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L
os Angeles (January 26, 2009) -- The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors by written assent today terminated the employment of Doug Allen and appointed former Guild general counsel David White to replace him as interim national executive director. The board further appointed longtime Guild senior advisor John T. McGuire as chief negotiator.The board also disbanded the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee and directed that it be replaced with a Taskforce directed to complete these negotiations on behalf of the board of directors.All actions are effective immediately.The assent was received and verified by Guild legal counsel and Screen Actors Guild’s outside counsel.White has assumed his role as interim national executive director and will work from the Guild’s national headquarters office in Los Angeles beginning Tuesday, January 27, 2009.
“This is a difficult time for Screen Actors Guild and a particularly challenging period for working actors,” said White. “I am deeply committed to the Guild and its members and I believe that, working with the national board, we can help guide this transition.”
“I look forward to working closely with this talented and dedicated staff, many of whom I know well from my years as the Guild’s general counsel,” he added.
During his tenure as Screen Actors Guild’s general counsel, White directed the organization’s legal and governance staff and played a central role in the Guild’s contract negotiations and strategic planning efforts. He later co-founded and served as the managing principal of the consulting firm Entertainment Strategies Group (ESG). A graduate of Stanford Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, White was previously a labor and employment attorney at the Los Angeles firm of O’Melveny & Myers.
He has consulted for Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and a variety of urban development projects in the United States, England and South Africa. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Grinnell College and is the former co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Labor Law Standing Committee. He also serves as a Mayoral-appointed commissioner of Los Angeles for urban area planning and development.
John T. McGuire is currently the Guild’s senior advisor. During his nearly 40 years with the union, he participated in or led more than 30 contract negotiations covering actors. From 1983 to 2001, he was Screen Actors Guild’s associate national executive director, the second highest ranking executive position. Prior to 1983 he served as the New York executive director.
McGuire graduated from Fordham College with a B.A. degree in History and from Fordham Law School with a J.D. degree in law. He has represented the union internationally at meetings with performer organizations around the world. He serves as a trustee of the SAG-Producers Pension & Health Plans, as well as vice president and founding director of the American Museum of the Moving Image, president of the Council of Motion Picture & Television Unions of New York City, secretary of the Motion Picture Players Welfare Fun and as a trustee of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. He is a member of the board of the Industry Advancement & Cooperative Fund and is vice president of the International Federation of Actors.
Guild senior executives issued an email reminding Guild employees to continue to pursue the organization’s core mission of serving and protecting the interests of Screen Actors Guild members.
Official SAG Statement Regarding National Board Actions Today
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Face it, the words Unite and Strength don’t apply to SAG.
You have no mandate. Not even close. The only way you can succeed is by making peace with Membership First, which means the second guessing has to stop.
You need them, and they need you. Everyonoe forgets it’s the producers who are the opponent, not each other.
A good place to start would be for both sides to agree to drop the names Membership First and Unite for Strength and start referring to themselves as the Screen Actors Guild.
The fix is in.
I second that!! Drop the stupid names and the stupid in fighting. Remember who you were voted in to represent, the UNION MEMBERS, not your fractious groups.
thank you Randy.
Rosenberg needs to be next. Actually Rosenberg first, then Allen, oh well.
Membership First, thanks for playing…….
Randy,
You are absolutely correct all political factions of SAG need to stop the political battles and become SAG.
However, it is not really UFS vs MF. It was MF vs everyone else in SAG. UFS was not alone in this assent, they have been given the credit, but the NY and regional board members (except for one) supported this unanimously along with UFS’ Hollywood members.
It will be interesting to see if MF gets on board with the new NED. Considering how they have preached for the last year or so how anyone not supporting the NED were anti-union etc. Was that really how they felt or was that just because it was their NED and their agenda?
A little advice for Unite For Strength: If you or your proxies at sagwatch continue to gloat or dance on Doug’s grave that 52% will be gone in no time. Be gracious. Extend a hand. Move forward.
I wish to revise and extend my previous remarks about the key role played by Amy Brenneman in the January 26th Massacre.
The following statement is unfair. It fails to give much-deserved credit to two supporting players: the son of Alan Arkin and the soon-to-be ex-wife of Alex Young, co-president of film production under Fox’s Peter Chernin. Please keep them in mind as you read this analysis:
Doug Allen’s firing and the dissolution of a valiant negotiating committee can be traced to one event.
