Carl Icahn Now Wants ALL Of Lionsgate 
Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
7:45PM UPDATE: Here's an internal SAG memo:
Message from Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG DNED & General Counsel
Earlier today, a notice was served on Screen Actors Guild advising us that attorneys representing certain National Board members would be seeking an expedited injunction from the Los Angeles Superior Court prohibiting the Guild from implementing the provisions of the written assent of January 26, 2009. The notice sets the hearing for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow, February 3, 2009.
I am sending you this notice to keep you apprised of this action, and I will continue to keep you informed of further developments.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
Deputy National Executive Director
and General Counsel
6:35PM: Here is SAG's statement regarding the postponement of the SAG/AMPTP meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week:
Los Angeles, (February 2, 2009) – Screen Actors Guild today notified the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that the Guild had received a notice of intent to file a complaint tomorrow. In light of this circumstance, both parties have agreed to a postponement of their meeting and will reschedule at a later date. Screen Actors Guild has no further comment on the notice of intent received today or the postponement of tomorrow’s meeting.
6:15PM: Here is the AMPTP statement just issued:
"Screen Actors Guild has advised us that it has a court proceeding that will conflict with our meeting this week and for that reason both parties felt it made sense to reschedule the meeting to a later date."
4:30PM: "Screen Actors Guild today received a document that our legal team is reviewing. We have no further comment at this time," SAG just informed me. Now sources tell me this document is a legal move by SAG President Alan Rosenberg and Hollywood Division 1st National Vice-President Anne-Marie Johnson (a Membership First'er) to obtain a temporary restraining order that would seek an expedited injunction prohibiting SAG from implementing the provisions of the written assent of January 26th. An LA Superior Court hearing for 8:30 AM Tuesday. That would reinstate fired National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Doug Allen as well as the SAG Negotiating Committee. This comes just as the Hollywood Division board meets tonight about the restart tomorrow under the aegis of the SAG National majority consisting of most of the NY Division and Regional Branch Divisions and a minoriy of the Hollywood Division. Since he was ousted, Allen's job has been split in two with David White the new NED and John McGuire as new chief negotiator.
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what a great way to expend energy and $$ in the middle of all of this!
are u sure these people don’t really work for LA Unified School district?
This is just silly. So, instead of seeing what the new team can accomplish they would rather tear the union apart? What could possibly be their goal? If this succeeds (higly unlikely) there is no way the membership will unify and be in any position to achieve a SAV they claim they need for negotiation. So what is the goal? Is it just the fact that they lost contrl of the union and instead of accepting a new group has the majority they would rather destroy the entire union from the inside?
What a bunch of fucking babies! Move on already. You’re meeting with AMPTP tomorrow, for fuck’s sake!
I wouldn’t believe it if it weren’t so unbelievable.
I hope Rosenberg is enjoying his last job in this town.
SAG President Sues Sag?
Fillibuster logic anyone?
Who is funding this really?
to “for real?”
the answer to your question is…apparently yes.
If you’re a new member all I can say is…welcome to the Screen Actors Guild!
Rosenberg and Allen are totally incompetent. They split with AFTRA (broke rule 1);gave up the opportunity to negotiate early and possibly set the pattern. Remember when they were tied in with the WGA. The economy has turned. The television producers are free to sign with AFTRA for prime time TV. These guys have done serious damage to SAG and its health and welfare plans. What are they trying to prove. If they keep up their egotistical BS SAG will be bankrupt and gone the way of the SEG.
No question. Alan Rosenberg is single-handedly destroying SAG. There is no upside to this. Is there anyone within earshot of him that can talk some sense into him? This is like those investment bankers who recently tried to buy a multi-million dollar private jet last week, except this is 10 times more insane. Rather just being bad PR at the wrong time, this is going to add the movie business to the list of growing businesses the union isn’t in (i.e. TV and digital).
Rosenberg admitted in his own email that AMPTP will most likely reward the new neg-com for a reasonable approach with a better deal. I guess he can’t allow that.
Alan Rosenberg…you make me embarrassed to be in SAG. Go away already.
monkeys throwing feces at each other
gee- i’m so glad i just shelled out the $2335 (after getting nasty letters from the union even though i’m not must-join yet) only to find out i’m still pretty much on my own, huh? just with a lighter wallet. get a new hobby, alan! quit trying to ruin all our careers!
SAG has always been dysfunctional, but this is really just too much. As a SAG member for 15 years, nothing really surprises me anymore, but COME ON. What a bunch of idiots we all are for following Rosenberg anywhere. Alan, it’s time to shut the hell up and get the hell out of the way before SAG simply implodes. The studios now have the public’s empathy. All they have to do is point to us, roll their eyes and say “actors.” Implying we’re all a bunch of idiots. We’re NOT, but we certainly look that way to the world.
Thanks a lot Rosenberg. Now shut the hell up and stop screwing things up. It’s embarrassing already! You moron!
What a bunch of clowns. The CEO’s have to just be laughing their asses off at these guys.
I didn’t realize SAG was auditioning for the soap opera business.
Unbelievable.
Typical SAG. More drama queen bullshit. Still no progress. It’ll be 2020 and they still won’t have done shit.
Zackery? Mulhern? Ace? Ball’s in your court.
ASSHOLE ALAN!! Never forget that he said “actors are children” in his recent interview.
Can we “written assent” Rosenberg’s ass out of here already?
How utterly depressing. I was going to type a joke version of the standard pro-Allen/Rosenberg response and then just reminded myself that it wouldn’t make the futility of this whole debacle go away. And the LA side of the film industry continues to bleed internally…
Had to call some friends and break the bad news, that wasn’t fun. They’ve been unemployed for quite a while, and will for quite a while yet. I’m guessing Rosenberg is hoping the judge will set a date for sometime next month so we can go right back to where Doug Allen had this whole thing for the last 7-8 months… absolutely nowhere.
Woohoo! THE SKY IS FALLING!
45 years I’ve been a member of SAG and NOTHING – NOTHING – compares to Alan Rosenberg’s hubris, lack of grace and sheer incompetence. “If I can’t have it, YOU can’t!” Who IS THIS BIRD? And who told this little rich kid HE was supposed to lead the Big Migration? HOPELESS moron.
Oh dear. Oh dear. I retract my statement from last week about the final nail in the coffin. They’re still pounding them in.
Thought things would get back on track, but sadly mistaken.
