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5th UPDATE: One interesting note which both sides have pointed out to me tonight. If the SAG presidency race had just consisted of Unite For Strength's Ken Howard and Membership First's Anne-Marie Johnson (without spoiler Seymour Cassell whose positions were extremely hardline), then Johnson would have won the popular vote. More on this in a SAG/WGA election analysis I'm writing tonight.
4TH UPDATE: Here's the official SAG announcement, finally:
KEN HOWARD ELECTED AS SCREEN ACTORS GUILD PRESIDENT;
AMY AQUINO ELECTED AS SECRETARY-TREASURER
Guild Also Announces Results of National Board ElectionsLos Angeles (September 24, 2009)—Screen Actors Guild today announced results of elections for its top two elected positions. Ken Howard will serve as Screen Actors Guild president and Amy Aquino will serve as secretary-treasurer. Both will serve two-year terms beginning September 25.
Ballots were mailed to 99,485 paid-up SAG members on August 25, and 27,295 were tabulated today, for a return of 27.44 percent. Presidential candidates Ken Howard received 12,895 votes, with Anne-Marie Johnson coming in second with 8,906 votes, Seymour Cassel got 4,838 votes, and Asmar Muhammad received 402 votes.
“I’d like to be among the first to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newly elected Screen Actors Guild national leadership. I look forward to working closely with our new president, Ken Howard, and new secretary-treasurer, Amy Aquino, as we focus on the wide range of critical issues facing our members in the coming year,” said SAG Interim National Executive Director David White. “I also extend my thanks, and the gratitude of SAG members and staff to Alan Rosenberg and Connie Stevens for their service and sacrifice on behalf of our union.”
“I am deeply honored to be chosen by the membership to lead the Screen Actors Guild,” said Ken Howard. “I campaigned on the promise that I’d do everything in my power to strengthen our position at the bargaining table by building a greater unity with AFTRA and the other entertainment unions, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Despite the sharp differences that those of us active in Guild affairs sometimes have over strategy and tactics, we need to continually remind ourselves that we’re all on the same team, fighting for the same thing — and by pulling together, we’ll only grow stronger.”
“I am truly honored that the members have entrusted me with this responsibility,” said Amy Aquino. “Progress has already been made toward strengthening SAG’s finances and I want to make sure it continues. Only by fortifying SAG in this way can we hope to ensure the protections that performers need in these challenging times.”
Screen Actors Guild also announced election results for the National Board of Directors. Twenty-two of the 69 national board seats were open for election this year, representing Screen Actors Guild’s Hollywood, New York and Regional Branch divisions.
“It is my privilege to welcome and congratulate our newly elected Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors for 2009-2010,” said White. “Along with our staff nationwide, I look forward to working with them to pursue a robust agenda as we navigate the Guild through these changing times.”
The National Board members elected today will assume office on September 25 for terms of three years.
SAG’s Hollywood Division elected eleven National Board members; the New York Division elected four National Board members; and seven National Board members were elected from the union’s branches in Chicago, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Portland and San Diego.
National Board members elected from the Hollywood Division: Martin Sheen, Ed Harris, Elliott Gould, Ed Asner, Anne-Marie Johnson, Connie Stevens, Diane Ladd, Dulé Hill, Hill Harper, Nancy Travis, and Marcia Wallace (all three-year terms).
The following were elected to serve as National Board alternates and to the Hollywood Division Board of Directors (all one-year terms). Gabrielle Carteris, Jenny O’Hara, Michael O’Keefe, Clyde Kusatsu, Dawnn Lewis, Doug Savant, Michelle Allsopp, Alan Rosenberg, D. W. Moffett, Joe Bologna, Robert Hays, Jason George, L. Scott Caldwell, Clark Gregg, Patrick Fabian, Bill Smitrovich, Ellen Crawford, Stacey Travis, Mandy Steckelberg, Renee Taylor, Bernie Casey and John Carroll Lynch.
National Board members elected from the New York Division: Sharon Washington, Monica Trombetta, Sam Freed and Liz Zazzi (all three-year terms). Additionally, New York Division members elected Mike Hodge as NY Division President.
The following were elected to serve as national board alternates and to the New York Division board of directors (all one-year terms.) Manny Alfaro, Sheila Head, Marc Baron, Joe Narciso, Jay Potter, Dave Bachman, John Rothman, Kevin Scullin and Justin Barrett.
National Board members elected from the Regional Branch Division: John Carter Brown (Chicago – three-year term), David Hartley-Margolin (Colorado – three-year term), Dave Corey (Florida – three-year term), Scott Rogers (Hawaii – three-year term), Helen McNutt (Philadelphia – three-year term), Mary McDonald-Lewis (Portland – three-year term), Don Ahles (San Diego – three-year term).
Ballots for all eligible SAG members in Hollywood and New York were mailed on August 25 with a September 24 return deadline and were tabulated today by the independent election company Integrity Voting Systems. A total of 13,718 ballots were tabulated in the Hollywood Division (representing 25.25 percent of ballots mailed in the Hollywood Division) and 5,997 ballots were tabulated in the New York Division (representing 26.11 percent of ballots mailed in the New York Division). The number of ballots returned in the Regional Branch elections varied by region.
For complete results, please visit SAG.org.
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3RD UPDATE: (story coming) There are still no official announcements yet. But the coalition partners Unite For Strength and United Screen Actors Nationwide strangely broke the embargo that SAG set for itself today and leaked to reporters that Ken Howard has defeated Membership First's Anne-Marie Johnson and is SAG's new president while USAN's Mike Hodge is the NY Division's new president. In addition, UFS told reporters that it picked up several seats on the Hollywood board while its partner USAN picked up MF-siding independent candidate Eric Bogosian's seat since he chose not to seek re-election.
2:30 PM UPDATE: There are still no official announcements yet. (SAG has told media to expect results at 3 PM.) But I've confirmed that Mike Hodge has been elected president of the Screen Actors Guild's New York Division. And sources are telling me that SAGNOW did not win a single new seat in the New York Division contest. This means it is unlikely that MemberShip First, which was affiliated with SAGNOW, can re-take the majority of the Guild. And it is likely that Unite For Strength and its coalition partners in the NY Division, United Screen Actors Nationwide, and the Regional Branches Division, have widened their majority and thus strengthened their powerbase over the Guild as a whole. (The Regional Division results won't be known until 5 PM or later today.
This was the first election when an opposition slate, SAGNOW, was formally fielded against USAN. MembershipFirst had been counting on picking up some NY Division seats in order to regain the SAG majority. Instead, SAGNOW was blanked despite the slate containing some well-known names. But, even worse for MF, its supporter, independent Eric Bogosian who was serving a one year term on the NY Division Board, did not run for re-election. So his seat was regained by USAN. (He also was an alternate on the National Board, in the second position in New York.)
As for the Hollywood board, every extra seat Unite for Strength wins (presuming it does) means a loss for Membership First, which is still expected to retain its domination of the Hollywood board.
NY Division's Hodge succeeds Sam Freed, who did not seek re-election. "I am thrilled," Hodge told Backstage. "We absolutely have a mandate to work and build for our members." Hodge defeated Mitchell Green, who ran on the SAGNOW slate, which was aligned with the MembershipFirst faction. Like Freed, Hodge is a member of USCAN, the block that has held control over the New York division for years.
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USAN HAS SWEPT THE NEW YORK ELECTIONS, TOP TO BOTTOM, EVERY SEAT.
WITH NO CELEBRITY NAMES, AND NO SHRILL RHETORIC.
WITH EXPERIENCE, SERVICE, AND POSITIVE IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE OF SAG.
I know it is akward, but you really should call them “Solidarity and Gains NOW!” because they were told quite explicitly by guild legal staff that they could not use “SAGNOW” as it implied official SAG sanction to use the SAG acronym. They can’t refer to themselves that way, so you shouldn’t either.
