* Negotiators recommends a Strike Authorization Vote! *alert Will SAG's negotiators ask for a Strike Authorization Vote today ??

This story is as much about SAG’s negotiating team asking for a strike vote, as it is about the biased, anti Membership First, pro AMPTP reporting of media outlet’s like the Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, and the LA Times.

You’ll notice in this blatant piece of AMPTP propaganda that any pretext of fair and balanced news reporting is abandoned.

It would indicate to the Ol’ Dog that producers, who have influence on what is reported in the trades, are themselves beginning to feel the pressure--that despite their propaganda to the contrary, SAG’s membership may be on the verge of calling their bluff and okaying a strike authorization.

And since their return to production, seemingly, was based on the determination that they wouldn’t, it could very well be panic time on their part.

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SAG closes in on strike vote
Membership approval will be sought Wednesday

The guild's negotiating committee is expected to approve a measure Wednesday asking for the rank and file's approval for a work stoppage, and the measure probably will pass, according to SAG sources with knowledge of the meeting.

A spokeswoman for the guild confirmed that negotiating committee would meet but said she did not know the meeting's agenda.

MembershipFirst -- the dominant political party in Hollywood that favors a hard-line stance toward producers -- recently lost its majority status on the guild's national board to a consortium of factions in Hollywood, New York and the regional branches that favor a more moderate approach. However, MembershipFirst still controls nine of the 13 votes on the negotiating committee, making the measure's passage likely, if not certain. During the summer, the guild's national executive committee gave the negotiating committee the authority to seek strike authorization.

Yes, Membership First controls the negotiating team 9 to 4, but in the interest of fair and unbiased reporting, it must be remembered that the negotiating team and SAG National Board voted unanimously NOT to accept the AMPTP’s “final’ offer.

The move toward a strike comes after guild national president Alan Rosenberg and national executive director Doug Allen sent a letter Monday to three top executives -- Disney's Robert Iger, News Corp.'s Peter Chernin and AMPTP president Nick Counter -- asking to reopen negotiations. That offer was rebuffed by Counter, who is the chief negotiator for the major studios and production companies.

Allen issued a statement Tuesday about Counter's rejection: "We are disappointed to hear that the employers and their AMPTP representatives are refusing to engage in the process necessary to complete a deal. We do not believe that their rejection of our reasonable request is in the best interests of our members or the industry. Our national negotiating committee will be meeting later this week to consider management's response."

Several more steps would have to happen before a work stoppage would take effect, but one national board member said the fact that guild leaders would consider a strike while the national economy is foundering shows the desperate shape they are in after months of negotiations, which have yet to produce a deal.

Oh, yes, once again there it is, folks. One of AMPTP’s sycophant media responses. Imagine, SAG would consider a strike while the National economy is floundering. Now, I’m just taking a wild shot here, but there could be another way to look at it, if, in fact, one didn’t have their head so far up Nick Counters ass, they started to use an extraordinary amount of colons in their writings.

How, about if it was reported this way? One AMPTP executive said, “The fact that the AMPTP leadership would precipitate a strike with their oppressive rollbacks while the National economy is floundering shows the desperate shape they’re in." Of course, if you ever saw a report that took SAG’s side over Hollywood’s Power Brokers in any of our local media outlets, it would be an immediate candidate for Ripley’s “Believe it or Not!”

Look, if producers are truly concerned about the economy and their products, why don’t they return to the table and broker a new deal on new media. For instance, instead of giving actors 3 percent of minimum or about 23 bucks for those move-overs from Network Television to the Internet, why don’t make the deal SAG requested, in the first place” One which was based on SAG members getting a small percentage of what producers made; A perfect deal for a failing economy. They don’t make any money, we don’t make any money. They balked on that proposal. Oh, but once again, let’s return up Nick’s Ass::::::

"The only people that seem to be oblivious to the condition of the United States of America right now and the financial situation that we're in are Doug Allen, Alan Rosenberg, and MembershipFirst," said the source. "The idea that we would be going on strike now is absurd in Fellini proportions."

And now a word from the Labor Law AMPTP go-to-guys, who can always be counted upon for a little producer propaganda.

