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SAG ‘Bizarrely’ Calls for Strike Authorization

Following an inability to agree with studios on payment for shows distributed online, the Screen Actors Guild has decided to pursue strike authorization from its members in a move the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers calls “bizarre.”

Should a strike occur, it would cripple television production for the second time in a year, TV Week writes. In order to call a stoppage, the guild would need a 75% vote. The guild now plans a full-scale education campaign to inform members of the referendum.

SAG and the AMPTP have been at loggerheads since June 30, when the actors’ contract expired. Talks broke off Saturday.

A strike seemed unlikely even a month ago; now, against the backdrop of an increasingly shaky economy, actors seem willing to shove harder against the studios.

A strike could call into question the Academy Awards in February and the Golden Globe Awards in January, as guild leaders are expected to time any walkout in order to disrupt those ceremonies, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The major stumbling block is the guild’s insistence that it get jurisdiction over shows created for the web. Studios countered by proposing instead to limit contracts only to shows above certain budget levels or when professional actors are hired.

“SAG is the only major Hollywood union that has failed to negotiate a labor deal in 2008. Now 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 is quoted as saying.

“We remain committed to avoiding a strike but now more than ever we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers,” a statement on the SAG website reads. “The WGA has already learned that the new media terms they agreed to with the AMPTP are not being honored. We cannot allow our employers to undermine the futures of SAG members and their families.”

No timeline has been set for the mailing or return of the strike authorization ballots.