WGA Strike Photos Wanted

I'm publishing my blog as a book and need photos for the cover. In particular, I'm looking for colorful, emotional crowd shots of WGA rallies and marches, especially the march on Hollywood Blvd. in Nov. 2007. I'm also interested in photos of SAG rallies and Back to Work rallies.

Do you have photos that fill the bill? If so, please email me at jhandel@att.net. Thanks, and happy New Year!

Closing Windows?

Interesting email from my satellite company today. DirecTV urges me to order Julie & Julia on PPV. Not my cup of tea, thanks, though I suppose Julia Child probably had a clever way to brew a cup of tea while cooking up some unusual dish at the same time. But more interesting to me were two little notes that accompanied the ad: "Now Playing" and "Same Day as DVD." The movie's official Sony website confirms that this is non DirecTV-specific.

That's intriguing. There's usually an exclusive DVD window before the pay-per-view release, with the window averaging 37 days this year, up from 32 days last year, says research firm SNL Kagan. Even the shortest average was 20 days, over at Lions Gate.

Is this a trend or an experiment? Probably the latter, but who knows where it might go. And for those wondering what effect this might have on the guilds, consider that the DVD residual formula is much less favorable to talent than the pay TV formula. Time for guild members to cross their fingers and send Sony some holiday best wishes - and maybe a gift basket worthy of Julia.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

Little-Noticed Music Deal

Everyone listens to music, but musicians unions may not attract the same attention. Several people, including myself, reported on the composers and lyricists recently, but this time I’m talking about the musicians themselves, i.e., the performers. Turns out their union, the American Federation of Musicians, made a deal three weeks ago with the studios — but it appears (correct me if I’m mistaken) that no one reported it (though the LA Times did mention that the deal was in negotiation).

Let’s correct the omission. According to the AFM website, the two agreements (one theatrical, the other television) run through February 2013 and establish jurisdiction over productions made for new media, increase residuals for traditional product exhibited in new media (move-over product), and “provide a new income stream when music is used in New Media other than in New Media productions.” The agreements also include wage increases and “protect musicians’ health benefits.”

That’s all the detail I have at this point. A ratification package is going out to members shortly, or already has. More info to come when I have it.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

No More Sounds of Silence on the Music Composition Front?

Everyone knows that composers and lyricists make scales ... now they want to make scale as well. Union scale, that is (or, even better, above scale). One of the few non-unionized sectors of Hollywood, composers and lyricists - the people who write music (as opposed to musicians, the people who perform it) - are now in talks with the Teamsters for representation.

It's not as strange as it seems: the macho union of dock workers and Hollywood truck drivers (Teamsters Local 399 on the West coast and Local 817 in New York) also represents casting directors, location managers, and various other tenderfoots. An earlier bid to join the Writers Guild (WGA) apparently gained little traction.

All this according to recent pieces in Variety (here, here, and here) and a long piece today in the LA Times. An early-stage meeting Monday, which had been announced by the Society of Composers & Lyricists (a trade group, not a union) attracted over 300 people, about a third of the 900 who would be covered by a union agreement. About 200 of them signed union authorization cards, but the Teamsters are hoping for two-thirds (i.e., 600 or so) in order to move forward.

In other audible union news, AFTRA recently approved its interactive (i.e., video game) voiceover contract, while SAG voted down its similar pact, representing a rare defeat for SAG's new administration. Despite concerns with some aspects of the contract, that's unfortunate for SAG, because I'm told this sector is only about 25% unionized (AFTRA numbers + SAG's). That means that video game companies can easily move over to AFTRA - or go nonunion. The hard reality is that neither SAG nor AFTRA control the labor supply in this area, leaving them little leverage in negotiations. Sort of like bringing a PS2 to a PS3 meetup.