DJ 3000: “Those clowns in
CongressSAG did it again. What a bunch of clowns.”Bill: [laughs] “How does it keep up with the news like that?”
I wonder if this has anything to do with the way the “assent” procedure was implemented.
First he wanted he wanted a Strike Authorization Vote. But he dragged that on for months. Then he wanted members to vote on the contract as is. Then he complained because there was no vote.
Whatever the results of the now postponed negotiations the Task Force would ask for either a Strike Authorization Vote or a vote on the contract. But now Rosenberg apparently only wants a vote on his (and only his) terms or… he just wants to keep dragging this on and on and on….
Have you heard his new song on You Tube? No joke, he posted a protest song on You Tube this week. The Daily Show couldn’t have done a better job.
The only good thing that can be said about this
is that it finally and forever sinks Alan Rosenberg,
ruins Anne-Marie Johnson’s chance at being elected SAG President,
and puts the finishing touches on the demise of Membership First.
The members of SAG now can see clearly that these people
have NEVER – NEVER – had the good of the members at heart.
just goes to show you how much alan and amj ‘really care’ about thier fellow actors…or the union. scorched earth mentality.
this too shall pass…and rosenberg will be booed when he leaves town just like Bush was when he flew off in his helicopter
I’ve been calling them The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, but that’s a misnomer. In fact, their aim is quite true: they’ve shot themselves in the foot yet again.
There are some sharp writers in Hollywood. But the best of them couldn’t make THIS shit up.
Does it have a wow finish? I mean like wow.
You poor actors, get this shit overwith one way or another and have a fucking constitutional convention or something. You’ve got way too many board members, and no leadership to come with it.
Wow. I mean fucking wow.
Be patient.
Is Rosenberg the only member of SAG who has any balls? I hope he gets his injunction!
lol. The UFS people only like it when they pull a coup. Alan and Allen are fighting for a better contract and no rollbacks or giveaways. The NY and RB people just want to rush to the table and take whatever piece of shite offer the AMPTP hand them and drool as it will be signed no matter what.
Besides if Tom Ligon is against it, then it has to be right.
As someone who works in this industry but is not a member of SAG this saddens me. What possible purpose could this serve other than to bolster to bruised ego of a person who didn’t get his way?
Fuck SAG. Let’s just shoot on hi-def and be done with it.
Ace, be patient? Are you kidding me?
Enjoy your AFTRA auditions.
Okay, we’re offically screwed. Egos are taking over and it’s never going stop. Everything that either side will try to do for the next 5 years will be caught up in this bullshit and NOTHING will get done.
It’s a very sad day for SAG. This constant battle will be the death of SAG and of any gains. Kiss a merger, decent contract, strength in negotiations and any possiblity of a chance at New Media officially gone. MF will never let this go and will work to overturn every single attempt by anyone else to move the union forward. We will never stop fighting each other and we will live forever in limbo.
Sad.
Be patient.
Comment by Ace — February 2, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Oh, now that’s freakin’ brilliant.
You mean for more than the last 7+ months? While the industry packs up and moves the rest of their crap off shore?
Very inspiring… although thankfully shorter than usual.
I don’t know if this is a brilliant riposte of the United For Suckers faction, or bad strategy… but I have to admit, it’s kind of awesome how much it pisses off some of the “to hell with actors’ (well-deserved) residuals, I demand you give in to the AMPTP NOW!” people here.
I say this not because I hate them (I don’t), but because I despise their eagerness to destroy OTHERS’ financial well-being to put money in their own pockets.
This is fascinating to watch. Not pretty, but a gold mine for us writers. If some of you would trust in your guild to fight for your rights,
I am OVER this fucking treehouse behavior! Get out of your friggin treehouse U SAG leader BRATS and get back to the fuckin negotiating table! Do U even know how to DO a deal anyjmore???? (OK that was my Bale response to SAG…)
NY put a stop to the strike authorization…because they are AFRAID OF THE MEMBERS MAJORITY..that knows we NEED A STRIKE AUTHORIZATION to have any strength in negotiations.
NY is acting like a bunch of weak, pathetic pussies!
GO ALAN & DOUG Please don’t give up the majority of SAG members that support you!!!!
The only reason Doug was ousted is because of ART LYNCH from Nevada making it 52%
Art doesnt have one credit yet single handedly is ruining our union.
Some actual SAG members are more focused on the Contract than this juvenile personal assault on the people who are actually fighting for your future.
A taste of what happened today from Variety:
“SAG’s Membership First faction, which lost control of the national board in September, staged a protest in front of SAG headquarters Monday afternoon with about 60 supporters prior to an evening meeting of SAG’s Hollywood board. Picket signs criticized the ouster of Allen and the new-media terms of the AMPTP’s final offer, along with slamming high-profile stars for coming out against a strike authorization vote.
“Let the members vote, you arrogant New York cowards,” read one picket sign carrried by former national board member Mark Carlton.
Longtime SAG member Terry Becker (”Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”) called the firing of Allen “shameful” and predicted that members would vote down the deal over concerns about its new-media provisions.
Alan R. and D. Allen will be forever immortalized as the Two Crybabies Who Forever Broke SAG. Forget about residuals, forget about New Media, and forever forget about striking. These clowns are organized labor’s worst enemies and the AMPTM’s best buddies.
Be patient.
Comment by Ace — February 2, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
Oh, now that’s freakin’ brilliant.
Comment by W. Bush
Thank you.
P.S. “The industry” isn’t moving itself offshore – it’s moving itself to other states which offer kickbacks to producers. Record gains for the moguls, people. Record gains…
Anything that keeps the UFS idiots from giving away the sink is fine by me. He’s doing what he thinks is right, which is his right as president, which he was elected as.
Did you honestly think it would just end? Did you UFS idiots not realize you tore the union in half with your actions?
The infighting is now going to go on for a long, long time.
“Fuck SAG. Let’s just shoot on hi-def and be done with it.”
Already happening, CT. SAG is its own worst enemy. They should have read the handwriting on the wall a loooooooooooooooooooooong time ago. But they’ve done themselves in. Now, the proverbial walls have been completely covered over in said proverbial handwriting. Soon, it will all be AFTRA.
Jaw-dropping behavior, isn’t it? Just the most stunning, disorganized chaos. You couldn’t write this crap. Well, you could, but the studio execs and agents would tell you it’s too far-fetched.
It’s unfortunate. SAG was a great union. Before it imploded.
