For some time now I’ve wondered why SAG wasn’t getting more support from our fellow workers in the film industry as we try to come to a contract agreement with the AMPTP. If you read the various forums, most of the talk has been of the ‘just settle the contract so we can all get [...]

SAG members received the following missive from National Exec. Director and Chief Negotiatior, Doug Allen. The impression one would get from reading Daily Variety or listening to other press sources is that there is no ongoing communication and SAG is just stalling with no plan of action in place. Some of the conventional wisdom has [...]

July 16, 2008 Dear Screen Actors Guild Member: Small contingents of the negotiating committees for Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers met for two hours today at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. Both parties agreed to keep the contents of today’s meeting confidential. We will continue to update you [...]

All votes have been cast and per Daily Variety: “Ballots are due at 5 p.m.Tuesday in Everett, Wash., home to the independent ballot-counting firm Integrity Voting Systems.” An announcement is expected this evening on the results. SAG and the AMPTP are scheduled to meet again on Thursday, 7/10.

The big sticking point in the now on-hold negotiations between SAG and AMPTP apparently centered around actor’s compensation from DVD, Cable, Internet Original Programming, Video Streaming and other so called ‘New Media’ distribution channels. Diane Holloway’s column in today’s Austin American Statesman touches on this issue, though she isn’t discussing the negotiations or a possible [...]

On Wednesday, SAG negotiators proclaimed SAG and AMPTP were ‘within a few hours’ from a done deal when talks were ended. Time to move on to the AFTRA talks which had been delayed at SAG’s request in an attempt to finish the negotiations. AMPTP says the SAG proclamation of a near deal is mistaken, the [...]

SAG CONTRACT 2008 REPORT Number 1 April 22, 2008 SAG and the AMPTP have been meeting since negotiations began on April 15. Our proposals address many issues facing today’s middle-income actors. Below is information on this important topic. Middle-Income Actors…Are You Feeling the Squeeze? Most middle class actors are. One of our top priorities in [...]