In still other news on the union front - sorry, I've been busy prepping for my UCLA gig, not to mention working for a living - the California Court of Appeals dismissed as moot an appeal by former SAG president Alan Rosenberg and his fellow Membership First plaintiffs newly-reelected 1st VP Anne-Marie-Johnson and board members Diane Ladd and Kent McCord of their suit against their own union. This cacophony lives on in the lower court, however, still costing the union money, but there's some hope that that court will adopt the appeals court's underlying reasoning and dismiss the entire proceeding on the same basis. Let's hope.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

Book review: "Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars" by William Patry

The content and technology businesses are at war, as is well-known and as I discuss in a recent article. It’s a struggle that focuses on unauthorized file sharing and new business models—in other words, a copyright war. Undeniably, the entertainment industry often battles demand rather than trying to satisfy it, and copyright laws have taken a corporate turn. Who better to write about this conflict, one would think—and point the way to solutions, one would hope—than an author with 27 years experience in copyright law as a professor, practitioner and government attorney?

That author is William Patry, who is now Google’s senior copyright counsel (though he emphasizes that he’s writing to express his own views, not Google’s). He says he’s in favor of “effective” copyright statutes, and I opened his book hoping to learn what those might look like, since the divergence of public behavior and existing copyright laws makes it clear that something has to change. It’s an area of great interest to me, not just personally, but also professionally, as my law practice at TroyGould focuses in large part on new media and, more generally, the intersection of entertainment and technology. I was writing a review for the Los Angeles Times, and I hoped I’d be able to write a positive one.

Alas, not. What I found was a book riddled with invective, unoriginal observations, and numerous typographical errors—about 200 typos at my count, including twice referring to Martin Luther King’s most famous oratory as the “I Had a Dream” speech (as though King had simply given up) and inadvertently transmuting federal judge Richard Posner into “Judge Richard,” perhaps positioning him for a gig on syndicated television.

The text is heavily footnoted, yet still marred by unsupported claims. Thus, Patry says that imposing public-access easements on beachfront houses doesn’t reduce their value. That’s doubtful, and he offers no evidence. We’re told “orphan works” is a metaphor used to unjustifiably protect certain kinds of works, but actually those using the term want to loosen protection (a position I agree with, as does Patry). Patry claims that declining CD sales are not related to unauthorized file sharing, but offers neither discussion nor footnotes. Moreover, the book is larded with unnecessary block quotes, among them a half-page endnote analyzing the phrase “Tastes Like Chicken.” Whatever the entrée, a sharper carving knife would have helped.

In short, I was hoping for a significant contribution that would build on previous work in this oft-discussed field. Instead, I found a deeply flawed narrative that didn’t even acknowledge the existence of landmark books in the area by such authors as Lawrence Lessig, Neil Netanel, William W. Fisher III, Jessica Litman, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Tarleton Gillespie, and James Boyle. As I discuss in the LA Times piece, the book is not without some virtues, but I was largely disappointed and surprised. You can read the full review here, then come back and leave comments if you wish.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

SAG Interim Nat'l Exec Director Hired as Permanent

SAG's Interim National Executive Director David White just got the permanent gig and can drop "Interim" from his title. The vote on today SAG's national board, which began meeting yesterday and is still meeting today for a little while longer, was 70.91% in favor, I'm told, which suggests that a few of the Membership First directors joined the moderate coalition in appointing White to the job.

The appointment is well-deserved: Not only is White a calming and smart presence, but also he, John McGuire, Ray Rodriguez and others on the SAG team have built a record of accomplishment over the last 8 mos. or so, closing one deal after another, including, or course, the biggies (TV/theatrical and commercials). Now the work begins for next round of negotiations, which start in just under a year, believe it or not.

Rosenberg v. SAG: Court of Appeal Implies Appeal May be Moot

Alan Rosenberg is no longer president of SAG, nor even a national board member, but his lawsuit against his own union drags on pointlessly. Believe it or not, he’s still trying to undo Doug Allen’s firing, the appointment of David White, the ratification of the TV/theatrical contract and, no doubt, the discovery of a new ring around Saturn. That last is probably a particularly bitter blow for the ex-president.

Rosenberg and his fellow Membership First plaintiffs 1st VP Anne-Marie-Johnson and board members Diane Ladd and Kent McCord might see some reason to continue the charade, but the Court of Appeal is apparently more skeptical: in a one-paragraph letter to counsel last week, the court asked both sides’ lawyers to be prepared to discuss at oral argument whether the appeal is moot, given that the SAG board reaffirmed Allen’s dismissal and White’s appointment, and the membership at large ratified the TV/theatrical agreement.

