, and with AFTRA and factions within SAG doing the dividing, all AMPTP has to do is wait and conquer.
They might have to eat a bad deal this year, but start preparing to fight for the next contract right from a position of unified strength from day one.
With friends like the Allens, we’ll all end up at Home Depot. Looking for jobs.
I don’t need SAG, or anyone else for that matter, telling me to vote against the AFTRA contract. It’s a TERRIBLE deal.
Yeah, like WGA negotiator said, “move the ball down field.” Instead of losing yards on a disastrous lateral from the traiterous DGA insterad.
550? That’s the highest estimate I’ve heard yet. And I saw the footage on the news…no WAY 550. And based on the color of the t-shirts, of the total 150 I was given, it’s estimated about 75 were SAG & WGA staff.
And then half the Negotiating Committee boycotted the event in protest over this foolhardy AFTRA-bashing strategy.
More Politics of Destruction…..pathetic.
As to how many actors were at the rally, I’d say 550 was a conservative estimate. Every square inch of the courtyard at 5757 was occupied with union members.
The sag staff(no more than 10)was clearly identified so as not to be mixed up with the union membership.
The signs and t-shirt you saw them carrying were to hand out to members. The t-shirt they handed out were different than the ones that said “SAG STAFF” that they were wearing They were there to help with the crowd with water and parking validation.
If the video look like less people it was because the video was taken AFTER the rally. Do you get it!!!
To the guy on the elevator; Admit you work for AFTRA and you were coming down from the 9th floor!
The dishonesty of the AFTRA leadership AND staff is legendary. The previous biased posts are a great examples.
I was there, what I posted is the truth.
Sheesh.
wow…solidarity…huh….if these are the best numbers you can rally together when you have over 100,000 members….i’m just sayin.
I am so furious with AFTRA right now. And I’ve been a dues paying member for 20 + years now. AFTRA is cutting seperate deals WITH EVERY SINGLE SHOW. Not just a standard contract that we all vote on, but seperate deals. I just found out that the AFTRA pilot I finished didn’t pay double time after 12 hours. When did this happen? When did the dues paying membership vote on this? How can this even be allowed? On average I worked a 13-14 hour day. And believe me I am grateful for it, but who is making these deals ? These shows are termed AFTRA, but with “SAG rates and conditions”. Well the meal penalties were different amounts ( 25 on the front end, 35 on the back end good if you only have 1 or 2, not so good when you have 5 or 6 which we had ) and NO DOUBLE TIME. Hardly “SAG rates and conditions”.
Where is the ALF-CIO in all of this and can dual card holders bring a class action lawsuit against AFTRA? These pilots were probably going AFTRA anyway, in fear of a strike and I understand that, but to further undercut the AGREED UPON rates and call it SAG rates and conditions is a bald faced lie. I don’t trust them and I’m voting NO as a sign of disgust.
Also AFTRA can’t even manage to hand out the check authorizations forms to all the non-union and AFTRA”WILLING” members working side by side with me. They get their checks sent to them directly as do I. And cash them with no repercussions. Apparently they are “AFTRA willing “. The only difference is that I PAID MY DUES. !!!! This union makes a fool of me for doing so.
A recent casting breakdown on L.A. Casting invited AFTRA members, AFTRA willing and non-union.
So ………..anyone ??????????????
You there, on the corner, you look like a professional.
Have you ever seen a SAG breakdown like that? No, and you never will.
I’ll admit, that SAG has made some serious errors in these negotiations, first by setting such a contentious tone with AFTRA when we needed the solidarity, and by waiting to long to negotiate with the AMPTP. Like it or not, SAG is the actor here and when the actor gets an “audition” or meeting with a studio you don’t say, “let me get back to you in a month or so”. You go and do your best.
But all in all SAG’s heart is in the right place. I can’t say that of AFTRA or the AMPTP.