Tho perhaps it no longer matters anyway, nor ever again. . .
Actually, MF lost a seat in NY. Although Eric Bogozian was independent, he was MF and endorsed MF East….
“the membership has spoken,” as they say, at least in ny. I thought tony lobianco and melissa leo had a real shot in ny, but, the ny branch aint going for the mf pitch: strength, and solidarity in sag, not diffusion through eventual merger with aftra and appeasement of the amptp and aftra NOW by being “nice,” as a realistic approach to the next round of negotiations.
well, we’ll see what goes down in l.a., but I just get the feeling we’re in for another merger attempt, an attempt at qualified voting, further losses in new media, and actors getting past their cross-eyed rage at the very effective vilification of mf as the reason for all sag’s problems, being replaced in a couple years by cross-eyed rage at the fact that ken howard and ufs, usan, and rbd have no idea how they are going to get back what they gave away in the 2009 tv/theatrical contract.
how do you negotiate forward from 17 to 24 days of free windows on the internet and a $24 residual for 6 months, up to a whopping $48 dollars (another $24!) for a year?! how do you negotiate forward from a nonunion space in your contract below 15k a minute, allowing producers to “develop” content, that would normally have been developed paying sag actors hundreds of millions of dollars? how do you negotiate forward having given away clip consent, and product placement protections, depriving commercial actors from auditioning for products they had to (as a condition of employment) in tv and film roles, shill, for free? how do you get back force majeure?
merging with aftra? isn’t the PHILOSOPHY, not the NAME, at the heart of whatever is the actors representation the key? (sag, aftra, aima, uncle joe’s actors union?).
if the philosophy, should it come to merger (a long shot, at least for now) continue to be “appease, make nice, don’t rock the boat, keep working,” how does being unified with recording artists and broadcasters and disc jockeys change that?
and on facebook, michael o’keefe, a ufs supporter, argued with me when I said those favoring merger favored the destruction of sag by saying, “it’s not the destruction of sag, it’s the unification of all actors.”
well, it won’t be CALLED sag, it won’t be STRUCTURED like sag, it won’t be RUN like sag, it will clearly be an aftra-centric, less democratic, top-to-bottom, (rather than sag, which is bottom to top), new union CALLED SOMETHING, but NOT SAG. so, yes, michael, that IS “the destruction of sag.”
and, if there is no will to call out aftra on it’s continual poaching and hostile, predatory practices (supposedly banned by a rule already on the books aftra violates with impunity, “cp-17″ [?]), but rather, make nice with aftra, does anyone think THAT will eradicate the political power struggle within aftra for it to become the dominant union that emerges, either singly, or via a merger with sag?
as it says, and as it is still on the books, it’s jurisdiction, and going back to walter pidgeon in 1951 (?) he, as president of sag, defeated an attempt at the way we’re headed right now, by clarifying jurisdiction: “ALL film, is sag, ALL tv, EXCEPT THAT DONE IN A LIVE MANNER IS SAG.’”
isn’t that plain as day? we’re not talking the 2nd amendment here folks. that’s extremely clear language, in 1951 AND in 2009.
so, if ken howard wins and has a board majority, where is he taking us? now that the obstruction of the mf agenda – good contracts for sag actors – has been subverted by the opposition – blaming mf for delays and problems they themselves (the moderates) caused, by voting unanimously to support the core principals of sag – “no nonunion work in sag’s contract” and “fair payment for ALL reuse of actor’s work (residuals)” BOTH WRITTEN BY RICARD MASUR! the philosophical head, and certainly now, if ken howard wins – the dick cheney of 2009 sag going forward, how does masur plan to undo the damage done?
the sag membership never got a chance to hear the answer to that question, since ufs kept ken howard under strict wraps, away from ANY spontaneous questioning or debate with the mf candidate anne-marie johnson, and now, the sag membership will have to EXPERIENCE those answers without ever hearing ANY REAL PLAN to get us out of these awful new media terms.
the vilification by the moderates has clearly worked – of mf and alan rosenberg and doug allen – all working to secure a middle-class future for sag actors, and the survival of sag itself, through good, forward-looking contracts (a percentage of distributors gross across ALL platforms, for example, or at LEAST in new media, so the producers can’t steal it all, as they are already beginning to do), because of what richard masur and the moderates did to scuttle the SAV motion that RICARD MASUR himself wrote!
so, IF ken howard wins and has a national board majority, how will they get us a percentage of distributors gross across all platforms (jonathan handel – an mf-hater’s own idea), OR, are they seriously thinking they can actually negotiate forward starting in oct. 2010 from these current new media terms without an sav or a strike?
anybody? any real plan here?
Matt, you’re right…in your reference to the 1951 jurisdiction definition, “ALL film, is sag, ALL tv, EXCEPT THAT DONE IN A LIVE MANNER IS SAG”…however, that does not in any way include DIGITAL. Now you might claim that the ‘ecept that done in a live manner’ covers it, but legally, it does not cover digital.
As for the destruction fo SAG?….the point of any union is to protect its member. If a new union is formed that is stronger, larger, with more leverage, and it better serves its membership….if thats what it takes, so be it. It’s not about the organization, it’s about the MEMBERS.
Let me know when that happens, Mr. Pie in the Sky.
Tiny correction: the idea for a percentage of distributor’s gross of everything across the board did not originate with the self-styled ‘digital media lawyer’. That was the WGA’s idea all the way, after the digital media lawyer left his position as the WGAW’s associate counsel to publically knife his former client in the back just so he could advance himself.
That lack of former client loyalty is going to bite him in the end (after all it is Hollywood).
This should be interesting…
And now let the gloating begin…
BREAKING NEWS!!! IF RALPH NADER HADNT RUN AGAINST AL GORE AND GEORGE BUSH, GORE WOULD HAVE WON!!!!
DUHHHHH!!!!
PLEASE…..
Mr. Cassel played the spoiler, akin to Ross Perot. He knew what he was doing.
Unfortunately for SAG, it’s all over but the singing…
SAG has been bought and paid for.
Here in L.A,. I got no less than 4 mailers from UFS, one really expensive large size multi colored, a 3 postcards, a few emails and one robo-call.
Membership First sent one small mailer and a couple email blasts.
My guess?
UFS spent $80-100K to get their folks elected in Hollywood, while MF might have spent $35K.
So — was UFS that much more passionate? Did their candidates dig deeper into their piggy banks to buy more PR?
Was MF a bunch of cheapskates who did not put their money where their mouths were?
Or did somebody at a major studio and somebody at an Agency or two hand over some cash to UFS to “keep the town working”?
We’ll never know.
But one thing I predict.
There will be no real improvement in New Media.Not while this bunch is in power.
Actors will lose millions, and middle class Actors will be hit the hardest.
The ‘S’ word (Strike) is gone from SAG’s dictionary — at least for 2 years.
Anne-Marie Johnson worked her tail off, she would have been SAG President if Seymour Cassel had not played the part of spoiler.
Unionfan:
How do you explain Rosenberg’s fundraiser the night before the election?
MF has had deeper pockets for years.
UFS/USAN did the one on one campaigning. That’s how they won. They got out there and campaigned. No phone conference shams. They did the work.
Give credit where credit is due.
Sour Grapes or what?
“Or did somebody at a major studio and somebody at an Agency or two hand over some cash to UFS to “keep the town working”?”
How exactly would that work unionfan?
All campaign budgets are run by campaign rules, filed with the state and subject to scrutiny at any time.
So how exactly would that work slanderfan?
Makes you wonder why the writers who voted for the WU slate don’t have the intelligence of SAG members.
Truthteller,
That’s not a surprise, sport. NY has been on the USAN side for a long time.
