2008 Screen Actors Guild strike?

[Hurmoth]

SAG and AMPTP Talks Break Down Again

After 27 hours of round-the-clock meetings, talks between the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) have again broken down, and SAG will now seek a strike authorization from its members. First up is a statement from the AMPTP:

The AMPTP accepted the federal mediator's invitation to meet with SAG in hopes of concluding our seventh major agreement of 2008. The Producers met for two days with SAG at the request of federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez. The parties were unable to reach an agreement and the mediator has adjourned the mediation process.

SAG said:

Our leadership was optimistic that federal mediation would help to move our negotiations forward, but despite the Guild's extraordinary efforts to reach agreement, the mediation was adjourned shortly before 1:00 AM today.

Management continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly accept on behalf of our members. As previously authorized by the National Board of Directors, we will now launch a full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization referendum. We will further inform our members about the core, critical issues unique to actors that remain in dispute.

We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it's time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them.

We remain committed to avoiding a strike but now more than ever we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers. The WGA has already learned that the new media terms they agreed to with the AMPTP are not being honored. We cannot allow our employers to undermine the futures of our members and their families.

No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the strike authorization ballots.

SAG will need 75% of its voting members to approve the measure in order to go forward with a strike.

[Lewism]

What again? No TV this winter. Great :rolleyes:

[sundayx Veteran]

This is surreal.

[Hurmoth]

Actually, if they were to strike now, they should have enough episodes to broadcast well into January simply because most shows take a brake during the holidays anyway.

[Rappy Veteran]

Oh Great :(

Why can't they just give what they want they saw what happened last time!

[spacer]

I swear, if they delay the new season of 24 again I am going to kill every member of *** (Film Actor's Guild, Team America).

[Lewism]

I swear, if they delay the new season of 24 again I am going to kill every member of *** (Film Actor's Guild, Team America).

It won't be because before the writers strike half of season 7 was shot and I believe that the finished shooting the rest of the season a long time ago.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

I swear, if they delay the new season of 24 again I am going to kill every member of *** (Film Actor's Guild, Team America).

This is true. I'm sick of waiting for 24, in fact... yep, I'm getting the shakes because of the withdrawal. That said though, 24 should be finished by now, I know here in the UK that 24:redemption is on this week, so surely it must be finished?

[chrisj1968]

all these strikes....what a joke.

[Rappy Veteran]

This is true. I'm sick of waiting for 24, in fact... yep, I'm getting the shakes because of the withdrawal. That said though, 24 should be finished by now, I know here in the UK that 24:redemption is on this week, so surely it must be finished?

They have filmed 3/4 of the Season 7 last I heard and that was about a month ago.

[Hurmoth]

Exclusive: '24' to shut down production for rewrites

Apparently Jack Bauer needs a little breather: After the completion of episode 18 on Sept. 15, production on Fox's hit drama 24 will shut down until Oct. 9 while the writers reshape the upcoming season's creative direction...

They are still finishing up the remaining 6 episodes. So the season could be affected.

[Konstanov]

****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Orange]

I swear, if they delay the new season of 24 again I am going to kill every member of *** (Film Actor's Guild, Team America).

Same here buddy, i will do a RAMBO on them :D don't delay 24 anymore, i want series 7 to come out without any problems :D

[gigapixels Veteran]

This is ridiculous. Apparently they're not accepting similar terms to what the writers and a couple other unions accepted. They want more.

I don't think this is a strike I can support, like I did with the writers' strike.

[ZonoBurk]

This is starting to get old. lol

[Hurmoth]

This is ridiculous. Apparently they're not accepting similar terms to what the writers and a couple other unions accepted. They want more.

I don't think this is a strike I can support, like I did with the writers' strike.

I agree, I won't be supporting this strike myself. Especially considering the great deal the WGA got and SAG just wants more.

[Hurmoth]

New York yells 'cut' on SAG strike vote

The campaign to oppose a strike authorization by members of the Screen Actors Guild got a boost today when members of the the New York Division Board of Directors issued a statement calling for their union to halt the upcoming referendum.

The New York board, which has 14 representatives on SAG's 71-member national board who have often clashed with the guild's leadership, demanded that the national board hold an emergency meeting to appoint a new negotiating task force to replace the current negotiating committee in order to jump- start contract talks with the studios that have stalled for months.

In October, the New York board members supported plans for a strike authorization if mediation failed. But they contend SAG leaders gave short shrift to mediation and that the worsening economy has now made that course of action unwise.

In its statement, the New York board said: "Negotiations failed. Then something else failed, too. The American economy. With that collapse, everything has changed. Our members and our industry are struggling through the worst economic crisis in memory. While issuing a strike authorization may have been a sensible strategy in October, we believe it is irresponsible to do so now."