I think MF did an excellent job for me and still is. The AMPTP is offering us a crap deal. We the majority of members know it. We will NEVER ratify this crap deal. All the SAG members I talk to know that this is a crap AMPTP offer. They support the MF team. We all hope we can get Doug Allen back and the negotiating team. The AMPTP is offering bus crap. Thank god for Doug Allen and Allan Rosenberg. The majority of rank and file members support you! We will reject the offer AGAIN. GO GE DOUG BACK ! ! !
Alan is protecting the members — Most of whom hate the proposed deal.
Sorry folks, but 4000 people supported the original negotiating team, with 1500 un verified signatures supporting Danny DeVito’s “lets make a deal now” petition.
4000 verified signatures versus 1500 unverified ones.
Looks to me like those who care enough to get involved (like the 5000 or so SAG Members who make over $20K a year?) have ‘voted’ 2 to 1 to support the original negotiating team.
If UFS did not break the rules, and did not violate California Corporation law, or violate the SAG Constitution — negotiations with the UFS ‘task force’ will resume in a day or so.
If UFS did break the rules, it would seem the negotiations will resume with the old committee.
All the whiners and doomsdayers should let the process unfold.
If it was YOUR Union, and if one faction violated the law or unfairly trampled the rights of members wouldn’t you want a Court to protect ‘innocent’ members?
After how many months of working without a new deal, what’s a few more days?
While I know that UFS/NY/RBD does not represent the majority of the membership in what they did, at a certain point it all becomes a pissing match that only has meaning to the Board members frittering the member’s money away fighting while AFTRA gets stronger by the minute.
They have only one option left to pull this out of the fire… MF has to get legal authority to seize the assets of SAG, kick back 30% to run a new “SAG East” out of NY, keep 70% in Hollywood (representing the percentage of work out here)… take the new “SAG West” out of the AFL-CIO and join with Teamsters… go to the NLRB – get the membership to vote “SAG West” as their bargaining unit for all scripted work… and kick AFTRA to the curb. THEN they’ll have leverage to negotiate real contracts.
Anything short of that scenario, and a year from now, if they haven’t merged with AFTRA (meaning, been taken over by them), SAG will be a shell of a union with collective agreements for about 20% of commercials (if any, since AFTRA will probably use last night’s rally to get out of jointly negotiating the commercial agreement and will sign a low-ball agreement a few weeks from now), collective agreements on the few feature films that aren’t being shot on Hi-Def, but mostly, will be an office collecting and distributing old residuals. There sure won’t be many new residuals when we’re all working under AFTRA contracts.
SAG will be completely dead by 2011. They’ll just keep a little office open to distribute old $4 residuals checks and administer the P&H fund that will last for another 15 years (or maybe 10 because of the depression we’re going into) before it runs out. Yup, younger members, don’t expect any retirement money after about 2025 if you’re vested – if SAG dies now, so does your pension and health care when you’re old. Oh, and you’ll never qualify for AFTRA’s plan unless you’re a series regular for years (ie celebrity) – you have to be doing VERY well before you get a pension credit over there.
It’s now or never for SAG, but given MF’s past behavior, I doubt they’d have the balls for all they’re going to have to do to keep this from going completely south. It’s too far gone. Thanks for good intentions, MF, but your “Membership First” mantra meant nothing because you were too afraid to change with the times and take on stupid little AFTRA when they saw how weak you were and decided to eat you alive.
Pilots are being approved now. Now. Like, this week. When pilots are approved, they set up their contracts. Contracts that run for the life of the series. We may have just lost an entire season of television because of MF. Everything. And if pilots shot in HD under AFTRA code are successful, what possible reason would there be to come back to SAG? All of this because of the egos involved in an internal union squabble.
MF has failed to negotiate seven contracts. Their administration has had no success whatever on any front. Those of you singing Alan’s praises for “fighting to stop rollbacks” and holding the line, seriously: that’s some great working class hero bullshit, but do you care about results at all?
Nobody (nobody rational, anyway) is saying to sign the LBO. But we were right on the precipice of going in to maybe obtain a better deal. To TRY at least, which is more than has been done in months. Does this really not shake any of you pro-MF people’s faith in your leadership? They are the ones splitting the union, not NY or UFS or any of the other straw men.
Alan Rosenberg, Anne Marie Johnson and their supporters are destroying SAG from within.
If the “majority” of SAG’s national board used extra-legal means to oust NED Doug Allen and replace the negotiating committee with a “task force”, then clearly Doug Allen should be reinstated and the committee put back into the negotiating process.
President Rosenberg and VP Johnson are looking out for the best interests of the guild and the membership with this challenge. If the shoe were on the other foot, if it was Rosenberg who had done something questionable, Tom Ligon and a lot of the commenters here would be yelling for his head on a platter.
I’m not yelling for anyone’s head. IMHO, the legal challenge is a good idea, whether the requested injunction is granted or not. Let’s make sure we’re doing everything by the book.
Who does Rosenberg et al. even represent anymore? This is all just petty nonsense and everyone knows it. He’s intentionally trying to sabatoge those who deposed Allen in order to make himself not look so bad.
Pathetic.
This is another sad development. I know many people in the movie industry were anxious for these meetings to happen today and tomorrow. Now we have to sit and wait for a later date… As we sit and wait more people are losing their jobs, their homes… These last 7 months of waiting have been as hard as if SAG would have striked! Lets just make a decision and move forward! Please!
These MF freaks have no regard for what a Union means. Screw our constitution which the members wrote…who cares…we’ll just have a “civil war” ok alan and who will you play?
what a joke. They (MF) won’t allow anyone to try to make a deal..how does that make sense.
“give away the sink?” have you read it…just a bunch of freakish background idiots.
Unemployment,,,,,, HERE WE COME!! Way to go SAG/Producers. Bunch of dicks with ears.
Dammit…I really needed weekend work.
It’s absolutely amazing: You have the best NED in SAG’s history… but the backstory is, New York and the RBD are trying to hiJack this Union in the middle of negotiations. So the usual band of anti-Membership ninnies are hysterically ranting all over this page,, people who NEVER went through the successful attempt to receive Residuals wayback when (I was there) are saying the usual VHS/DVD Giveaway stuff:
“Oh wait… just wait until the Producers show some profit before we intervene….” BLA…Bla… BLA!!!
Reality Check: Producers NEVER show a profit! Remember Art Buchwald and “Coming To America?” The film made HUNDREDS of millions of dollars but it was a NEGATIVE investment, according to Paramount it NEVER made a dime – Scary Stuff!