This will just hasten the death of our guild, a process that began with the last contract.
Stick a fork in it!
Wow. Deja vu. But I am at least not surprised. This time I expected the members to vote this way. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s time to start a new union.
we are soooooooo screwed.
Nice move, Seymour, you selfish, arrogant, drunken prick.
Because of your ego, we will all suffer.
Get some help, please.
SAG is now well and truly fucked. Ken Howard will sell SAG down the river faster than you can say “Where are my residuals?”
I don’t know about the acting market in NY, but in Los Angeles I can’t imagine that even one actor who goes out on auditions, jobs that used to be SAG but that are now AFTRA, and sees how the payment is 20-25% of what the job would have paid a few years ago (if you had gotten your quote a few bucks over scale) could have voted for Ken Howard. I just don’t get it. Who are these people who are sending in their ballots? Background who just want their $100? Crew Members with SAG cards? People swayed by glossy flyers? The outcome of every election of late seems to be SAG members voting against their own self interests. And who in their right mind will pay AFTRA’s initiation fee when the jobs pay so little unless you get a series regular role you’ll probably never earn your money back?
DEAR “SPOILER” WEEPERS -
IN 2005 ROSENBERG WOULD NEVER HAVE WON THE SAG PRESIDENCY IN THE FIRST PLACE IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR ROBERT CONRAD.
ALL WHO VOTED FOR CONRAD WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR MORGAN FAIRCHILD – JUST AS SURELY AS YOU SAY ALL WHO VOTED FOR CASSEL WOULD HAVE VOTED FOR JOHNSON.
NOW LIE DOWN AND SCREAM AND KICK YOUR HEELS AND STICK YOUR FINGERS IN YOUR EARS.
I can’t say I’m pleased with the SAG election results, nor can I say I’m particularly surprised.
IMHO, here are the reasons Ken Howard won:
1. Tom Hanks endorsed him.
2. Membership First made a tactical error in opposing merger – they should have come out in favor of a properly-structured merger leading to a new union structured more like SAG than AFTRA (Matt Mulhern’s got a point about this).
3. Tom Hanks endorsed him.
4. Seymour Cassel was a spoiler – there’s no guarantee that everyone who voted for him would have voted for Anne-Marie Johnson, but clearly, it would have been a much closer race without him there.
5. Tom Hanks endorsed him.
6. Howard’s misstep on the Emmy stage notwithstanding, he was smart enough, or at least well-counseled enough, to not speak off the cuff or outside of a strictly-controlled setting (you know, like softball interviews with the Trades) and read off the teleprompters for the nice Youtube video.
7. Tom Hanks endorsed him.
8. Ned Vaughn watched The Manchurian Candidate (both versions) multiple times and took really good notes.
9. Tom Hanks endorsed him.
10. Howard and Unite for Strength did a fantastic job ducking all of the serious issues by focusing on merger as a panacea, and by keeping online communication with actors one-way with closed comments sections on both their website and their Youtube videos.
11. Well, I think I may already have mentioned Tom Hanks.
As for the next couple of years, Matt Mulhern offers a far better assessment than I could. I would add that with the Obama administration coming down squarely in favor of Net Neutrality, the door remains open to independent producers – no-budget types as well as the Mark Cubans – to bypass Hollywood’s traditional gatekeepers, produce scripted entertainment and deliver it right to our Internet-connected big screens. The no-budget types may be less relevant to the unions, but for the higher-budget productions, not everything over the next couple of years is necessarily bad news for union actors.
All things considered, we’d still be better off with more aggressive leadership. All we can do now is be vigilant and keep shining a light.
And Matt Mulhern -
Every post you have ever made – here, there, or anywhere – has been characterized by what you call “cross-eyed rage.”
You seem to be incapable of communicating a single thought or sentiment without diving into a bottomless bag of Membership First cant.
SAG voters in New York have placed you at the bottom of the list of what they want in their union. So why not take a timeout?
Sigh…
No, you can’t claim that “without Cassell, Johnson would have won” because you’re assuming that those people would have (a) voted in the first place, (b) voted for Johnson and not for Howard. There’s no guarantee that 80% of the Cassell voters would have fulfilled both criteria, even if Johnson’s platform is closer to Cassell’s hardline position. If it were a closer race maybe you’d be on firmer ground, but it’s pretty tenuous given those numbers.
The clear advantage of “spoiler” candidates is that it sends a message that the platforms of the lead candidates isn’t sufficient for a sizable proportion of the constituency. When you win with less than 15% of voters supporting you, and with less than 50% of the popular vote, it really should tell you that you have problems.
Of course, the cynic in me says that the actual response is going to be “Whoo! We won! Obviously we’re doing the right thing…”
Johnson would have won the popular vote
No, she wouldn’t. You’re assuming everyone who voted for one of the two fringe candidates would have voted for her – if they had bothered to vote at all. There is no evidence this would have happened. It’s a pathetic attempt to marginalize a heavy victory against MF’s destructive policies.
Very easy for the losers to say “if not for Seymour, AMJ had it sewn up” Have you ever thought that those who voted for Seymour HATED AMJ so much that some of them would have voted for Howard? Or not voted at all given the choice? AMJ did damage to her own campaign all year long.
As for Mulhern… came in like last. As for Erik Anders came in lastest for what the third time?
Mulhern: How do you explain the three votes you got, huh? Could be your poisen post about the writer’s guild president? Maybe your general lack of knowledge about the guild, your cluelessness at leadership or life. Or maybe it’s just your senseless,
F-ing, rambling diatribes and bullying.
Unlike Rosenberg, Howard will get a phone call returned from Union leaders.
He’ll be able to get a coalition of like minded unions started so we’ll be able to negotiate like experienced adults (compared to the joke we were stuck with Doug Allen)
After that, SAG will finally merge with AFTRA.
The rest of you MFers can say goodnight Gracie or grow up and get onboard. It’s on you.
Correction: A ton of money will be spent on a campaign to merge with AFTRA and it still won’t happen.
Because we’ve been her nearly 20 times before.
The nerve of Cassel to run. Didn’t we learn from Perot and Nader. Unions should not allow more than the two established parties to run.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Whoosh.
Well, Howard is now SAG’s own GWB, an incurious box of rocks whose “base” has helped dupe a lot of members – a majority of whom will now get to watch him move forward on the expressed desire to take away the right to vote from so many of those very dupes. SAG will be looking after protecting that “base,” and their employability – by giving in more to the employers, all while life for all the little folks will continue to grow worse.
If your on-screen credit begins “with…” or “and special guest star…” All of the rest of you, Howard has said himself, are “really just waiters and hobbyists who don’t have a stake in the business.”
The membership is living in a fog. Matt’s comments are dead-on.
I think the problem is that most SAG members don’t work enough to care if the contracts give them a good living. They just want to be able to tell their Mom in Ohio they had one line on CSI. The union USED to exist to take care of people attempting to make a living at this business. It’s more and more gonna be just celebrities making millions and day players doing this as a hobby, but that’s the member’s own damn fault. “I’m ready for my sandwich, Mr. DeMille.”
For some insight into why MF didn’t win…see the above vitriolic posts.
One interesting note which both sides have pointed out to me tonight. If the SAG presidency race had just consisted of Unite For Strength’s Ken Howard and Membership First’s Anne-Marie Johnson (without spoiler Seymour Cassell whose positions were extremely hardline), than Johnson would have won the popular vote
Nonsense. This assumes that every one of Cassell’s votes would have gone to Johnson. If 80% of Cassell’s votes had gone to Johnson and 20% had not voted (a much more likely scenario than assuming 100% of votes going to Johnson), Howard would still have won.
richard,
You contradict yourself with your nonsensical response.
Nikki’s post does not assume, as you stated, “every” Cassel vote would have gone to Anne Marie Johnson. It only assumes that around 80% of the Cassel vote would have gone to AMJ. Big difference.