Entertainment labor attorney Scott Witlin of Akin Gump in Los Angeles agreed, pointing out that SAG's leadership is doing this before the first board meeting with its new members.

"This is a direct result of the fact that MembershipFirst has lost power and they're trying to act as a lame duck and pass something that the new leadership would not authorize," said Witlin, who represents mostly producers in labor and employment contracts. "It's just a cynical attempt by the group that was in office to set policy beyond their terms of office."

Look, one thing for certain, when so many attacks come from so many different sources dependent on big Entertainment Corporations dollars, you can bet Membership First is doing something right to protect members and put more money in their pockets. When was the last time, you read one local media report, or heard one media labor lawyer, one AMPTP spokesperson go after the “compliant ones” at AFTRA, USAN New York leadership, or the Unite For Strength slate. But, but, but…let’s get back to this fair and balanced story.

If the measure passes, a referendum would be sent to members; 75% would have to approve the authorization before the national board could call for a work stoppage. A simple majority of the board would then have to approve a strike. Although the new board will not be officially seated until the third week of October, it is doubtful that a referendum could be sent out to members and voted on before then.

It also is uncertain whether three-fourths of guild members would support a strike. Not only are many still recovering from the effects of the 100-day writers strike, which stretched from November-February, but film production across the country -- which had been booming because of generous state tax incentives -- has slowed in regions outside of Hollywood because of the stalled contract talks.

You got to give it to this guy, and the Reporter, they are to the point where they don’t even bother to give a semblance of neutral reporting. Ah, you think maybe the AMPTP might be getting a little nervous? Naw!

Additionally, in the recent election, members voted out many board members who sit on the negotiating committee, including its chair David Jolliffe, in favor of the challenging faction, Unite for Strength. The members of the negotiating committee, however, remained unchanged because technically they still are in negotiations on a new contract.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers issued its final offer to the guild June 30. SAG made a counteroffer that was rejected. Since then, Rosenberg and Allen have maintained that they have had informal, back-channel discussions with studio heads, but guild sources and sources close to producers say those conversations have not taken place.

"If they get strike authorization, almost certainly the (AMPTP's) final offer comes off the table, and when SAG comes back, asking for a deal, anything that the employer will give them will be a worse deal," he said. "If they don't get strike authorization, then they've completely squandered their bargaining power because management will know there is no strike, and they'll force them to take a deal."

Oh, woes me, oh woes me… This is such a piece of biased BS that it is actually comical. And you think this is bad, you should see the Producer Propaganda on Backstage Blog. Backstage and the Reporter owned by the same company that owns Ad Week has become little more than a mouthpiece for Hollywood’s studios and powerbrokers. But, let’s get back to this wonderful demonstration of unbiased, fact-finding journalism in action.

SAG polled its members in September on whether they wanted the negotiating committee to push for a better contract or accept the AMPTP's offer "as is." The result was 87%, or 8,987 members, voted to keep talking. However, of the 103,630 paid-up SAG members who were sent the poll, only about 10% responded.

Which by the way, made it the largest poll in SAG history. Oh, by the way, the Reporter never seemed to have any questions, or comments, when AFTRA had their Exhibit A referendum, and refused to even tell their own board members how many members voted—or for that matter to even let them verify the results. But, but, but…then they are on the AMPTP favorite list, and as it has become fairly apparent that puts them off limits for criticism from those reporters who enjoy having a job.

As to the fact there was not one comment or response from the other side, ah, I’m sure we’ll hear their side of this matter in another story, ah, right?

Andrew Salomon is news editor at Back Stage East. Leslie Simmons in Los Angeles contributed to this report

The Screen Actors Guild's negotiating committee voted Wednesday to support a strike authorization vote, a tactic meant to break stalled contract talks with Hollywood studios.

The recommendation, approved 11-2, now goes to the guild's national board for review, and would ultimately need approval of 75 percent of the some 120,000 voting guild members.

"My personal opinion is, yes, we will achieve a strike authorization," said Anne Marie Johnson, a spokeswoman for Membership First, a faction of actors that had controlled SAG's national board until it narrowly lost its majority in elections last month.