Regional branches around the country, which often align with their counterparts in New York, were expected to issue similar statements opposing the strike authorization vote, guild insiders said.

The opposition underscores how deeply divided SAG is, making it tougher for union leaders to present a united front as they wage an "education campaign" to muster support for the strike authorization. Ballots will be sent out Jan. 2 and tabulated on Jan. 23, the day before the national board is scheduled to meet. A strike authorization requires 75% approval from voting members, with the board having ultimate say over whether a walkout would occur.

UPDATE: SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement he was "shocked and troubled" by the New York Board's demand to cancel the strike authorization vote, noting the New York board previously supported the idea in October. But he agreed to their demand to schedule an emegency national board meeting, the purpose of which would be to discuss "the ramifications of this extraordinarily destructive and subversive action."

SAG members could strike

Screen Actors Guild officials this week urged its 120,000 members to vote for a strike in January in an effort to forge an agreement between actors and producers.

Strike authorization ballots will be mailed to guild members the day after the new year. ?No one wants a strike,? said Pamela Greenwalt, executive communications director with the guild.

?It is our hope and our goal that members participate in huge numbers.?

Screen Actors Guild officials hope to get the needed 75% vote in favor of a strike and use it as leverage during negotiation talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

At the heart of the contract negotiations is a heated dispute about paying actors residuals for ?new media? used over the Internet. The guild?s contract expired June 30.

?It?s critical to their careers, their future and to their ability to earn a living,? Greenwalt said.

According to the Screen Actors Guild?s website, a writer or director receives about $600 for a TV show rerun on the Internet, while an actor is paid $22.77.

The announcement of a possible strike comes less than a year after the 100-day writers strike halted Hollywood productions. Neither the actors nor the producers want a strike.

In a statement released Wednesday, alliance officials said, ?[screen Actors Guild] members are going to be asked to bail out a failed negotiating strategy by going on strike during one of the worst economic crises in history. We hope that working actors will study our contract offer carefully and come to the conclusion that no strike can solve the problems that have been created by Screen Actors Guild?s own failed negotiation strategy.?

Regardless of the faltering economy, the guild implored its members to stand their ground, saying in educational literature disseminated online, ?Hard times do not mean that we stop demanding fair treatment from management.?

Strike authorization ballots are expected to be tabulated by Jan. 23.

The guild has not finalized a time and date to formally meet with the producers alliance.

In the meantime, the guild is posting literature online to educate its members.

?I encourage every [screen Actors Guild] member to talk and look at the website and look at the issues and understand what?s at stake,? Greenwalt said.

[Rappy Veteran]

US actors' strike vote is delayed

The Screen Actors Guild has postponed its vote on whether to go on strike because of divisions among its members.

It wanted to ballot members on 2 January but will not now do so until 14 January at the earliest.

SAG, which has 120,000 members, objects to studio plans to make one-off rather than residual payments to actors in shows made for the internet.

Some 2,524 actors have endorsed a ballot while 1,373 are opposed to it. A strike could disrupt February's Oscars.

Those in favour of the ballot include Martin Sheen and Mel Gibson while those against include Tom Hanks and Cameron Diaz.

Earlier this month, a New York division of the union called for a delay saying it was "irresponsible" to threaten a strike while the movie industry dealt with the current economic downturn.

SAG chief negotiator Doug Allen said in a statement: "This division does not help our effort to get an agreement from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that our members will ratify."

As a result, the ballot had been postponed and a "special face-to-face" board meeting had been called in Los Angeles on 12 and 13 January to "address this unfortunate division and restore the consensus", he added.

A strike authorisation ballot would not be rescheduled until 14 January at the earliest, Mr Allen said.

If, following a ballot, 75% of voting members approved the measure, the SAG national board would be able to call a strike.

Actors are currently working under the provisions of their old contract, which expired on 30 June, with their leaders failing to reach agreement with the AMPTP on a new one.

SAG says that studio plans to use one-off payments on made-for-internet productions have wider implications.

It says that many actors rely on residuals - payments made every time a production is repeated - for more than half their income.

The AMPTP had previously attacked a strike ballot, saying SAG members were being asked "to bail out a failed negotiating strategy by going on strike during one of the worst economic crises in history".

Such industrial action could ruin the Academy Awards, due to take place in Los Angeles on 22 February, with actors unlikely to cross any picket lines.

The 2008 Golden Globes ceremony was called off and replaced with a press conference because of the three-month Hollywood writers' strike, which ended in February.

[xWhiplash]

You know, if there is another strike, say goodbye to all the drama shows and say hi to ALL reality. Seriously all shows now have lower ratings than before the strike, if they strike again, people will lose more interest.