Sometime in 2008, television star Amy Brenneman decided to run as the leading name on the electoral slate of Unite-for-Strength. (www.USActorsOnScreen.com)
Brenneman won a plurality of the votes of Hollywood Branch members in September, 2008. Her presence on the slate helped other Unite for Strength candidates win enough votes to secure a majority of so-called “moderates” on our National Board.
The die was cast.
If you have to live with an inferior, insulting, degrading contract for the next three years, and many more, you can thank One Lucky Star.
Did YOU vote for her? (For Arkin or Walsh?) There will be another election come September.
This adds a whole new meaning to “Star Chamber”. Now all you need to throw yourselves back into the 19th Century is a “vigilante posse.”
If this were a script, it would never sell. Well, maybe with some chains and whips and a Motorcycle gang and an alien invasion with flying saucers.
Enter, Stage Left: The Tall Lawyer enters the room, dragging his leather satchel overstuffed with papers. The first little green man stands upon the table and whispers softly while stroking his corporate whip over the whipped cream covered slave, “we’re here, what is it you want to give us to make us stay?
Rest In Peace
Screen Actors Guild 1933-2009
“Divided, they stood apart”
The center-right coalition, code-name: “the moderates” — the U4S/USAN coalition has finally terminated Doug Allen. The center-rightists have also dissolved the long-standing Negotiating Committee. How to respond to the January 26th Massacre?
Prepare now.
Study very carefully the contract which was left on the table by the AMPTP.
Observe, very carefully, whatever changes to that contract are made in the next round of negotiations, between the AMPTP and the new U4S/USAN “Task Force,” led by Mr. Allen’s replacement.
Think. Inform yourself and your friends. Debate. In a short time, maybe six weeks, we will be asked to decide the fate of our union. We will be asked to decide our future as professional actors.
Will the new chief negotiator and the U4S/USAN Task Force win a contract that we can live with, live with in some dignity? Will they win a contract that will guarantee a decent standard of living for the next generation of actors?
If so, I will vote to RATIFY that contract.
If not — if the contract the U4S/USAN negotiating team sends to us is not significantly better than the contract now on the table, I will fight against its ratification with all the energy I and my family can muster.
Be prepared. Be ready to fight for your life as an actor. Be ready to fight for what you deserve and fight for your very dignity as a human being.
This is who is taking over Doug’s job.
LOS ANGELES, April 15 /PRNewswire/ — Former Screen Actors Guild
General Counsel David White discusses entertainment strategies, opposing
arguments and consequences of the potentially devastating SAG strike. The
labor negotiations begin today in an effort to reach a new collective
bargaining agreement before the June 30, 2008 expiration of the present
agreement.
“No question about it, such a strike would be devastating, particularly
on the heels of the 100 day WGA strike. People are only getting back on
their feet now by paying off credit card and home equity debt they used to
get through the first work stoppage. Even if some film has been stockpiled
by then, SAG can basically shut down new production, which means no work
for many people,” said David White, Esq., former General Counsel for the
Screen Actors Guild.
David White, Esq. is now a partner at Entertainment Strategies Group,
LLC which is a consulting firm that specializes in helping entertainment
companies and professionals navigate the complex world of entertainment
unions, Guilds, and collective bargaining agreements, and bridge the gap
between labor and producers. A graduate of Stanford Law School and a Rhodes
Scholar, David was a labor and employment attorney at O’Melveny & Myers,
LLP before becoming SAG General Counsel.
So they give the job to someone who consults producers on SAG’s contracts. Do you think the producers hire him on how to stay within a contract or how to get around a contract?
Not to mention he seems to have already made up his mind about a strike.
Randy,
Your comment is a perfectly written statement of what’s in SAGS best interest.
It’s pretty easy to blow things up. I’ll be surprised if they can actually build anything. The new team is going to go to the AMPTP and come back with Force Majeure saying; now we have the same deal as everyone else, and recommend we ratify it, promising we’ll revisit the crappy new media formula after we merge with AFTRA. Then I guess we’ll see how many of us are worn out enough to eat the shit sandwich… I think I’m just getting my second wind-
Comments like “Everyone forgets it’s the producers who are the opponent” really don’t help you chances of “succeeding” either, Randy
I agree with Randy.
I work with a lot of actors in this town and they’re frustrated by the lack of a contract, lack of work and an uncertain economic future. “Congratulation, and welcome my world and everyone else’s who makes movies in this town,” I tell them.
