Now that Screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg has twice failed in court to overturn the actions of the SAG board majority to fire former Executive Director Doug Allen and essentially seize control from Rosenberg, it looks like the union will be returning to talks with the Hollywood studios next week. Meanwhile, SAG and AFTRA were healing their rift over the weekend.
“On Saturday, February 7, the Joint National Board of Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists met in videoconference plenary in Los Angeles and New York and approved by an overwhelming majority a package of proposals for the changes to the AFTRA Television and Radio Commercials Contracts and SAG Television Commercials Contract. The SAG and AFTRA Commercials Contracts will be bargained under the terms of the Phase One Agreement that applies to the Commercials Contracts negotiations only,” the unions said in a joint announcement.
The unions had split over the last round of talks with the Hollywood studios over TV and movie production, leading to the current situation where AFTRA has a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and SAG does not.
With Rosenberg’s hardliners no longer in control, the reconstituted SAG negotiating committee had planned to meet with AMPTP representatives last week, but that was derailed by Rosenberg’s failed attempts to get an injunction and take back control of the union. SAG and AMPTP have yet to announce a new date for talks, but it’s believed they are targeting February 17-18.