You yourself said only 80% of Cassel voters would have had to have gone to AMJ.
Which is probably more likely, than your simplistic assumption that they would just declined to vote. Likely voters are always likely to vote.
You are having some, fun with numbers, but your conclusions are faulty.
Ann Marie Johnson does not represent the system,she can’t be bought and would work for ACTORS….
and what’s right.
That’s why she was knocked out
ANN MARIE IS not a part of the system,she’s for the actors and what’s RIGHT
She can not be bought
To Matt Mulhern’s point that it was the “vilification by the moderates” that caused MF’s downfall, this is the problem with MF. They take no responsibility for their actions. It’s not that the membership has responded to the failure of MF, it’s essentially blaming the marketing of UFS for the election results. Man up Mulhern, take some responsibility. You were the Glen Beck to Rosenberg’s George Bush.
The trouble with the ’spoiler’ theory is the assumption that all of Cassel’s votes would have gone to AMJ.
I don’t think that’s a given. It would have taken only 850 (17.5%) of Cassel’s votes to either go to Howard or stay home in order for him to have won in a head-to-head with AMJ.
I think there’s a great likelihood that Cassel pulled some people out of the woodwork, who might not ordinarily have opened a their ballot packets. I think it’s also reasonable to assume that some that voted for Cassel were protesting against AMJ and would have voted for Howard, instead.
Would that number have totaled 850? We’ll never know. It’s certainly a possibility. But it’s erroneous to assume AJM would have won in a two-way race against Howard.
mf has “deep pockets?”
uh, when tom hanks – let’s just stop right there, shall we? – and the amptp want ken howard to win, I think any conclusion that money from the moderate faction didn’t play a decisive role in this fight, is, let’s just say, somewhat disingenuous.
I have already gone on record making fun of my vote total. I actualy think it was around 1500, but, when I saw solidarityandgainsnow got SWEPT, I sort of realized masur has ny locked down like rikers. tony lobiance and melissa leo? nope. NOBODY was gettin in THAT boardroom, and eric bogosian is so sick of the ny boardrooms behavior in his year of service: issuing press releases without consulting or informing him, having votes in his absence, he just tossed in the towel and didn’t run for reelection.
aint NOBODY gettin elected in ny with a different point of view till boss tweed is dead and gone.
the utter ridiculousness of trivializing what was predicted from day one of cassel’s misogynist, rage-filled, self and union destructive announcement he would run for president (while being convicted on sexual harrassment charges) is going to be seymour’s legacy, his last spit of tobacco juice, as it were.
he actually wants to kick ass and take names for actors, which I’m all in favor of, but he lost this election for anne-marie johnson. period. it was predicted, amj knew it, I predicted it – EVERYONE predicted it, and you add cassel’s total and amj’s and she wins going away. cassel cost her the election. period.
so, the pendulum has swung and 24-ish% of the union has decided to go, yet again, with the “makey nice-nice” approach to union politics.
of course, if the a-list actors had come out FOR rosenberg and allen last year and said, in no uncertain terms “give the sag middle-class actor a fair deal, or you don’t have us,” sag would be working under a fair deal now. period. the a-list betrayal had as much, if not more to do with this debacle as anything.
celebrity rules in this country and when tom hanks looks in the camera and says “vote for ken howard” many actors, especially young ones, will go lemming, and walk right over the cliff.
so, now, I guess tom is partially responsible for how sag is going to survive, how sag is going to achieve a good contract which means a percentage of distributors gross, hopefully across ALL platforms, to systemically change the way sag actors are paid heading into the 21st century, and therefore tom should explain how sag will get back clip consent, product placement protections, residuals, force majeure,etc.
look into the camera and tell us your take on THAT, tom.
I’m not even especially interested in ken howards answer or amy aquino’s or richard masur’s, because I know one thing for certain from them: they have NO IDEA how, minus at LEAST an sav or a strike, sag will survive without being absorbed into aftra, (which they actually WANT) or get those things back, resulting in a good, solid contract, making a good, solid, future a real possibility for sag middle-class actors going forward.
so, tom, how about you dial up another video now, since you run our show a lot more than ken howard, amy aquino or richard masur ever have or will, and tell us how YOU see the sag middle-class actor getting out of this hellish new media deal and achieving a good contract going forward without an sav or strike?
I’m dead serious – any ideas tom? any clue at all?
Matt Mulhern -
Every post you have ever made – here, there, or anywhere – has been characterized by what you call “cross-eyed rage.”
You seem to be incapable of communicating a single thought or sentiment without diving into a bottomless bag of cant.
SAG voters in New York have placed you at the bottom of the list of what they want. So why not take a timeout?
And yet, he has the facts, while you have none.
We’ll see who’s gloating in a couple of years, when his predictions — which are already coming true — are undeniable to all. Not that he’d gloat. He has more class than that.
I just wonder, how do you breathe through all that sand?
Just out of curiosity, is SAG not going to have a VP position, or will Anne Marie remain VP until the next election?
Very confused.
At the first Hollywood Board meeting (in October) the (newly-elected) Hollywood Board will elect the 1st National Vice President from among the ranks of their National Board members.
The Hollywood Board could avoid continuing to be the premier laughingstock of the entertainment industry by electing someone other than anyone who has already been in that position.
Morgan Fairchild, Adam Arkin, or Amy Brenneman would be among the best options, in my estimation.
Let’s assume that without Cassell AMJ does win. (I agree with Richard & Mars. Remember, Connie Stevens lost, too) AMJ would be Pres and the board would be solidly UFS & their allies. Seymour Cassell did not affect the other board seats.
As to Matt Mulhern’s “well, it won’t be CALLED sag, it won’t be STRUCTURED like sag, it won’t be RUN like sag, it will clearly be an aftra-centric, less democratic, top-to-bottom, (rather than sag, which is bottom to top),” the democratic, bottom to top SAG voted for UFS. By your own annalysis, UFS won a democratic, “bottom to top” election. Are you saying that only way that MF could have won was with an “aftra-centric, less democratic, top-to-bottom” structure?
I don’t think the AMJ cheerleaders and apologists appreciate how despised she is by many. Had Seymour not run, A good number would have voted for Howard, voted for the astronomy metaphor guy, or just abstained altogether. She would not have picked up the 91% of Seymour votes needed. Not a chance.
Cassel is smart enough to know the sheep would vote for Ken Howard because they remember him from his prominent TV series where he was the lead. TV recognition is a powerful tool and is used to sell all kinds of things from Sally Field selling Boniva to Kate Walsh selling Cadillacs. It’s undeniable.
Now as for the thinking members, some may vote for Howard some may vote for Johnson some may vote for Cassel. But Cassel’s play to give the thinking members three choices knowing he would never ever win was a clear play by Cassel to get Howard in office–or more correctly to keep Johnson out. Thanks Seymour. As you said at a recent meeting–and I paraphrase only slightly: none of this affects me anyway. I’m gonna get work.
Go team!
SAG members had two choices in this election, one group put the SAG Membership First. Another whose platform was (is) UNITE with aftra FOR the STRENGTH of someone other than the rank and file SAG member. Most SAG members who voted chose the latter. But not me. If Ken Howard is afraid of hissing and jeering, wait until he speaks at the next membership meeting.
Dr. GigglesMatt, “you’re right…in your reference to the 1951 jurisdiction definition, “ALL film, is sag, ALL tv, EXCEPT THAT DONE IN A LIVE MANNER IS SAG”…however, that does not in any way include DIGITAL. Now you might claim that the ‘ecept that done in a live manner’ covers it, but legally, it does not cover digital.”
