LOS ANGELES — The quest by the Screen Actors Guild for a sharply improved labor contract has a new plot line: mutiny.þþInfuriated by hard-line tactics used by SAG leaders in contract talks with Hollywood’s largest studios — talks that broke down a month ago — a less militant collection of actors has started a campaign to take over the guild. “What has been happening so far is not working,” said Kate Walsh, the star of “Private Practice” on ABC and a member of the dissident faction.þþOn Tuesday, SAG is expected to recognize members of the group as candidates for 11 openings on its national board. The hard-liners who currently control the board and set the tone of negotiations will also put up candidates. Ballots go out later this month, and results are to be announced Sept. 19.þþThe arrival of the long-scheduled elections puts SAG leaders in the awkward position of trying to convince the studios that they have the unwavering support of members while facing a referendum on their strategy. Alan Rosenberg, president of the guild, is most displeased.þþ“It is not productive to come out and attack leadership during a negotiation,” Mr. Rosenberg said in an interview Friday. Asked if leaders might have made mistakes in the negotiations, he said: “It’s a lie! We haven’t bungled anything. We’ve been doing a phenomenal job.”þþSAG has rarely passed up an opportunity for infighting, but the latest bout drags the broader industry into the fray. Studios, which gave the union a final offer on June 30, say that no movement on a contract will occur until after the election. So that means another two months of uncertainty, something that has slowed movie production to a near standstill.þþThe insurgent group, which calls itself Unite for Strength, said that even if it wins, the studios should not assume that the negotiations would swing in their favor. “Everyone is absolutely interested in striking the most aggressive deal possible,” said Ned Vaughn, a group leader whose résumé includes roles on “24” and the coming film “Frost/Nixon.”þþMs. Walsh, speaking on a break from taping “Private Practice,” agreed. “It’s not about being moderate or rolling over in contract talks,” she said. “It’s about putting ourselves in the strongest position possible. Diplomacy is not weakness.”þþSome studios are trying to shrug it off, saying that SAG leaders do not hold enough political sway to call a strike (75 percent of the guild’s 120,000 members would have to vote “yes”).þþ“We have decided to continue to move forward with at least a number of our productions,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive, in a conference call on Wednesday. He said the strategy would continue “until such time as we feel that’s not prudent.” Among the movies Disney has started to film are “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” an adaptation of the popular video game.þþBut other studios are proceeding more cautiously. Universal Studios declined to comment about any production set to begin in September or October. Sony said it had none, while Fox said just one picture was in the mix, the relatively low-budget “Tooth Fairy,” starring Dwayne Johnson, known as the Rock. Warner Brothers said productions were planned but refused to name any, citing incomplete casting.þþContract talks broke off in early July after SAG leaders declared the producers’ final offer unacceptable and offered a set of counterproposals. The guild agreed to accept parts of the offer — including modestly higher health and pension contributions — but dug in its heels on several larger issues. The studios responded by saying the offer on the table was not negotiable. þþThe dissident actors’ group includes stuntmen and voice-over artists (one candidate provides the voice of Porky Pig), but few household names. Still, Norma Rae herself did weigh in on the group’s behalf: Sally Field, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the hard-charging union leader, has endorsed the Unite for Strength slate.þþThe group is particularly upset about a feud between SAG leaders and the smaller American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Earlier this year, Aftra decided to negotiate with studios independently from SAG for the first time in nearly 30 years. In response, SAG unsuccessfully campaigned to defeat the Aftra contract. Unite for Strength wants the two unions to reconcile and merge.þþIf the dissident group wins a big enough majority — a big if — it could move to replace the guild’s lead negotiator in the contract talks. þþThe faction that currently dominates SAG, known as Membership First, will offer its own candidates for the seats, including Keith Carradine (“Deadwood”) and Joely Fisher (“ ’Til Death”). þþMs. Walsh and her cohort are not alone in their criticism. David M. Smith, associate dean of Pepperdine University’s business school and a labor economist, said SAG’s strategy in the talks could be taught “as lessons of what not to do.”þþ
Source: NY Times