If you DO NOT strike (or threaten to Strike) Residuals as you know them are GONE! Period – End of Story. With the end of Residuals, the entire pay structure for the working actors (MINUS the names) will be gone, and working actors will not be able to survive and raise families and provide Healthcare, ad infinitum
You want that, line up with Ned Vaughn and his bunch of anti-union HiJackers and the Multimillionaire Actor/Producers (like Cromwell & Farrel) that fund those masquarading dufi.
Hey Ace -
I at least respect Mulhern for holding his tongue. You can’t help but get in and try and make some sense of this brilliant move on Rosenberg’s part. What a fucking dink.
And your pathetic echoes of ‘RECORD GAINS FOR THE MOGULS!’ doesn’t mean shit. Should these fellas be making $30m a year? Probably not. But they’re getting paid that to manage a slate consisting of billions spent in production, prints, & advertising. And yes, they often execute these plans to mediocre ends. But considering all of the variables, all of the options inherent to that position, taking productions out of state is simply good fiscal sense. You call it kickbacks, I call it common sense. Granted, you praise Alan Rosenberg, and the writing’s on the wall.
Really? Can someone please give Doug Allen & Alan Rosenberg a shoe horn so they can remove their heads from their ass cavities? I am so glad their egos are more important to them than the well-being of their entire union and the industry.
And you SAG people out there—you better find some teamster balls and start DEMANDING some real leadership or we are all going to drown in your union’s misery.
This is just pathetic.
Are they still getting paid for this- where is the money coming from? Noone wants these guys any more- leave!
Dear Alan:
What exactly are you trying to achieve? Let’s say you’re successful and get your man back in there. Who exactly do you think is going to listen to him? Or take him seriously? AMPTP? The 53% who voted to get rid of him? The overwhelming majority of SAG members who would vote against a strike authorization? (And, no I don’t have the actual numbers on that but the fact that you and your colleagues keep putting that vote off leads to believe that you do).
Allen it’s over. It’s over. Barack Obama was elected POTUS with 53% of the popular vote and it’s considered a landslide. Your side (and its tactics or lack thereof) has been repudiated. It’s time for you to go. We’ve got it from here. This is not about you. Or what you want. Thanks for your hard work but, my friend, when the best you’ve got is a restraining order you guys are done.
SAG board members fiddle while their union burns.
Meantime, all the new pilots will be shot under AFTRA.
Schwartzenagger do somethiing or are you deaf.
For any SAG member who has been supporting this for all these months, please, step back, take a reasonable look at this and ask yourself who this ultimately benefits. Think this has been good for SAG?
“HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! (AMPTP reaction)
Enough already! This is why SAG and other unions don’t work and should be disbanded. What they are doing with all this stalling should be illegal. They know they are not going to get the strike vote and yet they don’t want to negotiate a contract. You can’t have it both ways. SAG members should be glad for what they do get. In what other business does the boss pay employees guaranteed minimums, benefits (i.e. health care) and then share a piece of the profits (i.e. residuals). I can’t think of one. A lot of the industry lives on just a paycheck and that’s all. It’s fucked up that SAG can put thousands of people out of work and hold the industry hostage like the mob just for their petty bullshit. Fuck SAG! Get the contract done so the rest of us can get back to work! We would like to have our jobs.
As a member of one of the lower locals, let me say, this the most selfish group of so-called union members on the west coast, first the writers, now the actors, both Guilds have driving this industry down the drain with out a single once of remorse or regret to those that have lost homes, cars, bank accounts, savings, putting children thru school, they should be ASHAMED, but you know they won’t even admit that their action’s have hurt, JUST FUCKING SHAMEFULL
so….first there was a demand for doug Allen to step down. then they didn’t do that the right way so they had to go back and put it in writing…which they did….then….they put a team together to go back to the table that seem to work and made the other side happy…(not a bad thing)….then Alan says….no….you didn’t do it the right way….so….why haven’t the rest of SAG removed him as well? are the stuck with him….you can remove heads of state and nations but you can’t get rid of the head of SAG….
so…once this is all done (which will hopefully be soon) and the contract is signed…(again hopefully soon)…and SAG does survive…(hmmm)…then perhaps it is time to rethink how SAG is run….no disrespect to the actors….but there is a reason why in their careers they consult with managers and agents….and now maybe managers and agents should be running SAG (with out a vote) and keep it running smoothly…..just a thought…..
Be patient.
Comment by Ace — February 2, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
I just realized something about you, Ace. While I’ve always enjoyed you and Matt’s high energy analysis I’ve always found your blinders about the reality of our situation mystifying.
Then you wrote:
“The industry” isn’t moving itself offshore – it’s moving itself to other states which offer kickbacks to producers. Record gains for the moguls, people. Record gains…”
You wrote this as if it’s a bad thing that producers are finding ways to save money by filming IN OUR OWN COUNTRY. As if it could somehow be bad that states and producers are working together to bring production to say…New Mexico. Or Michigan.
And I realized…YOU DON’T LIKE THIS BUSINESS. You don’t WANT anyone to be successful. You LOVE THIS DRAMA. C’mon, admit it. This bullshit infighting in our own guild is more interesting to you than actually making movies or television…you want us to be patient because YOU DO NOT WANT IT TO END.
But this is how organizations like this end, they become more interested in their own machinations than in the industry they’re supposed to be a part of.
I’m so fucking mad and afraid for my kids, my friends kids, their homes, their lives, noone gives a damn in this selfish town, i mean really, noones does, it’s just me, me,me, thats, the way these guilds work
We should start sending all our unpaid bills directly to rosenberg’s home address,
There were 166 postings on Bale — an actor going nutso on set (if you’ve ever worked w an actor, esp a methody actor, yeah this is real newz) vs SAG imploding and holding the town hostage. WTF! My husband hasn’t worked in close to three months– he’s a feature guy and NO FEATURES ARE BEING GREENLIT! THAT’S NEWS!
And all the pilots are going to AFTRA, I’m sure of it. Why not? But film? You can’t shoot a studio film on hi-def (that’s not indie in style) That’s the news — where’s the attention on this!??????
I would be surprised by Alan’s actions if I hadn’t seen this before. You know the commercial about Coke suing Coke Zero for taste infringement. At least the commercial was funny and someone got paid from it. Allen is throwing away all of your hard earned money while you sit at home earning NOTHING! Do something about this idiot already.
