SAG Corrects Erroneous Media Report: No Suspension Of Strike Authorization Vote

COMMENTS (60)

• So… you haven’t suspended the strike authorization vote, but… you had a date set to send it out and then didn’t send it out because east and west coast couldn’t agree whether it was a good idea or not? Um. Technically, that’s pretty much the definition of suspending.

  Comment by CTSadler — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:39pm PST  Reply to this post

• Hear that sound? The last nail in the coffin. How can SAG have any credibility after this blunder?

  Internal conflicts create external collapse.

  Just proven that the union structure is antiquated and self destructive.

  Make a damn decision so the rest of us can move along.

  Comment by True Indie — Thursday January 22, 2009 @ 11:50pm PST  Reply to this post

• ALERT! ALERT!! ALERT!!!

  Please disregard any media reports you might have heard! Let us be very clear! The media is mistaken if they think we’ve done a goddamned thing since October 19th. Let us be clear: WE HAVEN’T DONE SHIT SINCE OCTOBER 19TH.

  Sorry for the confusion. You might have thought that we’ve been working for our membership, but please know: We will continue this in-fighting indefinitely at the expense of both SAG members and the entirety of individuals relying on a healthy industry to make a living.

  Very glad we could clear up this confusion.

  In solidarity,

  A bunch of blowhards.

  Comment by Rabble, Rabble. — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 5:20am PST  Reply to this post

• JUST…FRAKKIN’…DO…SOMETHING! GOOD GOD.

  Comment by Gordon — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 6:48am PST  Reply to this post

• Let’s be REALISTICALLY clear: Many months ago, SAG leadership was presented with an unsignable contract. Other unions made their own decisions. SAG KNOWS the contract, as is, is a killer for the middle-class actor. In fact, there’s relative agreement on that.

  The AMPTP wouldn’t get off the dime and actually negotiate AT ALL. For months.

  During this period, the usual suspects withing SAG, smelled an opportunity – the so-called “moderates.”

  Start blaming the messenger – SAG leadership – for not getting an ungettable deal, given the AMPTP’s intransigence, and start pushing, through a newly named faction, Unite For Strength, that same old chesnut – merger with AFTRA.

  Continue to vote WITH the leadership to cover your political asses (every single vote of the national board and the negotiating committee was overwhelmingly to continue to fight for a better deal, to send out a strike authorization, to adhere to core principals, etc.,) BUT, at the same time, do EVERYTHING you can to undermine the SAG leadership in an attempt to use this contract, which is an assault on ALL actors,as a wedge to divide the union (how Rovian) and to, hopefully, emerge with SAG so weakened that UFS can rush in to fill that political void, and fast track merger with AFTRA.

  This has been stated publicly, by both James Cromwell and Gabrielle Carteris, of UFS.

  The simple fact that these people are now, after botching firing an NED whose only sin has been fighting to get a signable contract that doesn’t cripple actors, possibly for good, trying to thwart Doug Allen’s compromise to, put aside the Strike Authorization vote, and send out the contract for an up or down vote by the MEMBERSHIP – exposes the heart of UFS’s “plan.”

  Weaken SAG, merge with AFTRA. THIS contract? For them, it’s secondary to a grander political scheme, one which has been voted down 16 times since 1939. Merger.

  The fire should be directed two places: the AMPTP, for this brazen attack on the middle-class actor and on SAG, AND, UFS and their allies, who have turned from the absolute need for unity and solidarity, to the exposure of their true agenda: control of the union to destroy the union and merge with AFTRA, to supposedly gain enough “leverage” to go back and recover from the AMPTP all the things they were so willing to give away.

  That is despicable behavior, and I believe the SAG membership is beginning to see it come into focus.

  Comment by Matt Mulhern — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 8:00am PST  Reply to this post

• Pick the phrase which most aptly describes a group of SAG leaders:

  1. Confederacy of Dunces
  2. Ship of Fools
  3. Clown Chamber
  4. 25-Watt Bulb Valu Pak
  5. All of the Above

  Comment by Sue West — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 8:09am PST  Reply to this post

• SAG, get your shit together!

