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UPDATES UPDATE: SAG’s David White To Be Hired Without Official Search Or Vetting
Well, the Big Media moguls have told me they like this guy. Which is good or bad depending on a SAG member’s point of view. He was never vetted by the SAG leadership for his interim appointment. He never questioned any of the key terms of the most recent Theatrical/TV contract except for the date it would expire. And now he has been appointed to permanent status without SAG enlisting an official search committee.
Los Angeles (October 18, 2009) — Screen Actors Guild announced today that its National Board of Directors appointed David P. White as National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator. White has been serving as the Guild’s Interim National Executive Director since January of this year.
The board approved a two-year contract, by a vote of 70.91% to 29.09% at its national board meeting in Los Angeles this weekend.
Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard commented, “I am very pleased that our board has selected David White as National Executive Director. David is a highly skilled professional, with a remarkable ability to listen to the concerns of all sides of complex issues. He is respected by members and staff and I am confident that under his leadership, the Guild will continue building on the achievements he has overseen in the past nine months. We now have six previously open contracts ratified, new cost saving and administrative improvements in place, and innovative initiatives underway. I congratulate David on this position and look forward to working with him during my term as President.”
White stated, “I am honored to accept this position and want to thank the National Board, and the many members who have reached out to me, for their support and statements of confidence in my leadership. I particularly want to extend my personal thanks to my colleague John McGuire for stepping up to the plate during this transition.
“We will continue to get our house in order—financially and strategically. I have great confidence in the Guild’s ability to navigate the dramatic changes taking place in our industry. Screen Actors Guild has a remarkable history and we look forward to the extraordinary future that we know awaits us.”
Secretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino stated, “Screen Actors Guild is extremely lucky to have David White at the helm for another two years. From his hiring nine months ago, he made it a top priority to make a clear and unflinching assessment of SAG’s financial situation, and then he took the difficult and necessary steps to address it. David truly appreciates and admires actors and understands the challenges we face as professionals. His expertise and previous tenure at the Guild make him the perfect choice for this crucial position, and his strategic vision will help SAG thrive as we navigate this critical phase in our history.”
SAG veteran executive John McGuire, who was appointed chief negotiator when White came on as interim national executive director, will continue as senior advisor.
Prior to rejoining the Guild staff, where he previously served as General Counsel from 2002 to 2006, White was Managing Principal of Los Angeles-based Entertainment Strategies Group (ESG) providing consulting services to the entertainment industry.
During his tenure as the Guild’s General Counsel, White directed the organization’s 40-person legal and governance staff, and played a central role in contract negotiations, strategic planning efforts and diversity programs.
A graduate of Stanford Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, White was a labor and employment attorney at O’Melveny & Myers LLP before joining the executive ranks of SAG. Prior to law school, White served as Executive Director of the neighborhood-based, non-profit Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Inc. He also consulted for the Department of Justice, the Chapin Hall Center for Children (University of Chicago) and a variety of urban development projects in the United States, England and South Africa.
White has been selected as a “Southern California Super Lawyer – Rising Star” and has received numerous other awards for his work and service throughout his career. He is the former Co-Chair of the Sports & Entertainment Labor Law Standing Committee of the American Bar Association. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Grinnell College, and was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles as a Commissioner for urban area planning and development. White has served on the Board of Advisors for the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel and a member of the Board of Advisors for the Posse Foundation-LA, an organization dedicated to expanding educational and leadership opportunities to students across Los Angeles County.
White has been a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Lawyer and, as a frequent commentator on entertainment industry trends, has been quoted on National Public Radio’s “Marketplace,” and in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, Broadcasting & Cable, and other publications.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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And what’s next? Next they’ll find a way to merge with AFTRA without even sending out a referendum to SAG members. Like everything else U4S has done, this will happen simply because they have decided it must. And no one, apparently, will stop them.
“Listening to SAG members” and doing what we ask (i.e. following the SAG constitution) are two diametrically-opposed ideas to U4S. We are so fucked.
Sanity reigns at last!
All the wheezers who think they are “fucked” should go get fucked.
And with that, common, U4S attitude, I rest my case.
I realize this is a charged issue as it should be. But I ask this as an actual question, not to rouse the ire of staunch unionists or anti-unionists.