Oh wait Ace told us to be patient…I am sure the mortgage companies and unemployment will wait another 7+ months with us since ACE HAS SPOKEN
If the shoe were on the other foot, if it was Rosenberg who had done something questionable,
Comment by mheister — February 3, 2009 @ 3:09 am
I think that’s just the point. Rosenberg has done something questionable, or more to the point, nothing.
Going on 8 months w/o a contract, or even a mechanism to get the AMPTP to come to the table, is extremely questionable, and does not leave the membership of SAG in a position of leverage. Right or wrong, the AMPTP has proved (again) that they have more resources to weather labor dispute than SAG (or WGA, DGA, AFTRA and IATSE) have resources to cause corporate pain.
This strategy isn’t working, and continuing it is highly questionable. What’s next, the Surge?
Meanwhile more of our work is leaving town. Off shore our out of state, it doesn’t really matter, because we aren’t getting paid to do it.
Sorry M
I am so flattered that you think that actors control this town, That we make all the big deals and hold all the power that makes & Breaks the entertainment industry.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
This whole thing is one more example corporate greed assaulting the middle class. From the beginning what we have asked for is beans in contrast to the multi-millions the studios pull in.
You must have liked $5/gallon gas only to find out that exxon/mobile enjoyed a $40 billion dollar profit this past quarter.
You blame actors because its easy. Its a cop out. If you were a real union man would be wise to look at the bigger picture. The studios and the AMPTP could have ended this for us both long ago but instead they got you to hate actors. Wake up!
We need to get Governor Schwarzenegger involved in this ridiculous situation. Below are links to the petition that will be going to him as well as the link to send him emails directly. Flood his ofice with your please – be heard. You’re right – this should be in the news every day.
http://www.petitiononline.com/SAG90210/petiti on.html
http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact – to contact Governor Schwarzenegger
Rabble Rabble
Thanks for the rare compliment that I was “holding my tongue” – it was more “I’m working, then I went to bed and I live in NY”
Let’s have a refresher course for the merger zombies shall we:
1. SAG offered unsignable contract. Previously UNTHINKABLE give-backs. Residuals. clip consent. Product placement. Force Majeure. Nonunion space in own contract, against core principal of union.
2. Contract SO outrageous, SAG leadership, if it failed anywhere, failed here: they figured “this will be easy to rally membership on.”
3. WRONG. Membership can’t get its shit together. Why? Because the usuals suspects: NY led by Richard “I will NEVER strike” Masur, and the RBD: “we have NO CREDITS but we somehow actually have a say, and all we care about is increasing our say, so we can continue not being mainstream actors but having a serious influence on SAG,” and this new faction in L.A. led by Opie Vauughn, Amy Brenneman and Adam Arkin who want one thing and one thing only – merger, and don’t really give a shit about middle-class actors or THIS CONTRACT that sells them down the river.
That freak-show triumverate immediately gets to work rallying their constituencies NOT to support SAG leadership ,and soon enough, to their dismay, Rosenberg and Allen realize that EVEN THIS CONTRACT can’t get these people up above their partisan politics to support their duly elected leader (twice!)and give him the support he needs to achieve the only weapon that matters: a Strike Authorization Vote.
The AMPTP is well aware, and, as usual, sits back while SAG feeds on itself because of the merger-zombies who view this (and have publicly stated so) as an opportunity to “weaken SAG and merge with AFTRA.”
THIS CONTRACT? Nah, fuck it, “we” have bigger things in mind. This is an opportunity to roll a stun grenade right into the boardroom, and while everyone is reeling, steal the union and then destroy it by merging with AFTRA.
You all realize that’s the plan, yes? You think these people give a good goddamn about residuals, or clip consent, or product placement or force majeure? They are BEGGING to give it away!
They are ready, willing and , unless this injunction stops them, able, to walk into AMPTP headquarters, take the political pay-off (whadd’ya figure – Force Majeure and Taft-Hartley? ) that comes with ousting actual hard-nosed negotiators and replacing them with the usual suspect “go-along-to-get-along” leadership, led by David White and John McGuire.
The OUTRAGE, the “can you believe this?!” fakery of those who would see the union high-jacked, then destroyed by a handful of UFS people in Hollywood and the NY and RBD boards, is LAUGHABLE.
Justice. Justice. Justice.
And then:
Accountability for those who perpetreted this coup.
I got my Equity card in 1960. I got my SAG card in 1961. I got my WGA card in 1973. For nearly 40 years I was fortunate enough to earn a living and raise a family through these Guilds. I paid dues, walked the picket lines and wholeheartedly supported my unions. This is very sad indeed! It’s amazing how few pinheads it takes to pop a balloon!
Anonrighter: you can’t shoot a feature on HD today, but it’s not far off. I read somewhere recently (in an article not at all taking consideration of SAG, AFTRA or otherwise – it was about the tech) that both Raimi and Favreau were doing camera tests with Red for Spiderman 4 and Iron Man 2 respectively. You’re right about all pilots going to AFTRA after this – why wouldn’t they? – and there’s a pretty good likelihood that film will start to follow sooner or later (just like the inexorable transition to digital in professional still photography). Then, SAG is done.
Rosenberg and his cabal are “protecting” nothing. They’re destroying the union. If this motion fails? If this lawsuit is thrown out? They’ll be back to “protect the future of the union” with whatever their next angle is. They’ll keep right on protecting the union as the whole business leaves them behind and guts SAG.
It’s just stunning, isn’t it? You MF supporters rallying around the flag? Alan Rosenberg has accomplished not one thing in his tenure. Nothing. He has not completed on a single contract, he ended phase one (allowing prime time to go to AFTRA), he’s spent millions of dollars bashing another union and is now spending YOUR DOLLARS to sue his own union. Yet you still support him blindly and without criticizing even this latest act of union immolation.
Was it not just a couple of weeks ago that the MF rallying cry was, “send out the LBO!” A couple of months since you all demanded to “let the voters decide” about the LBO? Today we were going to see a new team go in to try and get a better deal. They would have sent that deal out and you could have voted against it. But Rosenberg doesn’t want that and neither do his reflexive supporters.
Because if the other side sends out a deal that passes, MF is done. All they care about is who gets credit, and they’re prepared to destroy the union to ensure it.
