Hollywood Prepares for Actors Strike!

by Manny Castro | November 22, 2008 at 02:51 am

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The Associated Press has just reported that SAG (screen actors guild) will contact its members today to authorize a strike. After months of discussions it seems that they haven't been able to reach an agreement with the studios.

This news arrives a year after the writer's declared their 3-month long strike.

UPDATE:

Statements from both parties:

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Studios:

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:

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.

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SAG will need 75% of its voting members to approve a strike.

UPDATE 2: SAG will contact its members in January to see if they approve of a strike.

You ought to look at the following short video produced in Cologne, Germany by TV Star Andreas Stenschke. It points to what is at stake for writers, actors and directors regarding to potential loss of income when reruns of TV shows and movies go to the Internet rather than on cable and broadcast TV where they currently show. In particular as the AMPTP is now reneging on its Internet residual agreement forged with the Writers Guild in February. The link to the one minute video is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PPZV3dTzbg

The Europeans' (and other international artists) situation is absurd and the producers would like nothing more than to remake their modis operandi on these shores as well:

Most TV and film professionals are not millionaires and must continue to share in the after-life revenues, rather than see them erode simply because the previously agreed upon technology (which supports such royalties) has changed.

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