While going Fi-Core is frowned upon by unionist as making that ex-member a scab, hasn’t SAG been moving toward disenfranchising the majority of the membership as more power lands in the hands of UFS– with their pro-Affected Member Voting stance (although allegedly in the past their letter of decent or accent or whatever certainly took the strike vote away from the membership). And if Fi-core is used to protect a member from funding a union that is acting improperly wouldn’t now be the time to go Fi-core?
Without question in my mind, the way the union is conducting itself is outside democracy. If my vote doesn’t matter to a point where it effects decisions of what is allegedly my union, isn’t it really “every man and woman for themselves?” Loopholes are being used to overthrow our elected leader, take away out strike vote, not properly vetting the NED, and will likely merge us with AFTRA whether I vote for that or not or even get a vote.
Is it time where where the logical choice is every man and women for themselves. Is it time for Fi-core?
Now THAT my friend is a good question. Can somebody offerr statistics on money earning potential outside of the union? By the by, I just got my first “New Media Reuse” residual from AFTRA. It was for a costar role on a major show on ABC. The gross amount was $5.94. Part time work anyone?
About the only advantage of going Core would be the ablity to work Non-union along with union. Some NU commercials do pay pretty good.
About the only disadvantage would be not being able to vote. While the affected member plan wouldn’t keep any member from voting in elections, they would keep many from voting on major contracts.
So in my opinion, if AMV were to happen, the union would make many members semi-core without the ablity to work NU. So why not take the next step and become full core?
Being in the union does offer other protections, including being able to call a union rep if you’re being exploited on-set or being ordered to work in unsafe conditions, having the union on your side in the event of a dispute about pay, or not getting paid, so on.
Also, the current administration at SAG is only temporary. Fi-Core is less temporary. It’s not generally easy to simply bounce back and forth between Fi-Core and active status.
Going core does not mean you lose any of your protections provided you are working on a union contract.
I am not a advocate of Fi-Core by any means, I am just pointing out the law under the Taft-Hartley Act.
SAG is now officially the AMPTP’s buttboy….
Oh Dear! Some one with a lick of common sense is the executive of SAG. Shoot the wounded. Burn the life boats. Close the gates of mercy. All is lost!
If the Kamakaze from mumblershift wurst are upset, that means that the rest of the organization will do well. Fortunately, Ms. AMJ is not able to play her race card.
Not vetted? He’s been in the job on an “interim basis” for 10 months. That’s better vetting than any search firm could do.
Sarcastic Cynic -
At the level of NED/chief negotiator of a prominent national union, proper vetting includes a thorough background check to ferret out potential conflicts-of-interest and embarrassing little nuggets from the candidate’s past, as well as a sober assessment of performance in prior positions. This lack of due diligence in the hiring process of SAG’s top administrator leaves the guild in a vulnerable legal position should serious problems with him later arise. Also, by not forming a search committee and at least seeing who else might be interested, SAG has precluded the possibility of a more-qualified candidate stepping forward to offer their services in the position.
In addition to the concerns cited above, the other reason contracting David White without going through this process should concern actors is that David White himself is now responsible for the hiring and firing of a range of SAG employees. The hiring example the guild just set is, hire who you want, and don’t worry about checking qualifications or doing a background check. If White follows this precedent in his own hiring practices, the guild is setting itself up for potentially embarrassing and expensive personnel problems down the line.
Now, speaking to the specifics of David White’s background, has there ever been a full and comprehensive airing of the list of clients he served, and the types of services he performed, as head of his consulting firm prior to being brought on as SAG’s interim NED? Was he consulting for some of the signatories he’s now sitting across the table from? Honestly, I don’t know that such an airing took place, and if it did, please provide the links here. Or Twitter me at michaelheister.
The potential problem IF White was consulting with signatories is that we can’t be sure whether he’s fully representing the interests of actors as chief negotiator, or if he’s looking further down the road at his next payday from the other side of the table.
A thorough vetting process would have eliminated such nagging questions.
