|
| |
SAG on the Verge of Strike
22-Nov-2008
Written by: Christine Le
Actors fight for their contracts.
Hollywood is feeling the effects of the economic crisis too. The Screen Actors Guild, which represents over 120,000 actors, announced Saturday that its members would go on strike if Hollywood studios fail to stick with the original payment terms on their contracts (Reuters).
Studios are seeking to create productions for such new media as the Internet, employing non-union actors in order to not pay residuals, reported AP. Residuals are payments to actors for every airing of a production, such as TV reruns.
"[The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] (AMPTP) is asking us to bless a system we believe would be the beginning of the end of residuals, and that's a very scary thought for working actors," said Doug Allen, national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG (AP).
The original contract expired earlier this year on June 30, leaving actors in prime-time television shows and movies working without a contract. The negotiation with the studios for the contract renewal failed, despite the assistance of federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez.
According to L.A. Times, the strike will require a 75 percent approval vote from its members in order to go through. However, actors hope this last resort will not be a reality, after the 100-day strike by the Writers Guild of America earlier this year, which cost the Los Angeles economy roughly $2.5 billion (AP).
"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 AMPTP statement said (Reuters), to which Allen responded, "We acknowledge these are tough times, but that's why we need to address the way an actor makes a living. The economic crisis makes it even more important to get a good deal out of this."
Talk to other readers about this story.
|
|
|
|
|
