It’s almost been like a movie itself, but the long-running threat of a strike by members of the Screen Actors Guild, which could have shui down US TV and film production, may end tonight when the results of a members ballot on a new two-year pact between actors and the studios is annouced.
While all the other main unions endorsed deals months ago (particularly after they saw the damage done by last year’s Writer’s Strike), SAG members have been working without an official contract for the last nine months as the unions leadership ripped itself apart over getting the deal done. Much of the problem has been internal at SAG rather than just with the studios and revolved around a hardline and a more moderate faction on union’s main board. The hardliners wanted the studios to give them more, while the other faction was were more conciliatory, especially in the current economic climate.
After months of wrangling, the moderate faction managed to remove SAG’s hardline chief negotiator with the studios and replace him with a team that quickly put a deal together. This didn’t please the hardliners, with SAG president Alan Rosenberg bad-mouthing the deal (even though it’s essentially as good as what other unions negotiated) and even taking the union’s board to court over their firing of the negotiator.
While SAG’s leadership may have ripped itself to shreds over the deal, it’s expected that the membership will pass the new pact when the results are announced this evening. That said, SAG members have thrown out deals before, and this one even has the President of the union campaigning against it.
And the ructions may not end here as many believe tonight’s announcement will kick off campaigning for the unions fall elections. The hardliners and moderates will both be campaigning vociferously for a larger presence on SAG’s board, and the already bitter divisions may only get worse.