Actually, that’s a misconception that has been perpetuated by AFTRA in order to justify their poaching of cable and other shows. According to the charter issued by the AFL-CIO Jurisdiction arm the 4A’s is not determined by the means of delivery, whether film, digital, or whatever, but rather by the manner of the broadcast.
Here are two pertinent excerpts from that document.
“Jurisdiction is hereby by confirmed in SAG over all actors, (including singers, announcers, stuntmen, and airplane pilots,) employed in motion picture field, including without limitation, all motion pictures for use over television; also over all extras employed in such motion picture field in the state of New York.”
“AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; that jurisdiction is hereby vested in the TVA (Television Authority) in all talent employed on live Television programs. Live Television programs are defined as live broadcasts, kinescope to supplement live broadcasts, film sequences made especially for, and integrated into the entertainment portion of a live program and any other program by kinescope or similar device done in the manner of a live program.”
If you would like to read the entire document go to: to:http://sagwatchdog.com/cgi-bin/admin_config.pl/read/710
Or you can use the SAG Watchdog search engine, entering the words “rare” “derived” and “jurisdiction”
A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief
Seymour Cassel hates AMJ. Everyone knows that. He wasn’t going to let her win. BTW Seymour has devoted his life to actors and the Guild so if he wants to run, he’s earned the right.
Psst!!! Mattie!!!!
Cassel wasn’t “convicted of sexual harrassment.” He was found to have violated the SAG Constitution by means of conduct unbecoming a member. There’s quite a difference.
May I suggest you shut up until you get a clue what you’re talking about, especially when what you say verges on character defamation? I don’t know if Cassel’s the suing type, but if he is, you’ll be among the first to know.
But thanks for running. By doing so, you established an important baseline; there are 1,500 SAG members in New York who will vote for ANYTHING on the ballot. Hugh Jackman’s shoelaces could get 1,500 votes. From now on, future candidates will be judged on their ability to transcend the MULHERN LINE. Congratulations on becoming a cultural referent, you earned it.
well, it’s all over but the shoutin’. one question: does anybody have any answers to any questions I’ve asked in my posts above about HOW howard is going to get sag a good contract in 2011?
try to dispense with the personal insults for a few minutes and think REAL HARD.
please now, try to be honest and realistic. how will howard get a percentage of distributors gross across all platforms, or, at the very least, new media, how will howard get BACK clip consent, which the moderates just gave away, how will howard get BACK product placement protections, which the moderates just gave away? how will howard get BACK force majeure, which the moderates just gave away, residuals anyone?
in all the “we WON! ding-dong mf is DEAD!” vitriol, there isn’t a SINGLE substantive argument or policy proposal from ken howard and amy aquino, or the guy speaking into ken howard’s earpiece, richard masur from ny.
so, what? lay it out there somebody- at least take a swing. you won! fantastic! now, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET THE CONTRACT I DESCRIBE ABOVE which is the bare MINIMUM to qualify as “fair?”
you gonna go get an sav? you ready to strike?
I mean, it’s amazing! I just got finished watching bill maher with paul krugman, and “the rich get richer” statistics are astonishing. ASTONISHING.
and we just elected a sag government that, unless someone can point to ONE SINGLE PUBLIC announcement describing in detail something otherwise, is proposing “be nice!” as it’s platform.”be nice!” to aftra, who wouldn’t piss on sag if it was on fire. “be nice!” to the dga, same. “be nice!” to the amptp, same.
don’t you people realize the middle-class is going right down the tubes in this country, and the MAIN cause is the lack of spine of unions, which created the middle-class in the first place, through hard fought and won strikes, or threats of strike? do you people think the amptp is going to give ANY of this stuff back to us, because you just elected a “be nice!” government?
It’s SO INCREDIBLY STUPID it defies characterization. tom hanks says “be nice!” to the other unions and the producers. tom hanks says “things are changing, and we better change,” apparently by taking it right in the chops on wages, working conditions, residuals, p&h, clip consent, product placement protections, force majeure, etc., and “be nice!” to the amptp!
there is NO PLAN!
merge with aftra? 44 thousand of us (sag actors) are already IN AFTRA. doesn’t it make more sense, plain common sense, to cut out the double representation by being ONE ACTORS UNION, instead of actors, broadcasters (who do, and will, continue to work non union all the time) and recording artists, who couldn’t give a flaming fuck about the “actors” silo, when we come to them if they can duct tape richard masur in a basement somewhere long enough to get an sav? do you think those other branches will strike with us?
WHY?
richard masur, DURING HIS PRESIDENCY, said “there will be no strike during my presidency!” and folks – HE’S IN CHARGE NOW. he and aquino are joined at the hip – and will be speaking directly into ken howard’s earpiece for the entire time howard is president.
so, we have just elected people who, whether we merge with aftra or not – WILL NEVER STRIKE! and strike or threat of strike is the ONLY weapon sag has to get the producers to take us seriously! that’s it! we got nothin else. nothin’.
we just elected people who will never use it, whether we merge with aftra or not, and have gone on record WHEN president SAYING JUST THAT.
that UNIFIES actors, michael o’keefe? HOW?
I believe that when it all boils down, SAG suffers from the same illness that America suffers from: apathy; followed by a close second, ignorance. That translates into, “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
But you just want to act, right? You don’t want to deal with all of that icky name-calling and having to actually learn the facts before making a decision, right? That’s for those other people, right?
You bunch of lazy, self-absorbed, whiny bitches. Yeah, that’s right SAG members, you are effing LAZY! 25% return on ballots? You should be ashamed. You joined a labor UNION, people. And with that membership you owe not just dues, but responsibility and involvement in how your union is run. But alas, too much “let the other guy do it”, and “it’s just one vote – I don’t even know which way to go”… and here we are. Besides, Tom told you what to do in case you had any questions.
The irony is that the people reading this (and these) post(s) mostly all voted – one way or the other – so I’m preaching to the choir. The lazy-asses left their apathetic heads in the sand and cried “I don’t wanna have to make an effort! And by the way, where’s my residual check?!!!!!”
The ignorance in and about American politics is staggering, and SAG is as political as any government or union you ever heard of. The worst part is that management (the AMPTP, in this case) knows this, and has known it all along – and they have beaten us handily because of it. (And by the way, Tom Hanks, among others, is the AMPTP by association.)
So welcome to your ass-kicking, SAG. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. In other words, you deserve this.
Congratulations to Ken Howard, Amy Aquino and all of the newly-elected board members. Truly. You all have obviously done something that enough SAG members care enough about to make their voices heard. The silent membership? Not so much – not that they care.
I’m not sure I want to continue to stand and fight for SAG when SAG doesn’t want to do it themselves. I’m exhausted with all of this. I’m getting, you know, apathetic. Can you blame me?
THERE IS NO WAY OF KNOWING IF ANNE-MARIE WOULD HAVE WON IF SEYMOUR DID NOT RUN. I SUPPORTED SEYMOUR, AND I WOULD NOT HAVE VOTED FOR ANNE-MARIE. I HAVE SAT ON CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WITH HER, AND AS MUCH AS I LOATHE KEN HOWARD WINNING, I COULD NEVER SUPPORT HER FOR PRESIDENT OF S.A.G.
RE: Seymour Cassel as spoiler candidate? Horse pukky. He got votes from the 95%’ers because he is a star. If he hadn’t been in the race, Anne Marie Johnson still would have lost. Most of the non-thinking SAG voters vote a face only. The thinking voters vote quality and common sense…and the winner is: Ken Howard.
1) a combined union that has the power to strike and shut everything down is by no means in the interest of the AMPTP. A combined Union that says no more Runaway to Canada etc under any circumstances for membership.. but concentrates it’s lobbying on getting tax credits to increase production all over the country can only result in more production all over the nation for actors,and crew and thus serve it’s membership. Hollywood SAG for years has done what it could to weaken opportunity in other states like NY, Mi. La Tx etc…and keep S. California the center of all work opportunities..thusly limiting opportunities for the rest of actors outside of Hollywood
2)We all got fed up when Hollywood SAG tried to institute block voting so that the majority board votes in Hollywood would nullify the voices of the NY and regional boards in joint contract negotiations.