The oral argument in this farce is set for a week from tomorrow, October 20, but regardless of what happens, the case continues in the trial court — unless, perhaps, that judge, as well as the appellate judges, can be persuaded that courts have better things to do than try to madly shove toothpaste back into an already discarded tube.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

Handel appointed Adjunct Professor at UCLA School of Law to teach entertainment unions & guilds course

On a personal note, I've been appointed as an Adjunct Professor at UCLA School of Law. I'll be teaching a course on entertainment unions and guilds starting in January. I also continue as of counsel at TroyGould.

Below and attached is the press release from TroyGould.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

———————

TroyGould’s Jonathan Handel Becomes Adjunct Professor at UCLA School of Law

Entertainment and Media Law and Policy Class to Focus on Unions and Guilds

LOS ANGELES – October 1, 2009 – Jonathan Handel, of counsel and member of TroyGould’s Entertainment, Sports and Media Department, has become an adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Law. He begins teaching a semester-long class on entertainment unions and guilds in January 2010 and will continue to represent clients at TroyGould.

Handel’s course focuses on legal analysis along with discussions of union history, policy and politics in order to illuminate the abstract language of guild contracts. Students will review topics ranging from on-screen and advertising credits to creative control, residual compensation, arbitration, strikes and stalemates, and new media.

“Understanding the role of Hollywood guilds and unions is critical to comprehending the state and direction of the entertainment industry as a whole,” says Handel, former associate counsel with the Writers Guild of America. “This is particularly true as a result of new media platforms such as the Internet and mobile devices, which promise to complicate Hollywood labor relations for years to come.”

Recent news events have made the course more timely and necessary than ever. Handel will specifically spotlight the 2007-2009 Hollywood labor turmoil that consumed the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and IATSE and the Teamsters, the unions that represents most ”below-the-line” workers.

Well known in the industry, Handel has been interviewed hundreds of times by local, national and international television, radio, print and online media outlets about entertainment, new media and Hollywood union issues. He has written articles on the conflict between content and technology companies and on trademarking movie titles. Handel has been a participant and panelist at various conferences and presentations, including those hosted by the Beverly Hills Bar Association and by Vanderbilt Law School. He was named one of the top 100 lawyers in California in 2008 and a Southern California Super Lawyer in 2006 and 2007.

In 2009, Handel published a short book titled “How to Write LOI's and Term Sheets,” and will be publishing his new book ”Hollywood on Strike!” later this year. His op-ed pieces have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Journal, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Handel is also a prolific writer for blogs such as the Huffington Post, for which he has written more than 100 articles, and for his own labor and new media law blog, “Digital Media Law” (http://www.jhandel.com), where he has posted about 250 articles on the latest news in the law and business of digital media, traditional entertainment, intellectual property and technology.

Handel earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1990 where he was an editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and his AB magna cum laude from Harvard College in Applied Math and Computer Science. After graduating law school, he clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and has practiced law in Los Angeles since then.

About TroyGould

TroyGould is a Los Angeles law firm founded in 1970. Beginning with an early focus on corporate and securities law, the firm's practice now covers a broad range of business transactions, litigation, and legal counseling, with an emphasis in the areas of corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, financial services, entertainment, sports, employment, tax, and competitive business practices.

SAG: Four Hardline Horsemen in the National Board Room

Thursday’s SAG election was a victory for the moderate coalition. Yet, strangely enough, the leaders of the losing hardline faction will all find seats on the national board, and will continue to be a shadow government within the union’s Hollywood board—a board on which none of the key moderate leaders will be voting members.

Yes, the moderates (Unite for Strength (UFS) / USAN / RBD / independents) won the national offices – President and Secretary-Treasurer – and picked up additional national board seats and many on the Hollywood board as well. But with SAG, the story is never simple.

