Should SAG Put the AMPTP Contract to a Vote?

As 2008 draws to a close with no contract between SAG and the AMPTP, the animosity between factions within SAG has only become more vitriolic. What is the best course of action?

Accept a truly lousy contract now and hope to undo the damage in three years? Or reject the contract and take a strike authorization vote?

What happens if the guild does take that strike authorization vote and it is defeated? What happens if it passes? Do we really want to strike at a time when the national economy and millions of families are in financial distress?

Do we really believe that SAG, WGA and AFTRA will come together in three years as a group, united in a way that they have not been during this round of contract negotiations?

What is the best hope for the non-star actors who rely on contracted minimums and residuals to pay their bills and try to support their families?

Today, Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily has posted a proposal to SAG. Below is an excerpt. I suggest you go to DHD and read the whole proposal and then read all of the comments.

The decision by SAG president Alan Rosenberg and executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen to delay the Strike Authorization Ballot originally scheduled to start January 3rd should be recognized as the smart move to make now when SAG’s solidarity is splitting down the middle. It is a mature recognition that both sides on this issue raise valid points and deserve to be heard before anything with the word “strike” on it is considered by members.The “Yes” camp believes that actors will be stuck with what is inarguably a lousy deal undermining residuals not just for the next three years but perhaps forever given Big Media’s historical refusal to contractually revisit new technologies. The “No” camp thinks that a Strike Authorization will inevitably lead to an ill-timed strike in this economic recession and that SAG should join the other Hollywood guilds in 3 years to try to negotiate better terms with the AMPTP.So what was supposed to be a January 24th weekend National Board meeting has now been moved up to January 12th and 13th. It’ll constitute one of the two plenary face-to-face confabs held each year. The NY Division and the Regional Divisions should have no trouble traveling to the Hollywood division’s backyard with so much advance notice. The point of this decision to delay is to ensure a fair airing of all views. (It even takes into account the “No” vote petition supposedly signed by “well-known” actors even though the list includes no mechanism for verifying the names posted on it.)

I believe that SAG now has a unique opportunity to bypass a strike authorization altogether and place itself in an even stronger negotiating position by following a third and less risky course of action: to vote on the AMPTP’s June 30th contract proposal.

Therefore, I urge SAG to…

See the whole post and comments at Deadline Hollywood Daily