I can’t speak for everyone, I have akid that works pretty steadily in NY but I also know she would work more and make alot more if more productions were done here and not everything on TV is on the West Coast.. so the truth is..the membership have spoken and the sooner the Unions merger and carry leverage that can stop production everywhere by everyone the better off we will be with new media and all others.
So, now that democracy works, the MEMBERSHIP is now “duped”? And does ANYONE remember The White Shadow and would vote for Ken because of THAT? I certainly don’t think so.
The key is that a majority of SAG members have spoken in this election. Not for the Presidency (because I’m sure people here will complain about that), but the BOARD. Look at the make up – 21 U4S and 12 MF were elected out of the 33 Hollywood seats. It’s a MESSAGE.
We the membership are tired of fighting our sister union.
We the membership see that the course we have taken was destructive and is counter productive to getting us better contracts.
We the membership WANT to merge SAG and AFTRA (and Matt, you seem to have completely forgotten or never knew the terms of the consolidation under Melissa Gilbert where U4S worked WITH MF in the board room to come up with a plan, only to have MF work against it once many of the MF members voted for it in the board room. It would have been called SAG and Actors would have had their own section as well as a vast majority of board seats).
We the membership DO NOT WANT a jurisdictional battle (again someone posted inaccurate information – the quote from Walter Pidgeon was NEVER THE POLICY. Film vs tape was the jurisdictional lines that got blurred with digital).
Now, everyone here and MF have a choice here. They can become PART OF THE SOLUTION and work with Ken Howard and the majority of the board to make the best possible merger we can… OR they can continue to damage SAG by shooting everything down.
Don’t be the party of NO. Remember, consolidation was passed by a MAJORITY of SAG members last time. It was just shy of 59% but we needed 60%. This time IT WILL PASS!
You can be part of the solution or you can continue the war of egos. The choice is yours.
Sincerely,
Peter Elliott
I don’t think any of you have any idea what the fuck you’re talking about..the reason SAG is in the position it’s in, is the exact reason the USA is in the position it’s in politically: an apathetic, ill-informed, uninformed populace/membership. SAG has been a cluster fuck since the 2000 strike(maybe way before that,dunno, only been a member since 1997). I’d love to know how many people actually bothered to vote at all, of the paid up members..I bet it’s pretty fucking low.
As a member, I have no idea who’s telling me the truth, what to believe, or WHO to believe. All I know is every contract and election cycle, it’s mindless bullshit, stupid fucking e-mails about how this slate is SO in our corner, THAT slate sucks, meanwhile, Ken Howard didn’t even have the BALLS to have a simple debate. And he won. Because Tom Hanks likes him. AWESOME. The problem isn’t the leadership, really: It’s all of us who put up with this bullshit. and, I know why: this is a town full of cowards. everyone is so afraid of offending someone who might employ them someday that no one takes a stand for ANYTHING, and the ones that do(Like Anne-Marie Johnson, for instance) don’t get elected because their LACK of cowardice makes the cowards feel bad; they’d rather throw their lot in with other cowards like them. Utterly, completely pathetic. FAIL. Residuals are about gone, the move to new media is almost complete, the AMPTP got the monetization figured out on their end, and we got fucked, but good. Thanks, SAG,thanks AFTRA. This actor applauds your efforts..good going. Now, let’s merge with AFTRA so Ryan Seacrest and Ernie “keep fucking that chicken” Anastos get to have a vote on our theatrical contract. I always wanted to know their thoughts on the matter…
You elect a guy who wouldn’t even debate? A guy who wouldn’t even stand up in front of the membership and give his point of view? I’m not sure who is more clueless in your union, the membership who voted for this guy, or the sub-groups pretending to run the show. And, I hate to tell you guys, but your big merger strategy is a joke at the studios. Good luck.
Bought and paid for.
MF had a Fundraiser just days before the end of the race precisely because they were out spent by an educated guess amount 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 and I’m sure they thought a final fundraiser might help them buy another e-mail blast, or pay existing campaign debts.
Now the Tom Hanks thing is interesting.Others may suggest his mere endorsement and celebrity swayed the votes. I wonder if it wasn’t more than just persuasion?
IF Mr. Hanks wrote a check for 10 grand — or better yet, handed Ned Vaughn a paper sack filled with 10 grand in cash, Mr. Hanks would only have been technically guilty of ‘buying’ a SAG election if it could be proven that he as currently in a position to hire Actors, or was involved in casting.
If he was just a ‘concerned member’ who was not actively hiring Actors as an employer, I know of no SAG rule that would have been broken by him giving huge sums to get ‘his team’ elected. Or maybe Matt Damon kicked in few thousand, or Sally Field or some of the other “Don’t ever strike we want to keep our gravy train going” stars paid big bucks to keep SAG ‘compliant’?
However, if Agents A, B or C donated even a penny — or Studio Heads X, Y or Z did — UFS/USAN had better hope they NEVER get any disgruntled candidates who decide to switch sides and spill the beans.
Because buying a Union election by Employers is a crime punishable by doing some time in a Federal pokey.
You telling us Ned Vaughn and Bill Smitrovich and Clyde ‘what’s his name’ all contributed 5 grand each?
Please.
Any decent accountant could go back and do a forensic audit of the amounts spent by both sides.
Just compare the number of mailers, the number of e-mail blasts and the robo calls and flyers sent by both sides.
Then a person could ‘assign’ a dollar amount spent per candidate.
I’ll bet MF spent a grand per candidate, maybe a little more.
My guess in UFS/USAN spent 4-5 grand per candidate in Hollywood — who knows how much was spent in New York.
This election was bought and paid for, ladies and gents.
And, just like the ‘grassy knoll’ back in 1963 I doubt if we will ever know exactly how it was done.
So now Ken (”Don’t Wake Me – I’m Snoring”) Howard and his puppet mistress Aquino (and her ‘controller’ Masur from New York) have the task of getting SAG Members a living wage while refusing to even consider a strike as a possible weapon.
Let’s see how the Members vote after they realize how willing the current Leadership is to give away the farm to ‘keep working’.
This new team almost makes me want to go to work for the AMPTP as a negotiator. Nothing like having an adversary lie down, expose their jugular and hand you the knife on the first day of negotiations.
“I have already gone on record making fun of my vote total.” Gee, how clever and self-effacing of you, Matt. Yet you completely fail to admit or accept the implications of that vote: the total REJECTION of you and your Victory-or-Death beliefs. Keep re-quoting every verse in that tired song you’ve been singing. Accuse anyone who doesn’t think like you of being a weak-minded lemming. Be your usual uncompromising self. The fact is, your opinions have been soundly rejected.
While we’re having a moment of candor, Matt, it’s time for YOU to look in the camera and tell us what your leadership ACTUALLY achieved during their time in power. Spare us what they wanted, intended, hoped for, dreamed of, planned to do, and tell us what deals they ACTUALLY closed. What contracts they ACTUALLY signed. What new money ACTUALLY wound up in your pocked because of their shrewd negotiating tactics. And what they ACTUALLY did besides grind the gears of our industry to a standstill, attack another union, kill a lot of careers, and let a ton of work slip out the back door.
We’re measured by results, not intent, Matt. That’s reality. Sorry if you don’t like it.
I do not live or work in L.A., or the U.S. for that matter. But as a producer, I’ve had to deal with SAG on several occasions. Something that I’ve observed among SAG members (when I’ve been in L.A. or when I’ve worked with them elsewhere) is that there is a startling, startling air of entitlement and that (I’m sorry to use the phrase) the world seems to revolve around them.
