Hollywood’s Elite Petition To Stop Strike Authorization

On Monday, a group of nearly 150 well-known actors including Oscar winners George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron and Morgan Freeman, have sent a petition to SAG national president Alan Rosenberg, national executive director Doug Allen and other guild leaders, asking them to cancel the strike-authorization vote. SAG’s negotiations with Hollywood producers have been stalled for months. The letter from those opposing the vote seemed carefully worded to try to make it clear that the actors did not oppose guild leaders and the issues they believe in. However, it’s doubtful Rosenberg would see it that way.

As opposition to the guild leadership’s call for strike authorization has crystallized, national president Alan Rosenberg, national executive director Doug Allen and first vp Anne-Marie Johnson flew east to meet with the New York rank and file to sell them on the idea of giving strike authorization to the national board. With it, they have argued, the guild will have the leverage it needs to get the new TV and film contract they want.

But the majority in NY weren’t buying it, according to two high-ranking guild officials who participated, and the meeting was punctuated by occasional bursts of anger, shouting and name-calling. Alec Baldwin also was a signatory to the letter and one of the high-profile Gothamites to attend Monday’s meeting. Taking the floor, he thanked the negotiating committee for the job they have done so far, and then asked them to step down.

The war between New York and Hollywood has been raging for several years now, with the East Coasters intent on merging with the guild’s sister union, AFTRA, and the West Coasters asserting that the guild’s independence and uniqueness as the largest union in the entertainment industry takes priority.

The fight over the TV/film contract is the latest proxy battle, and it appears to have reached a head. SAG needs at least 75% of voting members to approve the measure; if it passed, the national board would have the authority to call a strike. Were it to be voted down, however, SAG’s bargaining team would have little leverage with which to bring the AMPTP back to the table, and the guild would be under significant pressure to put the studios’ final offer to the membership for a ratification vote.

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