Remember the lawsuit filed by then-SAG president Alan Rosenberg, 1st VP Anne-Marie-Johnson and board members Diane Ladd and Kent McCord against their own Guild? That's the suit that got dismissed for the umpteenth time last month.
Turns out that there's some unfinished business. SAG's lawyers filed a motion for court costs, in the amount of $834.44. If the figure sounds low, remember that that's just filing fees and the like; it's basically impossible to obtain an award of attorney's fees.
Well, it turns out that Rosenberg et al have now filed a counter-motion to strike some or all of those costs. Thus, on October 12, there will be yet another hearing, requiring once again the presence of SAG's outside lawyers, who are presumably being paid by the hour.
So, rather than Rosenberg and the three other plaintiffs paying about $200 each in court costs as a result of their long-lived misbegotten battle, they'd rather first see if they can force the guild to expend just a little bit more members' dues on this nonsense. Not the sort of scorched earth tactics one would hope for.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The Anti-SAG Lawsuit That Won't Quite Die
Friday, August 20, 2010
SAG Feels its Own Labor Pains
Labor unrest is hitting SAG close to home.
Negotiations between the actors guild and Teamsters Local 986, which represents more than 40 of SAG's Los Angeles-based business representatives, have gotten bumpy. The contract between the parties expired June 1, and one issue still to be resolved is what wage increases the new deal will grant.
Yes, even unions have unions. In this negotiation, SAG functions as management, not labor. After about a dozen meetings, the two sides are far apart, with the key sticking issues being wages and a SAG proposal to require the employees to arbitrate discrimination and sexual harassment claims rather than file them in court.
For more details, see my piece in The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i7ac2488e5367c3860b8b6e94dda149c5.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Ratification of Teamsters / Basic Crafts Contract Complete
The Teamsters ratified their contract several weeks ago. However, four other basic crafts (plumbers, plasterers, electricians and laborers) negotiate alongside the Teamsters. Ratification by those unions was expected and, indeed, the AMPTP said today that the last of those just ratified their contract. Here's the organization's press statement:
"The five Basic Crafts Unions have now ratified new contracts with the producers represented by the AMPTP, ensuring that production can continue without interruption for the studios and union members. The two sides reached a fair deal with gains in wages, benefits and other terms for the unions while recognizing the current economic realities of the industry. This would not have been possible without hard work and commitment of the leadership of each of the Basic Crafts Unions, whose negotiating committee was chaired by Local 399 Secretary-Treasurer Leo T. Reed. The five Basic Crafts Unions are International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 40, Plumbers, Local No. 78, Teamsters, Local No. 399, Studio Utility Employees, Local No. 724, and Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons, Local No. 755."
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Rosenberg v. SAG Lawsuit Dismissed
The lawsuit filed 1-1/2 years ago by SAG's then-president Alan Rosenberg against his own union has finally been formally dismissed, according to court records and a source with knowledge of the matter. The formal dismissal actually came in late July, but appears not to have previously been reported. The dismissal was expected, as the judge had ruled on the matter a month earlier.
The action ends with a whimper a suit that attempted to reinstate SAG's previous National Executive Director, Doug Allen, and impede the ultimate achievement of the 2009 agreement between SAG and the studios and producers.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
IATSE and Teamsters Reach Mutual Assistance Pact
SAG National Board Candidates Announced
Ballots in Hollywood and New York will be mailed on August 24 with a return deadline and tabulation on September 23. Election results are expected to be announced that evening.
The Hollywood Division will elect 13 national board members and 22 alternates. Twelve candidate positions will be seated for a three year term and one candidate position will be seated for a one (1) year term (all national board alternates serve for one year).
The New York Division will elect five national board members and nine alternates. Each seat is for a three-year term.
Directors holding nine other national board seats will be elected from SAG Branches outside Hollywood and New York. Most of them have already been elected - see below.
Note that anyone from Hollywood who is on the national board is automatically a member of the Hollywood board as well, but not vice versa.
1. Clancy Brown (MF)
All listed candidates are part of United Screen Actors Nationwide, a NY based slate that generally votes the same as UFS, with the exception of Tom Nonnon, who is independent.
1. Manny Alfaro
Arizona
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Prop 8 Overturned - Retrievable Copy of Decision
Federal Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco has struck down as unconstitutional California's Proposition 8, which prohibited same-sex marriage. Want to take a deep dive and read the 136 page decision? It's almost impossible to find a copy, since servers (including the most linked-to Scribd copy) are overloaded. Here's a Scribd copy that's easily downloadable and has only been read by fewer than 100 people as of this writing:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35377082/Judge-Overturns-California-s-Proposition-8.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Breakthrough in Teamsters talks; deal ratified
In a surprising development, Hollywood Teamsters leaders at a standing room only membership meeting this morning asked the membership to ratify a 2 year contract proposed by the studios. The membership then voted 97.3% to 2.7% to ratify, ending the possibility of a strike that could have shuttered much film and television production.
Most remarkably, the package that the leadership recommended -- which was achieved in back-channel negotiations Saturday afternoon -- differed little from the package the union rejected Friday night. The three Saturday enhancements were minor, and included such matters as reimbursement for Teamsters' renewal of their drivers licenses.
In essence, the union blinked, recognizing that a strike was not feasible in this economic climate. Union leaders also said they believed that management would not back down even if the union struck.
For details, see my Hollywood Reporter story.
Teamsters Ratify Contract; Strike Averted
In a surprising development, Hollywood Teamsters leaders at a standing room only membership meeting this morning asked the membership to ratify a 2 year contract proposed by the studios. The membership then voted 97.3% to 2.7% to ratify, ending the possibility of a strike that could have shuttered much film and television production.
For details, see my Hollywood Reporter story.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Teamsters, studios fail to break stalemate
Talks between the studios and Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 ended late Friday night with no movement and no new negotiating sessions scheduled. The union meets in Burbank early Sunday morning, where the leadership is expected to seek – and obtain – a strike authorization vote from members. That authorization would, in turn, allow union leaders to call a strike at any time after the July 31 expiration of their contract with the studios and producers.
For further details, see my piece in the Hollywood Reporter.
