Over 200 RSVP’s To SAG Hollywood’s Open Board Meeting On Monday Night

COMMENTS (12)

• “200 RSVP’s?” Says who?

  Comment by Tom Ligon — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 8:15am PST  Reply to this post

• I bet they flood the room with observers while they expose your scummy coup. The Hollywood members who represent something like 70% of the SAG income in the country will know not to vote up the contract if you don’t deliver them everything MF was fighting for.

  Watch your backs, traitors… whether you like it or not Hollywood will always be the majority when it’s time to count the votes. We have most of the work. And we’ll form our own union and shut you (and AFTRA) out if you keep this up.

  Comment by Watch Out NY Board — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 12:20pm PST  Reply to this post

• It was already booked up 2 hoursafter the annoucement.

  Comment by Scott — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 2:45pm PST  Reply to this post

• to: watch out ny board,

  have fun in your own union. really, are you over the age of 2? did you stomp your feet and stick out your tongue, making a farting noise as you wrote your post? way to support a new chance for SAG to try and get the members a better agreement.

  Comment by btlteamster — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 5:02pm PST  Reply to this post

• Making the rounds of various actor forums

  There will be a Keep SAG Hollywood Autonomous Rally on Monday February 2, 2009 from 4:30 – 6:30 pm at 5757 Wilshire (yes that is SAG HQ in Los Angeles and yes that is tomorrow while the Hollywood Board meets

  On Monday, February 2nd, 2009, your help, participation and strong voices are needed:

  As you may have already heard, the so-called “moderates” Unite For Strength; New York, and Regional Branch SAG board members have torpedoed the hard work of SAG’s TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee, fired NED/Chief Negotiator Doug Allen, created a non-proportional “Task Force”, and muzzled President Alan Rosenberg. They may also try to deny you, the SAG member, the right to vote on a Strike Authorization.

  This group is labeled in the press as the SAG National Board Majority. But what is never mentioned, is that 85% of them are from NY and the branches, while only 15% are Hollywood board members. Also, what is never mentioned in the pro producer media is that only 15% of the Hollywood board supported this takeover; The Hollywood division of the National Board is made up of 33 board members; 27 Membership First Board Members opposed this coup by New York and branches, only 6 backed it. (5 UFS board members and one so-called independent.)

  Help Keep Control of the great Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood, the place where it was created and incorporated–and where most of the TV/Theatrical work (75%) is done by Hollywood SAG members.

  The Hollywood Division Board will be in session that evening. (Monday, Feb. 2nd, 2009) We need to remind those who conceded control of SAG to New York and the branches , especially the UFS board members, that WE ARE THE UNION.

  Come and peacefully show your support for the Hollywood Board members who are still fighting the good fight. Still fighting to keep this union strong. Still fighting to protect our RIGHT TO VOTE, still fighting to keep OUR UNION, FROM BECOMING NON-UNION, and still fighting to keep RESIDUALS FROM BECOMING ONLY A MEMORY!!!!!

  Date: February 2nd, 2009

  Time: 4:30p.m. to 6:30p.m.

  Place: SAG Headquarters 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Street parking and lot parking.

  Our goal is to educate, not intimidate. Let’s be respectful but determined.
  Hope to see you there, and please invite your friends.

  A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief
  http://www.sagwatchdog.com

  Comment by Scuttlebutt — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 5:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• Hey Tom how many RSVP’s does the NY board offer their members for their open Board meetings? A big fat zero.

  Comment by Yosemite — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 7:28pm PST  Reply to this post

• to bltteamster…

  Yeah, I’m well over 2 and a former SAG Board member. The new union I speak of will be SAG West… We’ll take 70% of the assets of SAG (based on the percentage of national income generated by the Hollywood Division members), leave the AFL-CIO, partner with Teamsters, ask the membership to vote about whether or not they want SAG West or AFTRA as their bargaining unit, and if they side with SAG West, we’ll finally have some leverage to negotiate equitable contracts.

  If the bogus Task Force gets a few pats on back from AMPTP it’ll be because they’re prepared to sign whatever’s handed to them. No one expects any real negotiations now. SAG has let itself become controlled by people representing members that get 30% of the work… most of them don’t make their living acting like we’re trying to do in Hollywood. And those of us who depend on acting income to pay our bills and health care are tired of that low-ball group of broadcasters called AFTRA having any more control over our future in this business.