Personally, I think it’s time for all of us in Hollywood, whether you are above or below the line, to Unite for Strength given these Depressionary times. What good is fighting for digital downloads if there’s nothing being made to download? Think about it.
Randy – Well said. Both sides within SAG should work together in putting together their best “Why vote yes?” and “Why vote no?” statements to send out to all members to vote on whether to accept the “final” AMPTP offer. That is, simply provide some balanced guidance to the members and let them decide the next step. If they vote yes, done. If the vote no, SAG should be more united and will have stronger a negotiating position against AMPTP. Let well informed members decide the next step.
HA. After voting FOR a strike referendum these folks waffle and say the economy is too rotten to strike. So Allen compromises and says let’s send out the contract as is to the members for a vote.
This so scares Unite For Strength that the membership voting down the contract will lead to a better contract and slow their agenda to merge with AFTRA– and move toward affected member voting–they fire Allen which costs you and I $500,000 in dues. They will have to pay out the remainder of his contract, and that half million is what it will cost.
That’s money that could buy a lot of health and pension. With the economy so awful we can’t afford to strike how is it we can afford to throw away $500,000 for nothing more than a politcal agenda of Amy Brenneman, Ned Vaughn, and Kate Walsh?
That’s a lot of cabbage. I can’t understand why they’d wanna spend our money this way? Unless of course they have nothing to worry about since 2 of the 3 are married to AMPTP.
It’s amazing how naive the “moderates” are being here. The WGA has confirmed that the AMPTP is already breaking the agreement they signed just a few months ago — not a single penny in online residuals has been paid to a single writer. How can SAG think that any conciliatory deal they sign with AMPTP will result in anything but a similar ripoff?
Bemused Observer – Your point should be included in the “Why vote no?” statement. Point out that more teeth are required in any contract with AMPTP so vote no. The point is SAG appears headless now, but that doesn’t mean the members can’t speak in a clear loud voice when voting up or down.
Death by a Thousand Bee Stings…
… is still death…
Although some in SAG might call it “a new way forward.”
The word on the street is that the new NED
is a bagman for the AMPTP.
Dear Dave Clennon,
This is a wonderful opportunity for you. With your years of experience in this business, you can step up to the plate, and help SAG come together as one. There is always 3 sides to a story, and you can help U4S & MF, throw out what wasn’t working and build on what will. You know that any union is only as strong as their weakest link…so,throwing darts, instead of trying to be part of the solution, hurts everyone. Regardless of who right or wrong, now is the time for thoughtful conversation, and fresh ideas. I have a “Zwick” connection with you “Miles”, so I know you have this in you. Anger eats all that is positive and good…direct the anger into something positive and it will leave. I’m not preaching, I learned this the hard way…the really, really hard way. It’s your time to be a hero, cause you have seen it all.
Producers are getting stronger in this town. And the fact is that movies are worse because of them. Soon the list of credited producers on a particular film will be comparable to a crew list. Development execs are ruining stories.
If you don’t respect actors, writers and directors, you should get out of the business.
btlteamster -
The best thing actors who care – like Dave Clennon – can do is stand strong against the heinous contract SAG’s new negotiator and task force are very likely to recommend to the membership.
U4S was called out on New Media during the election, and they came out firmly in support of the same principles as MF – 100% jurisdiction of New Media regardless of budget level, and comparable residuals between Old and New Media.
I’m predicting U4S breaks their promises, and I dare them, rather, I IMPLORE them, to prove me wrong. But if they do as I suspect, the realists who refer to themselves as Membership First will have to fight tooth and nail to get out and reiterate the message that such a contract is the real beginning of the end of SAG as a relevant union in this industry.
To remind everyone of what’s going on, the moguls are busy as can be migrating content distribution from Old Media to New. They know there’s money there. It’s not some distant future point, it’s the very near future for them, and for us. They just want us to believe it’s still “experimental”. Run that argument past anyone in Silicon Valley and they’ll laugh you out of the room. Anything less than comparable residuals in New Media is a rollback, period. Anything less than 100% jurisdiction in New Media is a rollback, period.
A rollback in residuals for the creative guilds hurts some BTL benefits as well, from what I understand. Anyone who relies on those BTL benefits from their job is shooting themselves in the foot by opposing Membership First’s efforts to prevent rollbacks.
I love the Teamsters. I watched a Teamster truck turn around during the WGA strike when he saw a sign. That union rocks, and the creative guilds can learn a thing or two from them – like not allowing “no strike” clauses into their contracts, so if one union hits the line, ALL unions hit the line.
