SAG reorg plan on hold
Daniel to sked follow-up meeting after heated debate
SAG prexy William Daniels told the board, following an hour of raucous debate on whether to vote, that he plans to schedule another meeting within 10 days for the sole purpose of voting on the plan. He did not specify a date, then adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m. PDT.
Despite meeting for more than eight hours, SAG's elected officials failed to vote on the agenda item covering the "governance plan," which would shrink the panel from 107 to 60 and boost Hollywood's representation from 46% to 54%. Monday's confab had started at SAG's headquarters in Hollywood at noon with a video conference to SAG's Gotham branch.
Advocates of the plan -- who believe it will enable the board operate more efficiently along with accurately reflect Hollywood's share of the membership -- have already said they plan to launch a referendum drive for a special election to decide on the plan. The drive will require about 10,000 signatures or 10% of SAG's membership.
Officers repping branches outside Los Angeles successfully blocked the plan in April by a 52-50 vote and have claimed that passage will lead to branches being closed, an allegation denied by Hollywood reps. On Monday evening, opponents of the plan complained that they were being rushed into voting on it after backers tried to bring the measure to a vote.
Several key SAG leaders had met during the weekend to craft a compromise but the inability of board reps to even vote on the issue -- which was one of dozens of cost-cutting recommendations in last year's Towers Perrin report -- was not surprising. Ongoing struggles between factions have been underscored recently by the departure of CEO designate John Cooke and upcoming elections.
In earlier action, the board agreed Monday to fund an informational campaign to push for the guild to beef up adherence to rules barring members from working non-union contracts. Kevin Spacey, Tess Harper and board member Frances Fisher have already endorsed such a move.
Board members were told that Harrison Ford, Holly Hunter, Lawrence Fishburne and SAG presidential candidate Valerie Harper are backing the "Global Enforcement of Rule One" campaign. The push will feature an event tied to September's Emmy Awards.
Rule One SAG's constitution explicitly bars members from working for producers who are not signatory to SAG agreements. SAG's enforcement of Rule One has been lax when it comes to work overseas, which has been booming for films and TV because of significantly lower costs.
The move comes less than a month after SAG and AFTRA negotiators were unable to beef up language on coverage of members working outside the U.S. in the new tentative film-TV contract. Members who violate Rule One can be fined, suspended or expelled after a trial board hearing.
The national board also voted Monday by a 74-22 margin against a request by the United Foley Artists Assn. to be affiliated with SAG. The 94-member group told the board that its members, who have never been unionized, generate over $6.5 million in annual earnings.
Several board members contended that the group does not qualify as performers. But reps for the association said they should be part of SAG because they re-create sound that is frequently missing or not adequately recorded at the time of filming.