  Comment by Watch Out NY Board — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 11:21pm PST  Reply to this post

• Dear “Afraid To Use Your Name”:
  So big and brave, you’ll split yourself off from a national union? That’s smart. Then you can really weep and wail as actors all over the nation including Hollywood A-list & High-Profile continue to work united. “They’re luring production with tax incentives! WAAHHHH!” I’m sure producers will bend over backwards to seek your new “union” out for film and television work.

  Comment by Tom Ligon — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 8:40am PST  Reply to this post

• to: watch out ny board,
  the teamsters left the afl-cio, so that would be a good choice. we also try to have a hand in out of state productions, because if we don’t…we get undercut. that may be one of your problems if you divide sag…not only will aftra be cheaper, but sag ny or sag midwest may undercut sag hollywood. companies may just leave l.a. if out of state labor is cheap. it would be “cool” though if sag and other unions were partners with the teamsters, leo and tony are fearless. won’t happen though, too much self interest. the point i’ve been trying to make re: sag, is this…for whatever reason the neg. team with allen and alan didn’t work…no blame, just move forward. sag and the amptp (devil dogs) are starting talks on tuesday…so instead of the infighting, everyone has the chance to get together and keep what worked and change what didn’t. be one union, it only makes you stronger and this hasn’t been shown in the past. the amptp saw the infighting and went for the kill.i don’t think the “low-group” of broadcaster as you call them are your problem…they do work in the business and in my mind would always want the best contract. i think your problem is that you have 120,000 members and most of them are “vanity” card holders, which hurts actors who make a living. we may all be up “shits creek” the way the economy and our business is changing, this is my fear.
  please forgive any mis-spelling or other odd writing, i don’t have my glasses on.
  good luck, i hope a lot of positive conversations happen at your meeting.

  Comment by btlteamster — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 11:12am PST  Reply to this post

• Dear Tom…

  The producers won’t have a choice but to talk to us if we go to the NLRB, and all the members out here vote to certify SAG West as their union… AFTRA will be out of the game.

  Split off from the national union? We ARE the national union! 70%+ of the work done in the whole country is contracted out of L.A. Most of the shoots involving projects that generate any real income outside of L.A. are location shoots with actors hired out of L.A.

  NY has a small industry going and we wish them well on their own, but we’re tired of having the NY Branch wreak havoc with thousands of union families’ lives on the West Coast who have actual careers in this business.

  The NY Branch wouldn’t even have the money to maintain a two room office in Queens if the Hollywood members decided to take their marbles and go home to form SAG West. And as far as the RBD is concerned… every last penny of RBD income combined doesn’t even equal what the actors living in a few apartment buildings in Hollywood make in a year. I hope the new ‘majority’ remembers that when they go in to talk to the AMPTP.

  MF was far too nice when it had the power to do something about the way SAG is structured and about AFTRA gaining more and more jurisdiction with crappy no-residual contracts. SAG is broken now and can’t be fixed unless a radical change is made. Time to get real and create a union that actually represents the interests of professionals. This is not the “Screen Dreamers Guild”

  And don’t worry, Tom, you’ll know all our names when we start the ball rolling with the NLRB.

  Comment by Watch Out NY Board — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 3:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• I was at the Board Meeting tonight — it was sold out. I would say 90 percent of the SAG members watching were Anti-UFS and Pro Doug Allen and Membership First. When Smug Ned Vaughn would speak no one would applaud — but when Anne-Marie Johnson gave heartfelt speech at the beginning of the evening about Mr. Allen the whole room applauded. Poor Mr. Vaughn is clueless and hungry — this guy ate through the whole evening, as did Gabrielle Carteris who must be pregnant. The whole UFS gang seem like spoiled little brats, except for Amy Brenneman and Doug Savant who sat and listened without making faces and whispering in each others ears like the rest of the gang. Gabrielle was the worst — right out of High School(90210), very disrespectful of other speakers/board-members, would make faces and giggles like a child and would never follow the rules — Anne-Marie had to stop her from interrupting three times.

  The room was passionate with a lot of angry members. Great speakers on the side of Membership First who felt betrayed by the UFS fraction.

  David White seems like a good guy who has no idea of what he just got himself into.

  But all in all it was a very well conducted evening thanks to Anne-Marie.

  I have no idea of where this Union will go from here.

  Peace!!

  Comment by Don — Tuesday February 3, 2009 @ 12:17am PST  Reply to this post

• With his decision to challenge the firing of Doug Allen in court, Alan Rosenberg has proved that he is the Rod Blagoyevich of union politics.

  Comment by Michael Levine — Tuesday February 3, 2009 @ 10:34am PST  Reply to this post