  Comment by Seriously????? — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 8:36am PST  Reply to this post

• okay Rabble, Rabble…you just made me spit up my morning cereal. Hilarious. as Karen would say on “Will and Grace”, “It’s funny cuz it’s true.”

  Comment by love's labors lost — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 9:01am PST  Reply to this post

• If it were up to the SAG Hollywood leadership the strike authorization vote would have gone out a long time ago. but the handful of Unite for Strength Board members from Hollywood and the mainly the New York and the Regional Branches wouldn’t let it go out. The same for SAG’s NED’s proposal to let the membership vote to ratify the last offer of the AMPTP. This same group won’t let that happen either. SAG is being held hostage.

  The ego’s of the SAG Board Members from New York, notably one named Paul Christie whom is quoted in variety have caused the petty anti-Hollywood bias to hold the WHOLE INDUSTRY hostage, until they get their way.

  What they want has nothing to do with the contract either. What they want it for SAG to be run from New York with a NED picked by them, who will move their agenda on a SAG-AFTRA merger forward. Its become about control of SAG and ego’s not the TV-Theatrical contract. Its become absurd.

  The most absurd thing, is that most of this group from outside of Hollywood has never ever worked on a prime time TV show or a Theatrical Motion Picture in their lives, believe it or not. Many are also AFTRA Board members. They are mostly the “funny voice” guys. And they are complete ego driven nuts, fighting over something they have nothing to do with.

  Here is a petition:
  http://www.petitiononline.com/SAG90210/petition.html

  Comment by Joe Brown — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 9:19am PST  Reply to this post

• Could SAG be more of a joke? It’s mind-blowing.

  Comment by Chris — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 9:20am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m so sick of this back and forth bullshit. tell me, who the hell are we supposed to believe? we’re worse than a bunch of 12 year olds on the f’ing playground.
  true indie,
  you’re right that internal conflicts create external problems.
  But, the union structure is NOT antiquated and self destructive when run properly.
  what our leaders are guilty of the most, among other things, IS FAILING TO LEAD. you can’t have any organization, or union, or guild, or company, if you don’t have leaders that lead. all they have succeeded in is being a divisive tornado of bullshit. we never know from day to day what way the wind is blowing. they have not shown me, a working sag member, that they are looking out for the “union”, or it’s “members”. they can tell me they are all they want, but if they were, they would act like a real union (A FAMILY), and handle there differences behind closed doors and come together as one.
  i guess that’s something that they’re not interested in.

  Comment by hank — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 9:38am PST  Reply to this post

• SAG’s paralyzing fear of capitulating vs. striking leads SAG’s leadership to the dark valley of no action, no decisions which is, in reality, an action and decision of death for SAG. Decide NOW before this hemorrhage has gone beyond saving!

  Comment by Time to decide — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 9:47am PST  Reply to this post

• Geez, Allen and Rosenberg make Bush and Cheney look like geniuses… are you actors REALLY trusting your careers and your futures to these nimrods? Yikes, and I thought we writers were stupid. Wow, you make us look like… well, I can’t think of anyone dumb enough to make that comparison.

  Comment by A writer — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 10:47am PST  Reply to this post

• I’m I the only one who misses the days when it was the -AMPTP-’s press releases who sucked royal ass, and ours were comparitively decent, rather than the other way around?

  I guess all the infighters on both sides figured our last shot at immediately visible leverage was the Oscars, so we better make sure we squandered that.

  I gotta say, though, at least in L.A., that rumored “production pipeline” that was going to start spitting out projects that have been long held up is nowhere to be found on the streets of L.A. If “producers will call SAG’s bluff and get back to making film” wasn’t total b.s., I sure haven’t seen any evidence -yet- this year.

  2009′s film release charts are skanky enough. Delay followed by delay is soon going to make the 2010 film roster be variations of “Producer’s Dogs Ass, 3D” for each of the summer 2010 studio tent poles. No way in hell is it only performers and crew that are getting nailed by the defacto lock out. Producers continue to dig a film release graveyard.