But here’s the thing: When film and television professionals — whose careers were not borne in Los Angeles — work anywhere in the world, they recognize the real “us and them” with regard to L.A.’s SAG membership. More specifically, the completely unique climate and industry that exists in Hollywood is simply not duplicated anywhere on the planet. And yet, this powerful body of professionals have wielded undue influence on the world’s work. Not everyone does things the way things are done in L.A. Not everyone wants to. Not everyone thinks that things are done well, or best, in Los Angeles.
And so, as an outsider who works in more than one country, who works with many Americans, I can say to you — the SAG members on America’s west coast — that you do not travel well; that you tend to carry your assumptions about the inner workings of the film & television industries with you to other countries (or cities), expecting everyone to think and feel the way you do, never taking a moment’s pause to consider how anyone else operates.
Thus, with regard to the battling within SAG, let me offer this observation: SAG has been laughed at for years by the world’s film & tv producers and new media creators because it was so painfully, painfully out of the loop. It was unbelievably underinformed and smug, not taking digital media seriously because it wasn’t part of that tiny, self-serving, self-centred world in Los Angeles… it was as though SAG’s position could be stated “If we don’t think it matters, it doesn’t matter.” And then SAG woke up, and came late to the party by about 10 years.
But wow — now that you’re here, you’re acting like you’ve independently discovered something huge. It’s as though you’ve identified a big nasty threat on the horizon, going to murder the careers of the hard-working SAG members in Los Angeles who depend on the old-styled film & television industries that have produced for you for so long better than that of any other city in the world.
The rest of the world has moved on. We are all still making films, we’re all making television, and we’re all making new media. And we’re all surviving. The unions of the world, while still perplexed about how to continue to integrate digital media into the landscape of creatives, have been working at figuring this out for quite some time. And have made some headway.
So, advice from an interested party, who feels some sympathy toward you (much as a parent would a child):
For those of you who’ve never lived and worked anywhere else for any length of time, please pick up the agreements established by other unions, and let yourselves be schooled by them. If you don’t like their bottom lines, fine. But at least it’ll help to, first, educate you and, second, bring you into the global reality.
And then, perhaps, we’ll all stop looking at you like such a silly organization.
I recently had a conversation with someone who was vehemently upset with the Membership First contingent. They acknowledged that Howard was a front man. They accepted that AFTRA should have raised charges if they felt SAG was raiding rather then negotiating on their own. And they had to admit that AFTRA got nothing for losing clip control except a speedy contract that let them undermine SAG.
It was fascinating. There was no recognition that AFTRA had been outright predatory. No recognition that breaking off joint negotiations at the last minute was a long planned and destructive act. And absolutely no recognition that those who were going to replace the inept and crazy Membership First had been bamboozled by the AMPTP already and have little recognition that AFTRA will merge only on AFTRA’s terms, that they are fighting for their life and will take SAG down to survive. While this actor was determined that electing Howard and his slate would save their union, where their benefits are and the one which gave them the best working conditions.
Sadly the next few years will tell which of us were right.
my admittedly recent close observation (4 years?) of sag politics tells me, that rosenberg came in on a wave of “get tough and get a good dvd rate” sentiment. I believe alan sought an outsider, doug allen, and grilled him on his unionist philosophy, and found, literally, an extremely intelligent giant and former nfl linebacker, who was going to pursue the truth: of aftra malfeasance, of the mistake of merger – as far as another attempt, of the need for a strengthening of sag solidarity to a common purpose, basically, that, at the bargaining table, the amptp had one objective – cut costs.
I also believe rosenberg actually thought that he could use his powers of persuasion to go to every single branch (except one as it turned out) as well as, of course, ny, and convince the officers and members of that branch, that a tough stance was needed, that we could achieve great things if we stuck together, and that, of course, we needed to prepare for the distinct possibility of an sav or a strike.
personally, I believe that’s when rosenberg became a lame duck. it took a long, long time, but once he uttered those words, over half the membership turned against him.
not right away. there were votes, and those votes indicated, that, despite the blog bitching and the rumor and innuendo, when forced to go on the record, the national board was supporting rosenberg in unanimous or near unanimous numbers.
I really believe, and from eyewitness testimony, I have heard, alan believed it was essentially a no-brainer, and he would never face the kind of pushback he eventually faced, resulting in official muzzling by his own national board and pariah status.
as a friend heard alan rosenberg say, on more than one occasion, with absolute certainty, “there’s no way we can sign this contract.”
I think alan felt he needed to be truthful – absolutely truthful – with the membership and so, he empowered doug allen to go out, do a bunch of research on some third rail issues that we needed to get past, and then print in the sag magazine, for instance, the statistics of aftra poaching, deceit and hostile behavior. I actually think they thought they would be in a better position, if they just printed the facts and put it out there on the table for the entire sag membership to see. I think they thought there would be a collective “holy sh*t!” from sag members when they actually saw the information regarding aftra’s behavior and how it was continually threatening and undermining sag.
I think alan really believed, as well as doug, that making the simple observation that, while aftra performed 5% of the work, at that time, on the tv/theatrical contract, aftra having 50% of the negotiation seats was clearly an imbalance that needed to be addressed. 5% of the work. 50% of the say. makes sense to question that, yes?
why? because the practical result of the imbalance was, every time there was a tv/theatrical negotiation, sag wanted to accomplish certain things, and aftra always pulled back, using it’s inherent veto power via its 50% of the seats, and sag ended up with weaker and weaker contracts.
and, of course, the 800 pound gorilla, was the new media terms of the coming 2008 tv/theatrical offer. once it became clear what they actually were, and doug allen, other top staff, and alan rosenberg, anne-marie johnson and other top officers were able to really, deeply, analyze the potential impact of those new media terms on the sag middle-class actor, I STILL think alan felt it would be a very sell-able pitch to convince the membership and the national board, that sag was being threatened in a new way, potentially the biggest single threat of it’s existence, and sag needed to get united as quickly as possible and get out there and explain to their membership why it was such a threat, how it could end residuals, that the top executives who stated ending residuals as their goal in the ny times in the summer of 2007, were, in fact, deadly serious, and sag would, unfortunately, need to get ready to fight the contract off, and replace it with a fair one, and that that effort would most probably take at least an sav, and very possibly a strike.
then came the wga strike, with sag actors joining forces under the “the wga’s fight is sag’s fight” banner, then john wells, colluded with the dga and the amptp, the dga swooped in, made a terrible new media deal DURING the wga strike, the wga, under extreme pressure from its top show runners, folded, and what was left, was a barren wasteland of deep discontent for strike, a growing anger at sag for not settling with the amptp from other unions, including the teamsters and iatse, and a growing sense that sag had been outflanked somehow, and needed to fold as soon as possible and live to fight another day, damn the consequences of codifying such terrible new media terms as the starting point for future negotiations.
then aftra, our phase one bargaining partner of 27 years, took a series of beefs – bloc voting and the question of proportionality of the tv/theatrical negotiating committee, the supposed raid on the “bold and the beautiful” soap, which, of course, turned out to be completely false, according to the actress who had the actual meeting, susan flannery, with doug allen and alan rosenberg, who told her they sympathized with her complaints about what a terrible union aftra was, but they could do nothing, and she had to take it up again with aftra.
these beefs got the “we hate sag, and we LOATHE MF, aftra members with sag cards community” into a frothing rage. but, to the apparent relief of all, sag and aftra made a deal in front of then afl-cio president john sweeney, to let the water flow over the damn for a united 28th year of phase one bargaining at the tv/theatrical negotiations.
