Studios Present "Final Offer" to SAG

According to Reuters, in the hours prior to the expiration of the Screen Actors Guild's current three-year contract with studios in Hollywood, the studios took the offensive on Monday and presented SAG with a "final offer."

A statement released Monday by SAG indicates that the proposal "appears to be generally consistent," with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) deal. SAG's contract officially expired on Tuesday morning at 12:01 A.M.

SAG leaders have scorned the deal as a weak compromise undermining their own bargaining position. SAG's position is that actors should received higher revenue from new media, which was a key reason for the Hollywood writers' strike last year.

Not much is expected to occur before next week when AFTRA votes on its deal. About 44,000 of AFTRA's 70,000 members are also a part of SAG.

Hollywood actors last staged a strike over their main film and TV contract in 1980, a three-month walkout to establish terms for pay-TV and video cassette production.