To me (and probably to a number of you as well), what’s so frightening about this is that the arguably cornerstone business for SAG actors — that would be TELEVISION — is currently being transferred lock, stock and barrel to AFTRA. “Anonymous” deftly echoed this observation earlier when making the point that, once the studios discover how much cheaper and easier it is all around to shoot HD under the AFTRA banner, do you honestly believe that the studios would suddenly spend more money to hand over a pilot to SAG when it’s going to cost them more?
Have any of you who support what the current administration has done (or simply not done) considered that? What is SAG going to do without television coverage for its members? Let me repeat that question because it should cause you to shudder: What is SAG going to do without television coverage for its members? You understand, right? The bread and butter staple of actors is being yanked away because of the past year of shenanigans.
OK, this is just nutz…
Passive-aggressive, impulsive, borderline…
Gawd, if this happened in real life the people doing this (both sides) would be unemployable…
Unfortunately this legal action is a necessary step since Ned Vaughn and his cronies at Unite For Strength acted impulsively in hijacking the negotiating committee and left many legal holes in their action.
While a cursory exam of the documents led to Doug Allen stepping down and Alan Rosenberg being gagged one would have to expect there would be a full examination of the documents and, if warranted, challenges to their legality.
The Board Members who filed this latest legal claim seeking an injunction are working on behalf of the entire membership, 87% of whom let the Board know we needed a better contract and let their voices be heard in support of Doug Allen and Alan Rosenberg. Many of those members also supported the 97% vote of the Board to send out a strike authorization to the members.
The membership was not considered in Vaughn’s coup and so there are obviously repercussions. Any UNION is about the good, needs, and desire of the entire membership.
Because of the hasty means the Unite For Strength members used to orchestrate this coup, and frankly they have virtually no legal experience, there have been many stumbling blocks created.
Some of those blocks are; Vaughn, who is a Hollywood Alternate Board Member not a National Board Member opened and ultimately solidified negotiations with interim executive director David White which is likely outside the scope of Vaughn’s authority as someone outside the National Board. Also White is currently working without a contract and without an established salary and responsibilities which creates obvious legal concerns if he were to walk into an AMPTP session claiming he is representing the membership. It is not clear what his duties are legally at this time. And his installment as interim executive director is far from a done deal.
You wanna really lose your minds, you should know that the strike referendum is not off the table. Although it seems White was quoted saying it was not the right time to strike it is not clear whether he has any authority whatever in the negotiations because of the sloppy nature of the overthrow of the existing negotiating team.
And the document that brought “Letter of Assent” into our vernacular does not trump or even address the strike referendum which was approved by 97% of the Board. So as it stands the duty for the Board to send out the Strike Referendum to the membership is still in place. (Let’s have it.)
While I firmly believe the AMPTP is to blame in stalling the negotiations by offering a ridiculous contract and bullying the SAG membership, this most recent setback comes from SAG’s side of the table. That, I feel, is an unfortunate turn.
While I think Vaughn and his gals think they speak for the membership as a whole, I think they are finding their supports who gave each of them about 4,000 votes in the most recent election reflect a tiny percentage of the membership. If these court actions are not able to reverse Vaughn and Company’s underhanded actions there are regulations in line to protect the membership in other ways including, but not limited to, a petition to overthrow their action of silencing our President and our negotiator.
So while Vaughn may have felt pretty clever for a few days he has succeeded only in stalling negotiations for a long time and that responsibility falls on his shoulder along with Gabrielle Carteris, Kate Walsh, Amy Brenneman, Adam Arkin, Morgan Fairchild and all the others who signed the ill-conceived Letter of Assent.
I personally stand firmly behind my elected President Allan Rosenberg and Negotiator Doug Allen who in my opinion still represent the membership. I realize folks who are not professional actors don’t understand the contract needs of actors. I will admit I don’t understand the needs of writers, directors, IATSE and others. But I will say I trust the solidarity of all of our unions and I have and will stand behind the membership of any UNION anywhere because to do anything else would be to give over your livelyhood to the agenda of corporations to amass wealth at your expense– and an intellegent observer knows that your expense is actually at OUR expense.
If you want to end this contract dispute almost immediately and get back to work please urge A-List SAG members like Clooney, Damon, Hanks, DeVito, Diaz, Baldwin, Field, Carrell, Alexander, Alda, Theron and even Cromwell from the B-list to look out from behind their money and support the cause of their UNION and allow their fellow working actors a living wage and health care for our children. How could they be against that? How could anyone be about that?
In the gruff words of Tom Carvel, “Thanks for your support.”
Why do people think accepting this shitty contract is going to put them to work? Who cares if you’re working when you’re not making any money???
To AL R, if your union had balls, they would do whats right. I grew up with steel workers in the mid west, they had they say, but they did the right thing for EVERYONE, so don’t give me that real union worker shit, i grew up with it.
I don’t understand why absolutely everyone doesn’t switch to video and just use AFTRA? Isn’t that becoming more and more possible and more and more inevitable? Just make the switch.
And by the way, i haven’t seen the guilds support for the locals or the teamsters brothers lately, AL R, thats being union, not having a big mouth show boat in charge looking out for his own image
I don’t hate actors, or anyone, but, whats right is to give EVERYONE back the chance to work pay their bills and take care of their family’s, i call it as i see it and thats what i see, if you don’t see that then you should wise up
Real unions allow their membership to vote because they understand the membership *is* the union.
MF is fighting for the right of the membership to vote. UFS wants to make shitty back room deals that will ensure working actors never see another residual.
If MF succeeds, the membership will be allowed to vote. Go MF!
Didn’t Lucas film Episode III entirely with HD and not film?
I was asked my opinion with regards to Alan Rosenberg’s filing and I said two little words – “Be patient” – and everyone has their panties in a twist.
‘Love’s Labors Lost’ is calling me names and insinuating many untrue things about me and my beliefs.
And then we have ‘Rabble Rabble: “Hey Ace -
I at least respect Mulhern for holding his tongue. You can’t help but get in and try and make some sense of this brilliant move on Rosenberg’s part. What a fucking dink.” And s/he goes on…
Where did I try to make sense of Alan’s motion? WTF? You sound exactly like what you accuse “the hardliners” of: name-calling and fevered rhetoric when others don’t agree with you.
Many/most of the earliest posts on this topic were MF-haters stomping their feet, screaming bloody murder and having tantrums with their hair on fire that their little coup may get overturned. I don’t know if it will be or not. I don’t know what Alan has in mind with this TRO, and it’s a complete surprise to me. All I said was, “be patient”. Nor do I know what Doug Allen has to do with this, or if he would even deign to turn his face again to SAG members, the way some of us have treated him. And as of today ’s late news, it sounds like they simply need to cross some Ts and dot some Is and they’ll be back on Thursday.
