Hessinger
Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild have reached a settlement with former CEO Greg Hessinger, who was fired five months into a four-year deal.
SAG's national board agreed on the outlines of a deal with Hessinger during its weekend plenary meeting.
Last October Hessinger threatened to sue SAG if he wasn't paid the remaining $1.4 million on his deal, then hired Bert Fields to represent him.
SAG's board approved a proposal by Hessinger, who sought less than half of the remainder.
Hessinger wasn't available for comment. SAG spokesman Seth Oster would not confirm details of the settlement, adding, "We hope to reach an agreement that is mutually beneficial and we are continuing down that path."
Still unresolved are SAG's October firings of Rebecca Rhine and John Russum from their respective posts of special adviser for strategic planning and deputy national exec director for organizing and agent relations. Neither of the former AFTRA execs had yet started work when they were dismissed; both have hired Gloria Allred's firm for representation.
The firings came less than a month after control of SAG's 69-member national board shifted to the more aggressive Membership First faction headed by president Alan Rosenberg. In a subsequent letter to SAG members, Rosenberg stressed that Hessinger's ouster stemmed from the need for SAG to bargain and organize non-union work more aggressively.
Rosenberg had denied during his campaign that he planned to fire Hessinger. But Rosenberg's associates have admitted that the dismissals were triggered by resentment over Hessinger having not consulted the newly elected Rosenberg before hiring Rhine, Russum and ad industry exec JoAnne Kessler.
In addition, Membership First leaders were suspicious that Hessinger -- who had headed AFTRA for five years before replacing Bob Pisano at SAG -- would push again for a SAG-AFTRA merger even though SAG members voted down such a combination in 1999 and 2003.
Hessinger's firing wasn't a huge surprise once Membership First gained control of the board. He was hired in March with only 65% backing from the national board; virtually every Membership First rep voted against him.
Peter Frank, who had been SAG's chief financial officer, has been serving as interim CEO since Hessinger was sacked.
Kessler, who had been hired to head SAG's commercial contract department, returned to her executive post at Grey Worldwide almost immediately after her dismissal and isn't believed to be seeking a settlement with SAG.
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com