Protest over attempt to gag SAG report
Towers Perrin calls for consolidation of satellite offices
The demonstration at union headquarters in Los Angeles comes in response to a recent 28-1 vote by SAG's Eastern regional board to bar any guild officer or staffer from commenting on the Towers Perrin report, which calls for extensive changes in SAG's structure.
The most controversial recommendation of the report, which grew out of the board's decision last year to seek member approval of a dues increase, calls for SAG's 29 branches to be consolidated into six regional offices as a cost-savings measure.
The Western regional board is scheduled to consider the motion when it meets this evening at SAG headquarters. Protesters are urging that panel to vote against the motion on the grounds that the issues raised by Towers Perrin should be openly considered by the union's 98,000 members.
"Silencing discussion on Towers Perrin is exactly the wrong way for this union to be run," one SAG source said. "It turns us into the Secret Actors Guild."
Sources believe the Nov. 27 vote to impose the gag order reflects ongoing efforts to stop implementation of the Towers Perrin recommendations. The report, issued to the SAG board last May, said the union lacked consensus on its mission, lacked a business plan and needed to overhaul its structure.
The only move to implement Towers Perrin recommendations came in late October, when the national board adopted a mission statement, recently posted on its Web site.
That statement reads: "The Screen Actors Guild represents its members through:
- Negotiation and enforcement of collective bargaining agreements which establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits and working conditions for performers;
- The collection of compensation for exploitation of their recorded performances and protection against unauthorized use; and
- The preservation and expansion of work opportunities."