To my second comment (which got LLL imagining my fondest desires)… The point I was making is that most of the irate people commenting lately are all bitching because there’s not enough filming going on in “Hollywood”, as most of us in the industry live and work here. But placing the bulk of that blame on SAG is bullshit. Yes, film moguls have stalled some projects fearing a SAG labor action. But before we had this stall in contract negotiations, film production in SoCal was way down already – mostly because of other states (and countries) offering “tax abatements” to producers, as well as cheap crews in Canada and abroad. This slowdown isn’t on SAG’s shoulders.
People who feel like “m” above are _____________ (angry) about the lack of work here. We all are. But blaming SAG is just taking the easy way out, and shooting the messenger(s). Producer’s greed and insouciance about their own local industry is what’s killing work in LA. The “record profits” quote was a reflection of the AMPTP crying poor in the current economy, acting as if they can’t afford to offer SAG (and other guilds) a fair contract. This has been gone over time and time again. Some of you still refuse to think – to look at simple, basic reasons why something is happening.
We’ll know what’s up in a couple of days. Jeez – go eat some fiber, for Christ’s sake!
This is absolutely embarrassing! Our union’s behavior is totally predictable, as we’ve been forced into a corner for the sake of “fighting for a better deal”. Here is the REAL deal:
If all performers were members of the same union, (which two-thirds already are), the AMPTP would not have the same the leverage they have against us. There is a faction of SAG that has always fought that a merger would dilute the union because of the non-actor performer (i.e. newscaster). However, there already exists a different contract within the jurisdiction of SAG for completely different types of performers and production. In all fairness, union merger is a bigger discussion, and a completely separate issue, so I will stop right here.
1) Producers (really the six media companies) are our employers.
2) ALL of our sister unions have already made a deal.
3) We are the only labor force in “show business” that is represented by two unions (except for the Teamsters and the IATSE cross paths on occasion).
4) Our employers do not need SAG for anything shot digitally or on tape. And major feature films are already shot digitally. The statistics for “New Media”, i.e. “The Internet” are totally measurable as they are all recorded (there already is a system in place that knows exactly how many people are reading this, when, where, etc.).
5) SAG is made up of a labor force that is approximately over 85% unemployed, not just today, but hasn’t been employed for YEARS!
6) Our employers, seeing that everyone else has already agreed to the current agreement, and that 8.5 out of 10 of the people they are talking to won’t be working for them in the foreseeable future, they have absolutely no reason to give us anything more.
7) Our employers have taken away our ability to choose who we will work with by banding together and agreeing to negotiate as a single entity.
9) The big movie stars that these contracts do not really affect, do not need the union, we need them.
10) Until such time as the financial risk of mounting a project is born by the employees (actors), which some already are, than we can’t force an employer to share more of the rewards they are willing to share.
11) There are many ways that we can leverage up our position in the next few years; however, there is really nothing we can do at this point to change something that we have been left with no choice but to accept.
12) Fighting at this point is equivalent to The Law of Diminishing Returns.
13) I am currently an unemployed actor.
14) We’ve gotten our asses kicked and the game is over. It’s time to stand up as straight as we can, and walk off the field. Let’s get back to work and start to rebuild for our future.
15) What a great opportunity to learn from our failure so we can heal and build a truly unified and solidified union. From there, we can get very clear on our goals for our next negotiation.
to David Kelsey…
WOW. It’s sad to see it all in print, but it’s damn well put.
Now, per the advice of ACE, I am going to go have some fiber. Because he is right about that.
To all the NY pussyfoots!
Why should we vote to authorize a strike?
We need to show management that we are willing to fight to preserve our ability to earn
a living as union performers; otherwise, management will take that away from us.
Nearly half of our earnings as union performers come from residuals, but management
wants us to allow them to make programs for the Internet and other new media non-
union and with no residuals. This means that as audiences shift from watching us on
their televisions to watching us on their computers and cell phones our ability to earn a
living will go away and future generations of actors may never be able to earn a living
through their craft. This change will happen faster than you think.
To add insult to injury, management also insists that we eliminate force majeure
protections from our contract. These protections have existed since the first SAG
contract in 1937 and protect you when production stops as the result of an “act of God”
like a natural disaster or a strike by another union, such as the WGA strike earlier this
year. This is an enormous rollback that will leave actors without one of the most basic
protections of a union contract.
What is the effect of voting “yes” to authorize a strike?
Voting “yes” does not mean that there will automatically be a strike. A strike
authorization is a tool that gives us more leverage in negotiations and we intend to use
it to try to get a fair deal. If we receive “yes” votes from at least 75% of the members
who vote on this referendum, the National Board will have the ability to call a strike, but
it must vote to do that, and that won’t happen before we attempt further negotiations to
reach a deal with management.
Why does management believe we should endorse non-union, residual-free
work in New Media?
Management claims this bad deal is necessary because they need to “experiment” with
new media and they claim they will renegotiate these terms with us in the future. We
have already agreed to most of management’s new media terms, however, and have
proposed, in the areas where we still disagree, extremely flexible terms for new media
based on our successful low budget theatrical contracts and our nearly 800 made-for-
new media contracts with independent producers. Our terms will allow management
the latitude to experiment using union actors.
And how can we believe that management will ever improve these new media terms
when they still won’t improve the home video residual formula after 22 years? Right
now all the actors on a given cast share 1% of the revenue generated through DVD
sales because of a formula we agreed to in 1986 when management needed to
“experiment” with home video. In this negotiation, we have asked only that
management at least make pension and health contributions on DVD residuals, rather
than making us pay them ourselves out of our paltry 1%. They have refused even
that!
The basic cable residual formula was also negotiated early in the history of that medium
to reflect the then “experimental” status of basic cable programming and pays only a
small fraction of network television residuals. It is now over 20 years later, 27% of all
television ad dollars are now spent on basic cable, and the basic cable formula still pays
only a small fraction of network television residuals. Management simply does not have
a history of ever ending their “experiments” and paying us fairly.
The reality is that management is opportunistic and they believe they can force these
concessions on us because they believe we are weak and divided. We need your vote to
prove them wrong.
Don’t all these terms just go away at the end of 3 years anyway because
management has agreed to a “sunset clause”?