  Comment by Sterling Wolfe — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 10:48am PST  Reply to this post

• It’s like watching a slow motion train wreck, only the train has jumped the tracks and is plowing through your house. You can see the engineers fighting for control – too late. And it is the longest train ever…

  Comment by nelsound — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 10:54am PST  Reply to this post

• Um, no, CTSadler, that’s the definition of a “delay”. A suspension makes it go away. Which it hasn’t (but still might).

  True Indie, it’s not SAG’s blunder. Can you read?

  And Rabble, I know you think you’re funny – but you’re not. There is actually confusion – brought on by the mogul-sucking media. And lots has been done since October, as you well know. You and Michael Richards should get together and do a stand-up roadshow.

  First everyone busts on SAG NegCom for not doing any and everything to avoid a strike. And when NegCom and the entire board tries everything to avoid a strike – and this takes time because they all have to vote on it – they get busted on again. This is exactly why SAG members like myself don’t “listen” to people like you. You have nothing to offer but negative criticism, usually founded on incorrect or misinterpreted “information”, and without offering any viable alternative suggestions. It’s easy to point a finger and say, “Hey you! Do it better!” But unless you have a better answer (under the circumstances) – a better way of doing it – you’re nothing but a loudmouth.

  In this news note, SAG simply corrected a mistake by the media to clear up some misinformation, for chrissakes. They didn’t announce a feature film embargo on Syria. Pretty much a non-story.

  We all wish that the AMPTP would figure out and accept that SAG isn’t going down without a fight (even a bloody one), and offer a moderately improved contract. Which, as we all know, would get the entire industry back to work; people again being able to afford to keep their families fed and clothed; people again being able to survive, etc. But greed blinds people to what’s really important, so the rich moguls sit in their ivory tower and pull the strings of their negotiator puppets (AMPTP) so they don’t get sullied in the bloodletting below. Let’s not forget who’s causing this impasse.

  You non-SAG commenters want SAG to care about you – to not “be selfish” in this negotiation, and to “take one for the team”? Do you think the moguls care one whit that you’re working or not? Do you think they care if they produce a film in Canada to save a few bucks? Do you think they care that shooting in New Mexico or Louisiana or Prague harms the industry here at home?

  There’s your lack of work.

  Remember that if feature projects aren’t getting greenlit, it’s the producers who aren’t greenlighting them (along with completion bond companies), not SAG. They’re making that decision based on the outcome of another choice they made (to stand firm on a shit contract offer to SAG). Any TV shows that are “going AFTRA” (supposedly because of SAG’s lack of a contract) were going AFTRA anyway. Sucks for SAG to not be able to low-ball its members into bankruptcy and destitution (by using the AFTRA playbook), but that’s how we roll.

  When this is all over, SAG will have taken a very intense look at itself and we will figure out a way to get back to doing what we do – provide talent for entertainment. We are not going away, and this contract (in whatever form it ends up) will not kill SAG. We will also, most likely, have that better contract because of the work our NegCom has done and still will do. In that sense, all of this will have been worth it.

  Comment by Ace — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 11:01am PST  Reply to this post

• What on Earth is going ON over there?!? It’s like the two hands are trying to clap alone. SAG, get your act together! The congloms will ALWAYS have the upper hand if U are bickering internally like this (like U did with AFTRA e.g.) and make U weaker. Help out your friggin constituency, not yourselves!

  Comment by F. — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 11:31am PST  Reply to this post

• “What on Earth is going ON over there?!?”

  What’s going on, sadly, is the end of SAG.

  At first it was humorous. Then it was irritating. Then it was frustrating.

  But then… well then it became infuriating, when they were zealously and incessantly beating the let’s-go-on-strike-that’ll-fix-’em! drum.

  Then it was slightly amusing, but more frustrating when all the infighting started happening.

  Then it was wonderment, when AFTRA started mopping up nearly all TV pilot coverage. That is, PRIMETIME TV pilots, not soaps. Shows that were always the jurisdiction of SAG were now going to become HD-shooting, AFTRA-covered shows. And SAG didn’t get it. They still don’t. That’s the real tragedy here: By stalling and insisting that they couldn’t sign the contract and deal with it again in three years, they have self-destructed.