In fact, paradoxically, 1^st VP and failed Membership First presidential candidate Anne-Marie Johnson will probably continue as 1^st VP, ex-president Alan Rosenberg will almost certainly be back on the national board in a matter of days despite winning only an alternate seat, MF leader David Joliffe will probably be on the Hollywood board and effectively on the national board, and MF leader Kent McCord continues on the national and Hollywood boards.

Meanwhile, none of the key moderate leaders will be on the Hollywood board— Unite for Strength leaders Ned Vaughn, Assaf Cohen, Ken Howard and Amy Aquino are all off of that board, at least as voting members (the latter two will serve ex-officio, as non-voting members). Tough independent and former presidential candidate Morgan Fairchild remains, but she’s not a member of the UFS slate and thus doesn’t occupy a leadership position in that group. UFS-ers Adam Arkin and Amy Brenneman also remain, and perhaps will emerge to fill the gap.

How could the election yield so much change in the national offices and so little in the Hollywood Division? Here’s the scenario [UPDATED: Para. 3 is new.]:

1. The moderates seemingly have 27 seats on the Hollywood board out of 55 (because 27 = 6 seats pre-election plus 21 additional seats won in the election). That’s a tad less than half (49%). It would seemingly take peeling off one more vote from MF for the moderates to control the Hollywood board.

2. However, look closer. One of those 6 pre-election seats was held by Ken Howard. Under the SAG Constitution and By-Laws, a national officer can’t also be an elected member of the national board or a Divisional board. So, the day he became president, Howard lost his elected seat on the national and Hollywood boards, and, indeed, his name has been replaced on SAG website listings with “(1 TBD).” That leaves the moderates with 26 seats on the Hollywood board out of 54. That’s less than half by an even greater margin (48%). Now it would take 2 more votes, rather than just one, for the moderates to control the Hollywood board.

3. But, when it comes to electing officers (such as 1^st VP) or selecting replacements for the Hollywood and national boards, the news is even bleaker for moderates. That’s because the Hollywood Division Rules of Procedure specify that for such purposes, the only Hollywood Division board members who can vote are national board members (or alternates sitting in for them) from the Hollywood Division. There are 32 such people (33 minus the vacant Ken Howard seat). The moderates control only 9 of those seats, whereas MF has 23.

4. So, Membership First controls who the Hollywood board elects, unless 8 MF-ers break ranks. If that doesn’t happen (and it’s not likely), then MF will fill the TBD vacancy. Whom will they select? Almost certainly Alan Rosenberg, whom they would elevate from national board alternate (which is the office he won on Thursday) to full national board member from the Hollywood division.

5. Thus, although Rosenberg’s presidency was so discredited in many members’ eyes that he couldn’t even win a board seat, he’s likely to end up with one anyway. This would take place at the next Hollywood board meeting, which is scheduled for October 5.

6. Elevating Rosenberg leaves his alternate seat vacant. So, MF would then vote to appoint its longtime leader David Joliffe as a national alternate (and Hollywood board member). That effectively appoints him to the national board, because one or more of MF celebrity board members (which include Martin Sheen, Ed Harris, Elliott Gould and Ed Asner) will usually be absent from national board meetings.

7. MF will also presumably vote to appoint newly reelected board member Anne-Marie Johnson as 1^st VP (the VP office from Hollywood) and thus as Divisional chair, to the extent that she doesn’t automatically continue in these offices (note that the updated SAG website still lists her as 1^st VP and divisional rules say that the 1^st VP is also the chair). This is possible because Johnson ran for two seats in this election—president, but also, as a backup, national board member. She won the latter.

8. As a result, MF will have skilled leadership as voting members in the Hollywood board room, namely, all four of its core leaders: Johnson, Rosenberg, Jolliffe and, continuing on the national and Hollywood boards, Kent McCord.

9. In contrast, Unite for Strength will have none of its leaders as voting members in the Hollywood boardroom: Ned Vaughn and Assaf Cohen didn’t win seats on the Hollywood or national boards, and Ken Howard and Amy Aquino, as national officers, are non-voting, ex officio members of the Hollywood board, as well as the NY and RBD (Regional Branch Division) boards. One wonders whether Howard and/or Aquino will be able to find time to attend every Hollywood board meeting. In any case, their formal roles would be very circumscribed; under the Constitution and By-Laws, they’re not even allowed to make motions or “initiate any other parliamentary procedures.”

