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• The Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on April 17, 2009. SAG's previous feature-primetime contract expired in June 2008.Variety: SAG, AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal (April 17, 2009)

  If SAG's national board approves the terms of the agreement at a April 18-19 weekend meeting , as they are expected to do, approximately 120,000 ratification ballots will be mailed out to SAG members.Variety: SAG, AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal (April 17, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. June 30, 2008: The Screen Actors Guild's contract with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expired
  2. Early November 2008, SAG notified members that as of January 1, 2008 the will "vigorously" enforce the ban on nonunion work for new-media productions.Variety: SAG: Union Gigs Only (November 9, 2008)
  3. Current SAG president: Alan Rosenberg
  4. Over 120,000 members in SAGVariety: SAG: Union Gigs Only (November 9, 2008)
  5. SAG was established in 1933 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California
  6. Approximately 80,000 SAG members consistently earn less than $1,000 a year from SAG oriented acting roles
  7. 72.1% of actors make less than $5,000 per yearEW: Actors Discuss Potential SAG Strike (July 2, 2008)
  8. J. Nicholas Counter III has been President of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) since its formation in 1982AMPTP: About Us
  9. SAG's board removed Doug Allen as SAG national exec director for allegedly causing problems with the AMPTP contact negotiationsVariety: SAG, AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal (April 17, 2009)
  10. Allen was replaced by David White as interim national exec director and John McGuire as chief negotiatorVariety: SAG, AMPTP Reach Tentative Deal (April 17, 2009)

• SAG Rule One

  • "Rule One is printed on the back of every SAG membership card and states, "no member shall work for a producer who is not signatory to the appropriate SAG agreement"Variety: SAG: Union Gigs Only (November 9, 2008)
  • According to a message sent to SAG members in November 2008, "SAG members may work on new-media projects if they are covered under an AFTRA collective bargaining agreement"Variety: SAG: Union Gigs Only (November 9, 2008)

• Demands

  • SAG announced three "threshold" issues on September 30, 2008
  • "New-media jurisdiction for all productions as opposed to the $15,000 per-minute budget threshold that the majors propose"Variety: SAG Meets Federal Mediator (October 24, 2008)
  • "Securing residual fees for made-for-Internet productions when those productions are reused on new-media platforms"Variety: SAG Meets Federal Mediator (October 24, 2008)
  • "Continuing force majeure protections for actors, which the majors have sought to eliminate"Variety: SAG Meets Federal Mediator (October 24, 2008)

• Federal Mediator

  • On October 24, 2008, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, the federal mediator brought in by the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers before the 2007-2008 writers strike, met with SAG president Alan Rosenberg, national executive director Doug Allen and deputy national executive director for contracts Ray Rodriguez at SAG headquarters in Hollywood, CA. SAG. They discussed the guild's request for mediation and the possible resumption of negotiations. It also said that Gonzalez was scheduled to meet with representatives of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers on October 30, 2008.Variety: SAG Meets Federal Mediator (October 24, 2008)

  • Prior to the November 20, 2008 meeting with Juan Carlos Gonzalez SAG and AMPTP representatives had not met with each other since mid-July 2008.THR: Mediator Unable to Bring SAG, AMPTP Together (November 22, 2008)

  • According to Variety, if the "new round of talks has failed, the negotiating committee would have the power to ask SAG members for a strike authorization -- a process that would take 30-45 days and require more than 75% of members voting to approve for a strike to occur."Variety: SAG Meets Federal Mediator (October 24, 2008)

• Negotiation Breakdown

  • The negotiations ended at 1 a.m. November 22, 2008 and both sides issued statements as SAG prepared for a strike vote.THR: Actors Will Vote on Strike (November 24, 2008) SAG said, "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."THR: Mediator Unable to Bring SAG, AMPTP Together (November 22, 2008)

  • Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) responded, "SAG is bizarrely asking its members to bail out the failed negotiating strategy with a strike vote -- at a time of historic economic crisis. The tone deafness of SAG is stunning."THR: Mediator Unable to Bring SAG, AMPTP Together (November 22, 2008)

  • In December 2008 SAG announced strike authorization ballots will be mailed out on January 2, 2008. In order to authorize a strike 75 percent of the guild members must vote "yes" before an official strike an be declared.New York times: Inside SAG's Strike Authorization Battle (October 12, 2008)

  • After 27 hours of meetings to prevent a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike, the federal mediator was unable to reach an agreement. The strike vote had been originally scheduled for January 2, 2009 but was rescheduled for January 14, following a SAG national board meeting on January 12 and 13, 2009. These actions have led observers to speculate that the SAG may be reconsidering calling for a strike vote. A number of union members, including George Clooney and Tom Hanks, indicated that they would oppose a strike.Variety: SAG Ready to Call It Off? (December 23, 2008)

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Screen Actors Guild | AMPTP | Writers Guild Strike | Writers Strike Ends | George Clooney | Tom Hanks | Alan Rosenberg

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