Peggy Lane O’Rourke
As I posted yesterday, but it was not printed – here’s where the rubber meets the road. I worked “Rescue Me,” an AFTRA contract, in a recurring role. My manager asked for 1500 per day for this top of show part. They said “1500 per day! That’s what we pay Charles Durning!” (Dennis Leary’s father on the show). Long story short – I ended getting 1500. That’s LESS than 1/3 of SAG top of show: salary, residuals, etc. There will NEVER be a “good” time to strike. NEVER. If we let this deal pass without a fair rate on a percentage of internet, an increased top of show rate (You USED to have a quote – remember “quotes?” – now, it’s “scale – take it or leave it,” so, at the very least, “scale” better be a damn site better than it is now). I currently have a series I was a regular on running – full episodes – on several web sites – for FREE! They run ads during the episode – so SOMEBODY is getting paid, but not me. I wasn’t even ASKED! If the AFTRA contract stands as is, as a precedent, SAG is done. I believe SAG is the most powerful union in the business BY FAR – but ONLY if we have the courage to threaten to STRIKE and to STRIKE if pushed to it. The “stars” who suck down 50% – sometimes more – of a TV show or movies’ budget? The “stars” who now also produce and direct and write? They need to put their SAG hats on, and understand that the AMPTP is trying to squeeze profit through an increasingly smaller window – us, the rank and file, because above the line costs (stars) are KILLING them. IF the stars remember where they came from, and put SAG first, and we ALL band together and let the AMPTP know we WILL strike and that it’s not an empty threat? How long do you think the AMPTP will wait to make a deal that gives SAG what it’s asking for now? Answer? NOT LONG. Without “stars” to make their movies and TV shows – they’re OUT OF BUSINESS FOLKS. So – Tom, George, Julia, Matt, Jack, Nicole, Brad, enjoy your 5,10,15,20 million dollar up front salaries and back end points, but understand – the rest of us can barely pay the bills. If we ALL band together? We can get this contract right. If we don’t? If we have the kind of “there’s no leverage, WGA just struck, whah, whah, whah,” crap I’m hearing and reading? We’re done. Mortgages WILL be fallen behind on, jobs WILL be lost. We WILL suffer. But – hey SAG members (especially dual SAG/ AFTRA people – like me) you want an actual BUSINESS in 5,10 years? You better get it right NOW, or the industry will put things just where they want them: “stars – and Wal-Mart workers.” Let’s all grow some onions, get this right, do what it takes (and WGA? you better be there WITH BELLS ON – NOT JUST ON DAY 5 OR 10, BUT DAY 75, OR DAY 100 – like we were for you)
Mrs. Wakely
SAG, AFTRA, AEA, DGA
Good luck, AMPTP. You survived the writer’s strike because you had scripts already in your hands. But when this actor’s strike comes, you’re left with nothing. No Iron Man 2. No Indiana Jones 5. Everything will be shut down and all SAG has to do is say, “we asked for a raise. Is that unreasonable? Would you work 30 years without a raise or take a paycut while your boss made billions?”
I was at the rally today. I don’t work for SAG. They work for me. And soon all our voices will be heard throughout this town. We have the power. You’ll see. You’ll hear. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you want the public sympathy on this, don’t show well known actors. It’s gonna work against you not for you.
Honestly, all this bickering back and forth is not helping anything. It’s really hurting you all.
If SAG could put this much energy into their negotiations they would actually be near a deal.
Pathetic. Paid staff used unethically. No stars. No working actors. One of the few times Alan Rosenberg gets to play the lead. Badly.
SAG: for God’s sake declare victory and move on and leave AFTRA alone before you become “the 2nd largest actors’ union.”
Doug Allen: You’ve got what you always wanted – you’ve made it all the way to the deadline and AFTRA’s not in the room….How’s it workin’ out for you, buddy?
It sucks to be SAG.
As noted above, no matter SAGs cause, the reality for a lot of actors is that the economy can’t support the strike.
Even worse is that, unlike the WGA, heavy hitters aren’t going to step up to the plate for them. The big names who could draw press (i.e. big name stars, who incidentally, don’t care one way another about SAG) aren’t going to do much…if anything, they’re going to knife SAG supporters who might disrupt filming for them.
I was there and 550 sounds about right. I was there as one of the WGA folks and I would guess there were about 75-100 WGA folks. Of WGA staff I would say I saw 10-20 (and that includes Patric and David).
The crowd fluctuated and I saw a lot of the news crews grabbing b roll at the beginning when not a lot of people were there yet.
Not that 550 is all that great a number or something to be crowing about, but I just had to give some real numbers after someone said 150 – that’s just obviously not from someone who was there.
P.S. I have no idea who was SAG staff and who was not.
Hey Leonides, what exactly was the “great job” AFTRA did? It’s great that they can count on such strong support from anonymous armchair snipers. But maybe they should know precisely what it was that pleased you so much.
AFTRA is a terrible union to work with regardless of the current SAG/AFTRA fragmentation. As an actor, it’s easy to tell that they’re blatantly on the producers side. AFTRA’s minimum yearly salary to obtain health insurance is MUCH higher than SAGs. Day/week rates are less. Their residual payments don’t kick in until a TV episodes airs for the 15th time (SAG pays out by the 2nd time). Who saves money by choosing AFTRA over SAG? The producers. With the economy in such terrible shape, AFTRA is clearly trying to snake SAG’s business.
I’m conflicted about this whole thing. I’m an actor trying to establish myself. It is extremely difficult to become a member of SAG. I did lots of background work when I made my way from the Inland Empire to Los Angeles. I never received a SAG Voucher for my background work.
3 SAG Vouchers of background work and one can join SAG. That is fantastic, except for the fact that its nearly impossible to achieve such a feat, although I know people that have accomplish such a task.
AFTRA on the other hand is incredibly easy to join. One can do background work and easily get an AFTRA voucher, yet don’t really need them…just the 1300 dollars to join…
I’ve worked on at least 3 SAG Indie films, you know the cool hip SAG contracted projects..yet..I don’t get a single voucher..even though I’m the lead in all the films..acting opposite James Russo..a background performer can get a voucher for lifting his hand to pretend he’s looking at his watch..
My point is that both acting unions need to work together and not fall into the AMPTP’s DIVIDE AND CONQUER Strategy. I think it is a given with regards to how things have been done in the past with the WGA..
..btw, I’m going to join AFTRA this week, cause otherwise I’m not considered a professional actor..
I could not make the rally due to personal commitments, and I’m sorry I missed out on the opportunity to personally thank our WGA brothers and sisters for turning out to support SAG. Please accept my gratitude from here.
The company I work for in Burbank laid off 5 people yesterday with the recent slowdown in pre-prod & production. this time it will be detrimental to our business.