10. Note also that the Hollywood board gets to appoint the Hollywood members of the TV/theatrical contract negotiating committee, if there is one, and that Hollywood has a majority on that committee. That suggests that negotiation will once again have to be handled by a task force appointed by the whole board, not by a committee appointed on a Division by Division basis. (It’s unclear to me whether the task force appointed earlier this year is still in existence.) Unless, that is, SAG and AFTRA are able to reestablish joint bargaining under the Phase 1 agreement.

11. Remember too that it was the Hollywood board that passed a resolution expressing the goal that SAG “acquire actors of AFTRA,” i.e. in some mystical fashion divesting AFTRA of its actors and absorbing all of them in SAG. Anne-Marie Johnson ran for and won a seat on the AFTRA board—despite saying it was distasteful to run—giving her an internal platform for this goal as well. We can expect MF to seek to terminate the anti-disparagement agreement so that the Hollywood board will be free to express its anti-AFTRA views without financial repercussion to SAG.

Bottom line: SAG’s byzantine governance structure and geographical divisiveness will once again facilitate disunity. Among other things, the question becomes, will SAG and AFTRA be able to reestablish Phase 1 joint bargaining? The divided governance certainly makes it harder.

———————

Subscribe to my blog (jhandel.com) for more about entertainment law and digital media law. Go to the blog itself to subscribe via RSS or email. Or, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, or subscribe to my Huffington Post articles. If you work in tech, check out my book How to Write LOIs and Term Sheets.

SAG Moderates Win Presidency, Secr. + Additional 4 Natl Seats

In a victory for the SAG moderate coalition (Unite for Strength / USAN / independents), the UFS candidates for president, Ken Howard, and secretary, Amy Aquino, won the union's national offices.

However, the election was close: Howard's total was slightly less than the two hardline candidates added together (Anne-Marie Johnson and Seymour Cassel) and Aquino's was slightly more than that of incumbent Connie Stevens. So the union is still very divided, and Howard acknowledged that the results were not a landslide and that the union is very divided, while saying that he planned to reach out to MF supporters.

On the national board, the moderates showed strength as well: They picked up 4 of 11 seats in Hollywood and held all of the NY and regional (RBD) seats. I estimate that this brings the moderate's board majority to around 60%, vs. 40% for MF, but that's a very rough calculation and I'm not sure at this point.

On the Hollywood board, the results were more dramatic: 21 of 33 Hollywood board seats went to the moderates. Added to the 6 they (and independents) already control, that's 27 out of 55 - just shy of 50%.

UFS spokesman Ned Vaughn said he expected to see SAG and AFTRA jointly negotiating wih the studios next year. Howard said he'd reach out to AFTRA and the other guids. On the subject of merger with AFTRA, Howard disputed claims from 6 years ago that merger would hurt SAG members' pensions.

The challenge for the moderates is to build a record of accomplishment, hire David White on a permanent basis, build relations with AFTRA and other guilds/unions, pick up more seats in next years' July-Sept elections, then go into negotiations with the studios Oct. 1 (2010, i.e., next year). After that - work on merger. A tough road ahead.
--------------------------

SAG Press Release:

KEN HOWARD ELECTED AS SCREEN ACTORS GUILD PRESIDENT;
AMY AQUINO ELECTED AS SECRETARY-TREASURER

Guild Also Announces Results of National Board Elections

Los Angeles (September 24, 2009)—Screen Actors Guild today announced results of elections for its top two elected positions. Ken Howard will serve as Screen Actors Guild president and Amy Aquino will serve as secretary-treasurer. Both will serve two-year terms beginning September 25.

Ballots were mailed to 99,485 paid-up SAG members on August 25, and 27,295 were tabulated today, for a return of 27.44 percent. Presidential candidates Ken Howard received 12,895 votes, with Anne-Marie Johnson coming in second with 8,906 votes, Seymour Cassel got 4,838 votes, and Asmar Muhammad received 402 votes.