My impression of the meeting Sunday is that our new NEC and president have questionable interntions in the protection of the members pay working conditions nor their P&H issues Nor the loss of Branding power once had with producers between the power brokand in fighting in the past years beginning with the horible DVD residuals contract the new media contract in regards to securing residuals for those projects used on the internet to this the crappy theatrical/new media including the crappy AFTRAized yet to be current interactive contract (where I belive the caucuses will be scape goated as was members in the last bad contract -as stated in the meeting mimutes–
SAG is a brand that will be further diluted if merger is attempted
Nor should AFTRAs current contracts influence SAG sell out of the members through give aways and roll backs
I heard a lot of talk in the last meeting talk is crap,actions for the good of the working class actors is what I wait for..
as for the A listers they have theirs and the working class lost theirs..thank you for you lack of supprt of the working class..
Merging with AFTRA, rather than delineating which union has scripted TV jurisdiction, will destroy SAG. AFTRA members work non union with impunity. SAG members do not. AFTRA is so hated, that if a merger occurs, many actors will feel no compunction about going ficore, as the “AFTRAized contracts” will be no better than non-union contracts, and the actors union (SAG) will be destroyed.
Watch if the AFTRA National Board, made up of professions unrelated to acting, approves the terrible Interative Contract. If they do you’ll know what’s in store, if SAG and AFTRA merge.
David White is smart, tough and thorough.
He’s not going to be selling anyone out.
As for his previous clients (whomever they are) he’s not the Manchurian Candidate. He’s a highly qualified professional bound by professional ethics (and yes, potential ranters, that +does* count for something). He’s not a screamer or an hysteric. He’ll get the job done.
David White was hired by his mentor, Bob Pisano, now COO of MPAA, being considered to replace Glickman. So Heister is correct. White has never been through a vetting process by either a Search Committee or the National Board. White just sort of worked his way in flying beneath the radar.
I attended the Sunday Annual Membership meeting and it was a joke. Although I was happy to see a full house. Don’t know what the count was. The vibe in the room was mixed with anger and “show me what you’re going to do now that you’re in office.” Ken Howard did not attend. But he did speak to us via live video hook up. I found his speech uninspired and at points very elitist. He also made a joke that didn’t really fly well and belittled Ann Marie Johnson’s presidential campaign. While acknowledging her, Howard said the reason why he didn’t debate her was that “I’m no fool.” And then he chuckled uncomfortably. Can you imagine if he admitted that during the election? I looked at Johnson who was seated at the front table and she just looked straight ahead, with a poker face. I’d love to know what was going on internally.
His reason for not being there? He had a previous commitment to host a charity event for dogs and cats. Now if it had been an event raising money for organ donors (He received an organ) or something like that, I’d kind of understand. No offense for dogs and cats, but come on. He’s known about this meeting for quite some time. He admitted it. You’re telling the charity couldn’t have found another hi pro to take his place? All the animal loving hi pros out there?! Come on! It’s adding up. Out of 20 meetings, he’s attended only 5.
I felt the crowd was not too please with Amy Aquino’s chairing style. I believe she didn’t manage the meeting well and only got through 25 or so out of the 39 question cards. But she allowed SAG P&H Bruce Dowe to talk endlessly. I think that man must have talked for over 30 minutes. It was ridiculous. And she did very little to control it. What a waste. The information he was sharing could have been done at a separate meeting or in a letter to the membership. Or an email message.
Anyway… I have very little hope and I left the meeting feeling empty and concerned.
It was mentioned that SAG will be holding interactive contract meetings in the next few days. The contract will be voted up or down at these meetings. It’s a shitty contract. Members need to show up and vote it down. And AFTRA will be holding a meeting on Oct. 22nd. We really have to show up for that one two. You have to be an AFTRA member. We have to take control and force the hand of both SAG and AFTRA negotiators. We have to fight this one. If we don’t, then it’s all of our faults.
Well, at least you can bet David White hasn’t got a couple dozen veteran workers from his previous job successfully suing his previous employer for 28 Million Dollars. And you can bet he’s never been a scab.
To Christopher Grove,
David White has already sold us all out. He has kept the truth from SAG membership in several critical issues. Over and over again, he has sweet talked his double talk. He is a politician, and don’t ever forget that. David White does not, and will not ever care about the basic well being of any of us SAG members. Do your home work, or at least keep your uninformed opinions to yourself. I would hate to have to work opposite you, if that’s how trained you are in voicing what comes out of your mouth. Have you worked with Frankenheimer? I have. John knew how to get the job done. David White is the smoke and mirrors, and has no intention of serving us against our toughest contractual battles.
Dear truthteller,
Perhaps I “can” bet that, but I certainly wouldn’t.