"Membership First has always been a strong advocate of having a strike authorization with us while we're negotiating," Johnson said. "That's really a wise way to negotiate."

Contract talks dealing with prime-time TV shows and movies have been at a standstill since the previous contract expired June 30.

Actors have been working under the terms of the old deal in hopes of avoiding a repeat of a 100-day writers strike that ended in February. The strike shut down production of dozens of TV shows and cost the Los Angeles area economy an estimated $2.5 billion.

The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, said the economy is in trouble and urged actors not to strike.

"It is unrealistic for SAG negotiators now to expect even better terms during this grim financial climate," the AMPTP said in a statement. "This is the harsh economic reality, and no strike will change that reality."

The SAG's national board, a 71-member body, is scheduled to meet Oct. 18. A simple majority is needed to approve the call for a strike vote.

The guild on Monday called for talks to resume, sending the request in a letter addressed to the alliance, The Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger and News Corp.'s Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin.

The producers' chief negotiator, J. Nicholas Counter III, said he declined to resume talks because SAG continues to insist on terms the companies have rejected.

The guild wants union coverage of all shows made for the Internet, regardless of budget, and residual payments for actors on made-for-Internet shows that are reused on the Internet. It also demands protections for actors during work stoppages.

The alliance has stuck by a final offer it made June 30, which it said mirrored deals accepted by directors, a smaller actors union called the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and writers following their strike.

The producers have said the proposal is worth $250 million in additional compensation over three years, a figure SAG disputes.

As of Aug. 15, the alliance withdrew an offer to backdate the increases to July 1, and, according to its Web site, actors had lost some $21 million in increases by Wednesday night by not approving the deal.

Last month, 87 percent of the 10,300 actors who responded to a guild survey backed its leaders' drive for a better deal. The producers alliance called the survey materials "hopelessly one-sided."

So, who do you figure voted against getting a strike authorization so the AMPTP will take us seriously.

Okay, I don't know, but what do you want to bet it was two members of the New York Negotiating team. New York negotiators are part of those who think we should shut up and take whatever Nick and his pals want to give us. Thank God, these two were not around when we got residuals and P&H or we never would have got them.

SAG NATIONAL TV/THEATRICAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE PASSES ADVISORY MOTION TO NATIONAL BOARD

Los Angeles, CA (October 1, 2008) – The National TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee of Screen Actors Guild today passed the following advisory motion to the National Board:

“Whereas, Screen Actors Guild has been and remains willing and able to continue formal and continuous negotiations with the AMPTP and the employers, with the intention of reaching a mutually-acceptable deal; and

Whereas, the National Board has unanimously identified the core principles of new media jurisdiction and new media residuals as essential elements of any agreement in the Television/Theatrical contract negotiations; and

Whereas, preservation of longstanding force majeure protections for actors is of self-evident importance; and

Whereas, the President and Chief Negotiator have communicated this view to the AMPTP and the employers, and have requested that they return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair deal; and

Whereas, the AMPTP and the employers have refused to change their position and have continued to refuse to meet to attempt to advance the negotiations; and

Whereas, in the opinion of the National Negotiating Committee, the AMPTP and the employers will only seriously engage in further negotiations after the members of the Guild express their confidence in their leadership by authorizing them to take all actions necessary to protect the interests of the membership, including a strike; and

Whereas, although the National Board has already unanimously delegated the authority to take a strike authorization vote to the National Negotiating Committee, in the opinion of the Committee, the strong and public support of the National Board for the necessity of a strike authorization at this time is a necessary prerequisite for its success;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Negotiating Committee that:

A strike authorization vote of the membership is necessary to overcome the employers’ intransigence, and the Committee therefore recommends that the National Board authorize such a vote be taken; and further recommends: That the National Board adopt a resolution strongly supporting such an action, and recommending that the membership vote in favor of a strike authorization; and

That the National Board endorse an educational campaign advocating a “yes” membership vote, to give the authority to the National Board to call a strike only if the National Board deems it necessary and unavoidable to do so. “

Adopted: October 1, 2008