SAG president Alan Rosenberg at solidarity rally: 'I'm really optimistic'
Jun 9, 2008, 10:35 PM | by Vanessa Juarez
Categories: Strike
On Saturday, Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg asked the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to delay the ratification of its tentative primetime TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. AFTRA declined, upsetting SAG. So this morning, SAG rallied actors together at its Los Angeles headquarters in "solidarity." The goal? To persuade enough of the 44,000 people who are members of both unions to vote against the AFTRA deal, thus forcing AFTRA to renegotiate its agreement with producers. Several hundred actors showed up for the event, many passionately pumping their fists in the air, chanting "AFTRA sucks" and "Vote No"; their instructions were to shout loud enough for AFTRA to hear them on the 9th floor. (SAG's New York board was absent, however, reportedly in opposition to the anti-AFTRA message.)
EW.com caught up with Rosenberg after the rally to discuss his expectations. He said that if dual-union members don't vote down the contract, he's hoping "they'll put a severe dent in that ratification process. And failing that, I'm hoping for the best deal we possibly can." Indeed, that's the ideal scenario: a deal. But if SAG doesn't hear what it wants at the negotiating table, that union can still play its strike card â pending a strike authorization vote by its members. "We haven't asked for strike authorization yet," Rosenberg told us. "Nothing says that we can't work past the expiration date on our contract under the old terms while we're negotiating and while we're working on that strike authorization. We'll have to do it in the next week or two. At that time, I'll tell the members that doesn't mean we're going on strike, but what we need is that tool in our pocket to achieve the best deal we can. Right now, my focus is on continuing these negotiations. I'm really optimistic."
One sign that SAG is fighting an uphill battle: a notable lack of A-listers at today's rally. While we have a special place in our heart for Ed Asner, Marg Helgenberger (who is Rosenberg's wife), Justine Bateman, The Office's Kate Flannery, and Sex and the City's Willie Garson, there wasn't a Hanks or a Clooney or a Streep or a Fey in sight. Admitted Flannery, "What the [producers] offered AFTRA is not going to work for SAG, and we need something to work for all of us. That's why I'm here to lend my little voice to this big effort. And I just hope that higher-profile actors decide to step up to the plate, because their voices are a lot louder than mine."
In Saturday's statements, AFTRA warned SAG that the union should "be aware that we would view any attempt by SAG or its leadership to undermine or interfere with our ratification process as a violation of both the law and the AFL-CIO Constitution." Ballots will be sent out to AFTRA members in the next week or so, and they are due back in three weeks, after the SAG's contract expires on June 30.
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