SAG president Alan Rosenberg has called off Friday's emergency national board meeting after objections rose over requiring that reps attend the Los Angeles confab in person.

Rosenberg made the announcement Monday, two days after he scheduled the emergency meeting and blasted demands by SAG's New York reps that the upcoming strike authorization vote be called off due to the faltering economy.

The Gotham reps also want the guild's contract negotiating committee replaced in the hopes that a new panel can end the months-long stalemate with the majors. And they indicated that requiring cross-country travel on short notice, when videoconferencing equipment is readily available, could only be interpreted as a punitive by Rosenberg that's designed to hold down attendance by those opposing the guild's Hollywood leadership.

Rosenberg did not respond to those concerns but continued to blast the New York reps.

"Rather than argue over the propriety of an in-person meeting I have decided to withdraw the meeting notice for now," he said. "However, you will be promptly notified should the meeting be rescheduled for a later date. I am disappointed that during these critical times not all of our board members are willing to take the time needed to make real progress on the issues dividing our elected leaders."

Rosenberg also complained that last week's regularly scheduled meeting of the national executive committee had been cut short because the New York members of the panel all left the meeting, depriving it of a quorum and preventing it from completing Guild business.

"Given this conduct, and the sensitivity and complexity of the issues at hand, I do not believe a videoconference board meeting will be effective or productive," he added.