SAG strike against studios a possibility

TV fans have been able to enjoy a brief but important return of scripted television, but fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Gossip Girls” would be wise not to get used to fresh episodes of their favorite shows.

Since the Writers Guild of America strike ended, worries have spread throughout the film industry about the possibility about yet another strike ““ this time by the Screen Actors Guild. While the WGA includes more than 10,000 screenwriters for film and television, the actors guild includes well over 100,000 television and film actors. Similar to the writers guild, the actors guild’s biggest demands relate to new-media content, such as video clips.

The contract between actors and movie studios is set to expire June 30.

Many believed a new contract between the SAG and the studios would be drawn up fairly quickly, because of the contract resolutions made by both the Directors Guild of America and the writers guild in earlier months.

“I’ve always been saying that we would be out until they started negotiating with the directors and that the (contract) would become a template or a model that would be acceptable ““ if tweaked here and there ““ both for the (screen actors) and the (writers),” said Richard Walter, a UCLA screen writing professor, in an earlier interview.

Negotiations between the SAG and the studios began April 15 but ended May 6, after the studios claimed the two sides were far from reaching an agreement. The studios, also known as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, also exited so as to begin talks with the Screen Actors Guild’s “sister union,” the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.

This second labor union of actors has been in talks with the studios ever since and are expected to reach a deal soon, according to trade magazine Variety. The federation’s contract also expires June 30.

The SAG exclusively covers feature film actors, while sharing jurisdiction over performances for television, radio and new-media outlets such as the Internet. Additionally, AFTRA is more well-known for covering cable television as well as other venues, including journalists, announcers, stunt performers, musicians and a variety of other types of performers. Between the two labor unions, approximately 190,000 individuals are covered.

“Back then, radio and television were totally different industries from film,” said Howard Suber, a professor emeritus in the film school’s producers’ program.

AFTRA was based primarily in New York City while the actors guild operated out of Los Angeles, that is until television production moved west.

“Historically, there has always been a battle between AFTRA and SAG … that has been quiet for a long time,” Suber said.

While the two have also worked together on certain occasions as far back as the early 1960s, a move in 2003 to merge the two unions was 2 percent shy of the 60 percent approval needed from the Screen Actors Guild members.

Suber, for one, said he feels the fact that there are two competing labor unions makes a resolution that much more likely before picket signs become part of the local landscape once again.

“In any case, the one thing that makes this quite different is that the DGA and WGA didn’t have competing unions,” Suber said. “There is no other writers guild.”

If AFTRA is in fact able to reach common ground with the major studios within the next few weeks, it would be hard for the actors guild to justify a strike with its 120,000 members.

“(AFTRA) had already taken the softer position and there are a lot of actors who belong to both,” Suber said. “It takes an awful lot of idealism and guts to stick with the more militant union.”

With AFTRA’s publicly stated hope to soon reach an agreement with the studios, many like Suber are optimistic for new contracts for not just the Federation but both labor unions.

“If I had to make a prediction, it’s that SAG will not go on strike,” Suber said. “My suspicion is that nobody really has the stomach for another big strike. Everyone is aware of the costs, both physical and psychological.”

The writers’ strike cost the city of Los Angeles an estimated $1.5 billion and caused a 6.8 percent dip in television ratings, according to trade publication Broadcasting & Cable.

The Screen Actors Guild’s members have reason to avoid a strike ““ not only because of the possible damage it could do to the industry and the economy at large, but also because of the damage it could do to these actors’ careers in a time when it seems there aren’t enough roles to go around.

“Now, there is less and less work ““ there are less films being made. In the film industry, there is more concentration than ever on the few blockbuster films for the summer, and there’s just less work for actors, and the same thing is true for television,” Suber said. “I think there’s an awful lot of people in the industry who have a feeling right now that the industry is slipping away from them.”

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