I would think that someone who calls themself a “Teamster” would have a greater appreciation for union solidarity, AND for standing up against management’s manipulations.
Dave Clennon is standing strong. I think he’d make a good Teamster.
Actors wonder why every non-actor in Hollywood looks at actors as spoiled babies and jokes. Well, look what happened here.
Bickering, infighting, backstabbing, stars taking out ads in trades attacking their own union… pure idiocy.
You’re like the French bitching to each other about cheese while Germany swarms your country.
THANK GOD the WGA didn’t wait for SAG to strike.
Let’s see Doug Allen wanted to go back to the AMPTP, see if they’d sweeten the deal, and then send it out with no recommendation. The U4S’s want to go back to the AMPTP, see if they’ll sweeten the deal, and then send it out with a yes recommendation. Kind of the same only different… MF had a plan for if the contract got voted down. I wonder if the new guys have a plan. I’ve got no problem voting no on a shitty contract no matter who sends it out. I’ll tell you one small thing I already miss about Doug Allen; every email he sent out to the members had a contact email address for anyone with questions, concerns or opinions to be able to voice them. Granted I don’t know that he actually ever read any that I sent but it’s not unreasonable to think that someone did before they hit the delete button. I just got a “A Message from Interim National Executive Director David White” in my inbox, introducing himself. Guess what, no contact email address or phone number. I guess he doesn’t want to know what the members think. Let’s see we’ve got “Membership First”, that’s pretty self explanatory, and then we’ve got “United For Strength”. Strength against who? Certainly not the AMPTP. The AMPTP calls them “the Moderates”… Oh wait, I’ve got it, “United For Strength”- against the membership. That must be what they meant by qualified voting.
You can always count on Dave Clennon to remind everyone of the union’s glorious history with organized crime. Threats, smears and other ugliness is the course of action for anyone who dares acts against his idea of what should be done.
You’re a perfect thug, Dave, and a shining example of why SAG is the biggest joke in the industry.
Dave Clennon – you are a warmonger. You must get off on striking? You had a good time feeling like you were a part of something during the writer’s strike, and you want that feeling back again don’t you? You would like nothing more than to see a full SAG strike so you can march around in your “Scream” mask again.
I am so glad to be apart of a union the does not know what the &%@! they are doing. They are not even capable of upholding the current contract of the members that really need it. I would never be a part of this if I did not have to be. There are the good things and the bad things of a job and this is definitely on the bad side. And here we go again screwing ourselves one more time. If you really look at it a lot of the SAG members that have made it have chosen to move beyond the union instead of stand by the group that got them their. They have their lawyers now, what do they care. I have to say, looking at this I hope to do the same thing and have my own lawyers so I do not have to worry about this lousy contract.
Hey pb,
We have already lost over $50 million that we will never get back. Time to get the ball rolling. We are after all 3/4’s of a year into “NO CONTRACT” , Wake up.
mheister,
My hope is that U4S move will re-open talks with the AMPTP and something will change so that SAG members will feel they are moving forward. For whatever reason the currant team wasn’t able to do this. There is so much anger in the industry right now, and angst over the economy, that something needed to change and I hope this is the answer. I feel people need to ban together and support this new team, even if you don’t agree with how this happened. It’s in everybody’s best interest to put anger aside and come together, because if U4S is a success, then all of SAG wins. One concern I do have…I think (I may be wrong)DGA and WGA have a “favored nation clause” regarding New Media, so if SAG gets a “better” deal, then the other 2 unions get the upgrade. This may be part of the problem with SAG not getting what they want in New Media.
Teamsters DO have a no strike clause in their contracts. When the writers went on strike (which I supported)those of us working got memos from the Studios reminding us of it. It was a warning if you don’t show up for work…say good-bye to your job. The Teamsters not too long ago completed a new agreement for the casting people and there are other contracts coming up, but we’ve been forewarned that because of the economy and the “state of the Studios” not to have illusions of great gains, and of course everyone agrees dealing with the AMPTP is akin to dealing with the Devil.
Anyway…you can’t change the blunders of the past, but you can create your future…do it as one united front.
btlteamster -
I agree that what is, is, and we have to work with it. We just have to hold our negotiator’s feet to the fire. If he sends a bum deal down the pike, we’re going to have to just send it right back.
So now that the union is a complete mess, you bring in a black man to fix it.
Where have we seen that before?
There is no creativity in this town!