Member Since: 11/4/2006
Posts: 37,808
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Another strike coming soon?
Screen Actors Guild blasts AFTRA deal with studios; union says deal could mean backward steps for actors, holds anti-AFTRA rally in Los Angeles.
Oh those actors...they sure can be dramatic. Tensions between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) have boiled over and spilled onto the street.
Even the SAG logo is at odds with itself!
Even the SAG logo is at odds with itself!
In response to AFTRA's recent tentative deal with major television and film studios, SAG yesterday hosted a rally to bad-mouth the agreement, says Variety, claiming it hurts actors' chances at a fair shake. These tempestuous events come at a critical time when both unions are frantically attempting to avoid a strike, which would be another blow to an industry still recovering from the writers' strike that ended just months ago.
At the heart of the row is what's always at the center of industry arguments--money. Like the dispute that fueled the writers' strike, actors want a bigger piece of the pie, particularly since that tasty pie has gone online in the form of ad-supported streaming video and episodic downloads, and revenue from this so-called "new media" is expected to explode.
AFTRA's recent deal includes increases in money in all the the sensitive areas, but much of SAG believes it isn't enough. Because many AFTRA members are also SAG members, SAG leaders are calling on those who carry both cards to veto the AFTRA deal, undermining efforts put forth by AFTRA's bosses.
"It is essential that we vote down that AFTRA deal now," said SAG president Alan Rosenberg at the "solidarity" rally. "AFTRA has now abandoned us to make their own deal to the potential detriment of actors. ... AFTRA's capitulations on these major issues has created a problem for our negotiating team and for all of us who are joint cardholders."
AFTRA is naturally miffed at the call, but even people with close ties to SAG have mixed feelings. New York SAG president Sam Freed labeled the rally--which reportedly passed with a paper-thin 13-10 vote among SAG brass--"an irresponsible embarrassment," according to Variety.
SAG, with more than 120,000 members (versus AFTRA's 70,000-plus), clearly pulls more weight in the dispute. Should the union not be able to reach a deal with the studios, a strike could potentially (though unlikely, as sides would probably extend a grace period for negotiations) be called as soon as June 30, when its current contract expires. And unlike the writers' strike, which had the advantage of stockpiled scripts, production on films and television shows would immediately be stopped.
Let's all cross our fingers and hope that something can get worked out. If not, we're looking at a whole lot more Moment of Truth and other reality shows.
http://www.tv.com/story/11376.html?o...dlines;title;0
Ugh God not another one... 
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