All the “sunset clause” means is that if management wants to maintain in future
negotiations the bad new media deal they want to force on us now, they must write
those terms down on a piece of paper and give it to us as a proposal. Do you really
believe that this will provide us with any protection in a future negotiation if
management decides that they like making non-union, residual-free programs in new
media? The fact is that once management establishes a business model that relies upon
non-union, residual-free production, it will be even harder to change their minds. Just
look at how hard they continue to fight to avoid improving the home video formula, well
after DVD’s have become their richest source of revenue.
Haven’t the other Hollywood unions accepted this deal already? Why do we
need a better deal?
We are not looking for a “better” deal. We are looking for a deal that is different and
that recognizes the unique needs of actors. No other union represents the actors who
appear in motion pictures or the actors who account for over 95% of the earnings in
primetime network television. While management likes to pretend, when it suits them,
that “pattern bargaining” is somehow obligatory for unions in this industry, the fact is
that we have a legal right to negotiate our own contract. And for good reason—the
“pattern,” in many cases, affects us differently:
The impact of sanctioning non-union made-for-new media programs is different for us.
Many performers must rely on the collective bargaining power of the union to obtain fair
terms of employment. Unlike the writer or director, a day performer or background
actor may not have the leverage to negotiate fair terms for themselves. Performers,
especially stunt performers, also have health and safety issues on the set that aren’t
shared by writers or directors and they rely on the union to look out for them. And
unlike writers or directors, our union faces a significant threat from non-union
performers who want to provide producers with an alternative workforce they can use to
make their product without having to comply with union terms and conditions. Allowing
our employers to make non-union new media productions will allow these non-union
actors to gain credits and experience, which will make non-union production easier and
more attractive and thereby reduce the opportunities for union actors like us to get
work.
Allowing residuals-free new media production also impacts performers differently.
Unlike writers and directors, most performers don’t earn enough in initial compensation
to live on. Instead, we rely on residuals to get us through the lean times. As production
inevitably shifts from traditional media to new media, the lack of residuals in new media
will eventually choke off that vital source of income that enables us to stay in the
profession even when we aren’t working so that we can audition, hone our craft and
remain available for new roles. In such a world, many of us will be reduced to amateurs
working day jobs to support our acting habit.
There are already lots of differences between management’s new media proposal to us
and their deals with the DGA and WGA. For example, management has agreed to set
minimum payments for writers of made-for-new media programs, but refuses to do so
for actors. Why doesn’t the pattern apply to this critical issue? There are other
differences. The minimum residual for a TV show rerun on the Internet for six months is
over $600 for a director or a writer, but only $22.77 for an actor who works as a day
player. On the other hand, use of clips of an actor’s work on the Internet requires
consent by the actor, but a director’s or writer’s work can be used as a clip on the
Internet without their consent. Is that better, worse or just different? Management
talks about their new media template like it is exactly the same for each union and can’t
be changed. In fact, management has proposed varying new media provisions to
different unions when it suited them, but they have refused when we have proposed
reasonable and modest changes, like making sure all made-for-new media productions
are done union and pay residuals.
Are we sure that we have exhausted every opportunity to make a deal before
asking for this authorization?
We shouldn’t have to exhaust every opportunity to make a deal before asking for a
strike authorization. Most successful unions ask for a strike authorization early on,
sometimes before they even start bargaining, because management is more likely to
take the union seriously if they know the members are willing to fight. We didn’t do that
this time because the WGA strike had just ended, but our union needs to get back to the
routine practice of approving a strike authorization well before we get to the expiration
of the current contract. Actors elected by the membership to the SAG National Board
decide by a vote if and when a strike should be called.
As it happens, we have absolutely exhausted every possible opportunity to make a deal
before asking for this authorization. We spent 42 days between April and July in hard
bargaining with the AMPTP. In the months that followed, we bargained informally, met
with CEO’s and educated our membership about the issues. Finally, we asked for a
federal mediator to intervene. After nearly a month, management agreed to return to
the bargaining table for a marathon mediation session that ran late into the night on two
consecutive days until the mediator finally declared that it was pointless to continue.
After all of that, management’s positions on the fundamental issues at stake in this
negotiation are the same as they were on the first day of bargaining. On the other
hand, we have pared down our demands, made painful concessions and offered
compromise after compromise, all to no avail. It is crystal clear that without the
support of our membership for this authorization, we will have no choice to but swallow
whatever management sees fit to give us lock, stock and barrel.
Is a strike really feasible considering how bad the economy is right now?
The bad economy hurts management just as much as it hurts us. As uncertain and
anxious as our employers are about the future of their businesses and of their own jobs,
the prospect of a SAG membership willing to go to the mat and fight them is the last
thing they want. Yes, the bad economy means that it will require more of a sacrifice
from some of our members if in fact a strike becomes necessary, but remember that this
union was founded and obtained its first contract during the depths of the Great
Depression. Hard times do not mean that we stop demanding fair treatment from
management.
Do not let management intimidate you into
accepting less than you deserve. If we stay united, we will prevail.
Alan Rosenberg is going to have nothing at the end of this year, except of course his narcissism and delusion. You GO AL.
LA said “If we stay united, we will prevail.”
What the hell are you thinking??!!! Don’t you READ????? In what bizzaro universe is SAG united, because it sure isn’t this one!
I agree that IF we were united we would have power. But the freaking board is at war with itself, the membership if fighting on boards like this, MF launched a war on AFTRA and you have the audacity to say that if we STAY united we will prevail.
We are so far from UNITED that our state is clearly the antithesis of the very definition of UNITED. I have to say that anyone who would describe SAG as being UNITED at this point is completely dilusional.
Even your post starts out with “To all the NY pussyfoots!” Thus you are DIVIDED before you even start your statement.
THIS IS THE POINT PEOPLE!!!!! United we stand, Divided we fall.
And MAN are we falling hard.
Sorry M
I grew up with it as well. My father was a teamster his whole life. That is where a learned of what big biz (the bosses) can do to the working class if they are allowed. Blame it on pops if you like but his words still ring true to me. That IS why I do support the other unions esp. the teamsters.
Unfortunatley the amptp’s divide and conquer tactics have worked flawlessly…. i was just hoping you wouldn’t buy into it.
Hahahahaha. Here goes the circular firing squad again. It really makes no difference. Film’s on the way out and AFTRA has digital jurisdiction so SAG will soon be a distant memory.