  Frankly, I don’t know what the hell the point is of even holding a SAG card anymore. The TV schedule was a bread and butter market for SAG’s membership. If they all have to get an AFTRA card in order to work, because there is no more work available through SAG coverage, then what’s the point? Sure, there will still be a few shows on the air that are relics of the SAG-covered days. But they won’t last forever. Make no mistake, they are dinosaurs. Especially when the networks and studios can cheaply pump out more and more pilots every year under the less expensive AFTRA contracts and HD-shooting. And, as far as other projects out there that are under SAG’s jurisdiction, what is there? Maybe a grand maximum of 50 feature projects a year? OK. So how are SAG’s 200K+ members going to get work on those few feature projects?

  SAG was one of the resounding voices in guaranteeing its own membership a high quality of comfort and fair treatment in the work place. And, by extension, they benefited others as well. The most stunning tragedy is that, in their determination not to have their union broken, it was that very determination which ALLOWED their union to be broken. And they still just can’t see it.

  I hope something can turn it around.

  Comment by ENOUGH ALREADY — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 12:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• Ace, please note above comment. I made somebody spit up breakfast cereal. Now, I’ve never been much of a Will & Grace fan, but it was on the air for awhile, so while I may not be -ahem- funny, I do have a smug sense of satisfaction right now.

  Furthermore, I believe suspend and delay are actually synonyms. Call me crazy, but I think most would agree.

  Now, jokes aside, SAG leadership somehow thinks this heel-dragging, in-fighting indecisiveness is somehow acceptable and will somehow translate into a business model that will provide life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all involved parties. I may not have any experience negotiating union contracts, but excuse me, that’s fucking stupid. And by the transitive properties of fucking stupidity, through your bottomless defense of these tactics, you’re sounding pretty fucking stupid yourself.

  But if you want to keep up the garrulous posts that we should burn the studios down for watching the bottom line, you misunderstand economics. Unions protect the workers, the laborers. The studios watch the bottom line. Now, through neglect & idiocy, SAG has allowed a bit of a fire to start, and while they claim they’re trying to put out the flames, they’re really just pissing down their legs.

  Hey, that’s just my opinion. And while I may not be a member of SAG, I do make my living off of this industry, so I do have a stake in these affairs, and am more than ready to see our industry, our state, and our lives flourish once again. Maybe I’m crazy. Who knows. Cheers.

  Comment by Rabble, Rabble. — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 12:17pm PST  Reply to this post

• At this point I suspect that the only way to get Hollywood back on track is for SAG members to ratify the contract. Anything else simply leaves it to warring internal factions to play games indefinitely.

  Comment by GuessTheresOneWayOut — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 12:32pm PST  Reply to this post

• This all would make a great tragic farce on the Lifetime network. With AFTRA actors, of course.

  Comment by Bryan — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 12:52pm PST  Reply to this post

• There was nothing inaccurate in the AP wire story. All it said was that the strike authorization lacked board support. It expressly noted that no formal action had been taken to suspend the strike authorization process.

  So, what exactly was SAG correcting?

  Comment by LA VO — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 1:06pm PST  Reply to this post

• Can I read? I’ve been reading and waiting since October – when the last move was made.

  Do or do not. There is no try.

  Comment by True Indie — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 2:09pm PST  Reply to this post

• Hey Ace,

  SUSPENSION
  1: the act of suspending : the state or period of being suspended: as a: temporary removal (as from office or privileges) b: temporary withholding (as of belief or decision) c: temporary abrogation of a law or rule

  Hope that clears it up for you.

  We all dig the long winded explanations you SAGgies give for why you’ve been holding up this contract for seven months; and we’ve been hearing them for that long. You are not going to get a better contract; why? Because your leadership and negotiating strategy has been an ABSOLUTE failure with EPIC levels of arrogance and incompetency. Your guild is going to sign the contract the day they get it in the mail if only because the actual WORKING portion of your guild has been starving since the writer’s strike. Is there any wonder why no one has seen the pro-strike contingent of your union on screen for the past decade?

  Comment by CTSadler — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 2:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• Okay, I admit it. I’m confused. What are we voting on, and when?

  Comment by TD — Friday January 23, 2009 @ 2:36pm PST  Reply to this post