SAG battle
Mike Farrell is really bad mouthing SAG these days. He chronicles every misstep they've made in calling for a strike. When a guy this pro-union is willing to mock the union, procedure must be a clusterfuck from hell. No wonder they've delayed the authorization vote for a couple of weeks. Hopefully they'll cancel it indefinitely.
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Their first step was a high-handed approach to the agents, insisting they could simply "promulgate" SAG's authority over all actor's contracts and take legal action if the ATA, the agents' organization, didn't toe the line. You may have heard the laughter. Needless to say, our leaders didn't broadcast the humiliating rejection that ensued, but, as you may have noticed, we still have no Franchise Agreement with the major agencies.
Raising DVD residuals (labeled a 'non-starter' by the AMPTP) had to wait until the '08 contract negotiations, so the next order of business was to Swift-Boat AFTRA and get it out of the way. Our leaders started by bad-mouthing the smaller union, criticizing its contracts and organizing methods. Then they tried to intimidate AFTRA into becoming the neutered bystander in the '08 negotiations with the AMPTP, claiming that the 50/50 deal made between SAG and AFTRA under the Phase One agreement almost 30 years ago was suddenly unfair. Using every trick they could think of, including attempting to muscle the NY and Regional Branches of SAG into line, they belittled and trash-talked AFTRA, pressing it to knuckle under. To their great surprise, AFTRA's leaders called their bluff, refusing to accept less than the equal partnership the long-honored agreement promised. Stunned by this surprisingly firm stand, SAG's leaders backed down, claiming they hadn't really meant it after all.
Subsequent disparagement and double-dealing by SAG leaders, however, resulted in AFTRA's losing patience with the process. Deciding their negotiating partners were not trustworthy, AFTRA broke away and moved to meet with the AMPTP on its own...
This is Mike Farrell talking. It gets worse. He's the former vice president of SAG and he's got nothing good to say about the current negotiators. Melissa Gilbert, the former president, is with Farrell on this. A lot of actors are signing the no-strike petitions. It's like watching a car wreck.
Mike Farrell is really bad mouthing SAG these days. He chronicles every misstep they've made in calling for a strike. When a guy this pro-union is willing to mock the union, procedure must be a clusterfuck from hell. No wonder they've delayed the authorization vote for a couple of weeks. Hopefully they'll cancel it indefinitely.
...
Their first step was a high-handed approach to the agents, insisting they could simply "promulgate" SAG's authority over all actor's contracts and take legal action if the ATA, the agents' organization, didn't toe the line. You may have heard the laughter. Needless to say, our leaders didn't broadcast the humiliating rejection that ensued, but, as you may have noticed, we still have no Franchise Agreement with the major agencies.
Raising DVD residuals (labeled a 'non-starter' by the AMPTP) had to wait until the '08 contract negotiations, so the next order of business was to Swift-Boat AFTRA and get it out of the way. Our leaders started by bad-mouthing the smaller union, criticizing its contracts and organizing methods. Then they tried to intimidate AFTRA into becoming the neutered bystander in the '08 negotiations with the AMPTP, claiming that the 50/50 deal made between SAG and AFTRA under the Phase One agreement almost 30 years ago was suddenly unfair. Using every trick they could think of, including attempting to muscle the NY and Regional Branches of SAG into line, they belittled and trash-talked AFTRA, pressing it to knuckle under. To their great surprise, AFTRA's leaders called their bluff, refusing to accept less than the equal partnership the long-honored agreement promised. Stunned by this surprisingly firm stand, SAG's leaders backed down, claiming they hadn't really meant it after all.
Subsequent disparagement and double-dealing by SAG leaders, however, resulted in AFTRA's losing patience with the process. Deciding their negotiating partners were not trustworthy, AFTRA broke away and moved to meet with the AMPTP on its own...
This is Mike Farrell talking. It gets worse. He's the former vice president of SAG and he's got nothing good to say about the current negotiators. Melissa Gilbert, the former president, is with Farrell on this. A lot of actors are signing the no-strike petitions. It's like watching a car wreck.