“I’d like to be among the first to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newly elected Screen Actors Guild national leadership. I look forward to working closely with our new president, Ken Howard, and new secretary-treasurer, Amy Aquino, as we focus on the wide range of critical issues facing our members in the coming year,” said SAG Interim National Executive Director David White. “I also extend my thanks, and the gratitude of SAG members and staff to Alan Rosenberg and Connie Stevens for their service and sacrifice on behalf of our union.”

“I am deeply honored to be chosen by the membership to lead the Screen Actors Guild,” said Ken Howard. “I campaigned on the promise that I’d do everything in my power to strengthen our position at the bargaining table by building a greater unity with AFTRA and the other entertainment unions, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Despite the sharp differences that those of us active in Guild affairs sometimes have over strategy and tactics, we need to continually remind ourselves that we’re all on the same team, fighting for the same thing — and by pulling together, we’ll only grow stronger.”

“I am truly honored that the members have entrusted me with this responsibility,” said Amy Aquino. “Progress has already been made toward strengthening SAG’s finances and I want to make sure it continues. Only by fortifying SAG in this way can we hope to ensure the protections that performers need in these challenging times.”

Screen Actors Guild also announced election results for the National Board of Directors. Twenty-two of the 69 national board seats were open for election this year, representing Screen Actors Guild’s Hollywood, New York and Regional Branch divisions.

“It is my privilege to welcome and congratulate our newly elected Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors for 2009-2010,” said White. “Along with our staff nationwide, I look forward to working with them to pursue a robust agenda as we navigate the Guild through these changing times.”

The National Board members elected today will assume office on September 25 for terms of three years.

SAG’s Hollywood Division elected eleven National Board members; the New York Division elected four National Board members; and seven National Board members were elected from the union’s branches in Chicago, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Portland and San Diego.

National Board members elected from the Hollywood Division: Martin Sheen, Ed Harris, Elliott Gould, Ed Asner, Anne-Marie Johnson, Connie Stevens, Diane Ladd, Dulé Hill, Hill Harper, Nancy Travis, and Marcia Wallace (all three-year terms).

The following were elected to serve as National Board alternates and to the Hollywood Division Board of Directors (all one-year terms). Gabrielle Carteris, Jenny O’Hara, Michael O’Keefe, Clyde Kusatsu, Dawnn Lewis, Doug Savant, Michelle Allsopp, Alan Rosenberg, D. W. Moffett, Joe Bologna, Robert Hays, Jason George, L. Scott Caldwell, Clark Gregg, Patrick Fabian, Bill Smitrovich, Ellen Crawford, Stacey Travis, Mandy Steckelberg, Renee Taylor, Bernie Casey and John Carroll Lynch.

National Board members elected from the New York Division: Sharon Washington, Monica Trombetta, Sam Freed and Liz Zazzi (all three-year terms). Additionally, New York Division members elected Mike Hodge as NY Division President.

The following were elected to serve as national board alternates and to the New York Division board of directors (all one-year terms.) Manny Alfaro, Sheila Head, Marc Baron, Joe Narciso, Jay Potter, Dave Bachman, John Rothman, Kevin Scullin and Justin Barrett.

National Board members elected from the Regional Branch Division: John Carter Brown (Chicago – three-year term), David Hartley-Margolin (Colorado – three-year term), Dave Corey (Florida – three-year term), Scott Rogers (Hawaii – three-year term), Helen McNutt (Philadelphia – three-year term), Mary McDonald-Lewis (Portland – three-year term), Don Ahles (San Diego – three-year term).

Ballots for all eligible SAG members in Hollywood and New York were mailed on August 25 with a September 24 return deadline and were tabulated today by the independent election company Integrity Voting Systems. A total of 13,718 ballots were tabulated in the Hollywood Division (representing 25.25 percent of ballots mailed in the Hollywood Division) and 5,997 ballots were tabulated in the New York Division (representing 26.11 percent of ballots mailed in the New York Division). The number of ballots returned in the Regional Branch elections varied by region.

For complete results, please visit SAG.org.