cut to months. MONTHS, of former supporters, moderates who realized at THAT EARLIER time, they needed to publicly cover their own asses and vote to support sag, slowly realizing there was perhaps a major opportunity to undermine sag, delay sag, vilify alan rosenberg and doug allen, as “too hardline,” to the detriment of the average sag member, AND, the real prize, perhaps, with a little luck, so weaken sag as the membership grew more and more frustrated at working under the terms of the 2005 contract, as aftra went right out and began screwing sag by poaching what normally would have been a season of mostly sag pilots, that they just MIGHT be able to pull off a merger somewhere not too far down the line, between a nearly prostrate sag and a ravenous aftra, on aftra’s terms. yummy!
then, finally after, a ham-fisted coup attempt, the moderates pulled off the firing of the n.e.d., doug allen and the muzzling of sag president (twice elected sag president) alan rosenberg, by use of a little used and NEVER BEFORE used for such an important matter (because alan rosenberg went on record repeatedly saying he thought it was “undemocratic”) way of ousting the current government, in the middle of a negotiation with the amptp – “written assent.”
the moderates don’t comply with the rule of written assent , which is “ALL national board members must be alerted and sign the document,” but, rather, only have the national board members sign it they KNOW will vote to fire doug allen and muzzle alan rosenberg. somehow, this passes muster with duncan crabtree-ireland, sag council, and despite an outside lawsuit, at least thus far, the judge feels the majority rules argument trumps the “they violated both the letter and the spirit of the sag constitution and california labor law” argument brought by alan rosenberg, doug allen, diane ladd, and anne-marie johnson. they appeal is still pending.
the election looms, seymour cassel, despite being convicted of sexual harrassment of 4 female sag staff members, stays on the ballot for president via a motion introduced by richard masur pushing his appeal to october, and ken howard is elected president. had cassel not been on the ballot, anne-marie johnson would be president of sag now. there have been theories of why that is not a forgone conclusion, but, I believe, when you look at the numbers it’s clear: take cassel out of the race, anne-marie johnson wins going away and is president of sag.
mf has been very effectively vilified, although the truth is actually much like the situation president obama finds himself in now: elected on a wave of populist sentiment demanding change, promising change, and yet, where are we? we have republicans AND democrats facing constituents who are going wobbly regarding passing comprehensive health care change with a public option to lower private costs, and NOW the public is beginning EVER SO SLOWLY to turn on obama, because they aren’t that interested in the fact that if he doesn’t get the support of the congress to do what the american people elected him to do, well, the congress can make him look weak and vulnerable and powerless. much like the moderates did to alan rosenberg and doug allen. without the votes of the national board, you cannot challenge the amptp in any united, strong manner, the minimum requirement to withstand the intense pressure the amptp, representatives of multi-billion dollar conglomerates, can bring to bear.
bottom line? WE MAKE THEIR PRODUCT. also bottom line? STRIKES TAKE A TOLL.
but MOST IMPORTANT BOTTOM LINE? without the use of an sav or the will to strike (and believe me, the people we just elected have NO will to strike) the amptp will continue too push for lower costs and higher revenues, you know, like BUSINESSMAN DO.
so, the next couple of years will tell us if ken howard’s platform, which we never really even got to hear him fully describe, or defend, since he wouldn’t take any tough, spontaneous questioning, let alone debate anne-marie johnson, consists of anything more than “be nice to aftra, be nice to the dga, be more reasonable with the amptp, and, if we can attain that kind of status going into the tv/theatrical negotiations in oct 2010 for the 2011 contract, sag will be, if it hasn’t merged with aftra by then, in a much better position to achieve major, major concessions from the amptp: a percentage of distributors gross, across all platforms, at the very least in new media, so we have a fair piece of the pie no matter when or how they ‘monetize’ the internet,” which they are hard at work doing, although it is not an easy road for the amptp to figure it out quite yet – they will – bet on that.
ken howard will have to get back clip consent: did anybody watch “60 minutes” tonight (sunday, sept 27th) and see the piece on the uber-agent in indianapolis who represents hundreds of dead celebrities, because prior to his creation of the business in the 1980’s, all profit from the use (misuse) of their images, did NOT go to their heirs or their estate. it went in the pockets of ruthless businessmen making a buck off the image, voice, reputation, merchandising, etc., of a dead celebrity.
now, think about that. it was apparently difficult for the sag membership to understand the importance of clip consent, so the moderates signed a contract giving it away (the 2009 tv/theatrical contract) yes, whether you are a celebrity of not, you very well may find yourself either in some extremely humiliating use of your image, or some extremely lucrative use of your image, and you will not be paid a dime, and you will not have the power to stop the producers from doing it. same with product placement protections. they are now gone. so, you can and will be asked to shill for products in character in a tv or film role, and if you say “no” – unless you are a powerful celebrity, they will simply get someone else. if you say “yes,” and you also make a living doing commercials, and conflicts between tv and film endorsements you had to do for free, take away your ability to audition for those products in your commercial career, you are sh*t out of luck.
the new media terms are so ridiculously low, that, in october 2010, negotiating forward from them will be meaningless. I have a friend who just received his first internet residual. this is a well known and respected actor. it was for 3 cents.
this is a long, long screed. but I think it’s important to put out there publicly, what happened, how we got here, and how slim the chances are the ken howard administration will be able to get us out of it.
and we only have ourselves to blame.
Matt, it’s my turn to tip my hat to you. I think we both feel the same (passionately) about our union and the loss of our bargaining position. Nobody can argue that we’ve lost that, at least.
You also feel about AFTRA as I do, and their aggressive, predatory tactics. I hope these next two years will shed some light on what’s been going on, and that some truth will surface – truth about both AFTRA’s and SAG’s leaders, or lack thereof. More than that, I hope that people will look back at this time – the promises made and not kept; the claims made which were outright lies – and remember who got us here and how. And then put a stop to it.
But I doubt it. Seriously.
It was not Tom Hanks or George Clooney or an agency cabal or UFS outspending MF — It was caused by one selfish person who thinks she knows everything and populates the candidate list with her cronies, directing MF from behind the scenes. She knows ‘who’ she is… May she rest comfortably at her home up North, confident that there will be another election and another chance for her to stick her fingers in the pie… enuf said.
to the producer who calls himself/herself “NOT FROM LA”:
go fuck yourself you arrogant, elitist prick.
you talk about working all over the world, and that SAG actors from LA “don’t travel well’
and “carry their assumptions” about how actors are supposed to be treated.
yeah, we expect to be treated like one of the integral parts of YOUR business, asshole,
without which you CANNOT make your product.
we are a silly organization. you’re right.
because most actors live in a state of fear.
fear of offending some dick like you who “might” someday give them a job.
fear of never working again as an actor.
fear of having to give up their dreams.
and you what? we all need to grow up, man up, and accept reality.
which is something we’re not great at.
BECAUSE THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES IN LIFE.
but what a union is supposed to do is guarantee
lowest applicable minimums, by saying to bigshots like you,
“IF YOU DON’T BEHAVE LIKE A HUMAN BEING, WE WILL SHUT YOU DOWN.”
so when we do work, it will be for proper wages and benefits.
you make movies all over the world because there are people
who are three steps away from starvation
and people like you ARE EXPLOITING THEM.
the russian revolution happened for a reason.
(the aftermath was a disaster, but the revolution was righteous.)
i’m sure you think i digress, but no.
same principle, different scale.
the wealthy grow so disgusting and out of touch with life,
that the common people finally rise up and knock them down.
that old sociopath rupert murdoch says he looks forward to the day
“..when there are no unions. it’ll be great !”
sure, great for clowns like him and you who get to make their gazillions
off the blood sweat and tears of sheep who are to frightened to fight back.
but at some point that transaction ALWAYS REACHES CRITICAL MASS..
and it’s at that point that assholes like you
receive the beat-down they so richly deserve.
have fun making your movies all over the world, ass hat.