After weeks of rigorous around the clock meetings with the AMPTP, the biggest actors union SAG has still not come to terms on a new contract. That being said, today we’ve reached the date (6/30/08) that the previous SAG contract expires. What will happen next? That is something I think we’ll see in the next few days or weeks. SAG has let it be known that it does not want to strike, they haven’t even taken steps to authorize a strike. Alan Rosenberg, SAG’s national president also wants it to be known that neither he or the rest of his negotiating committee will settle for anything less than what is fair for all working actors. A big piece of the puzzle for attaining what is fair for all actors is AFTRA, the second actors union accepting what SAG deemed an unfair contract. Disagreement and failure to comprise for one another has put these two unions head to head since early this year. The AMPTP certainly can play hardball with SAG with all the inner turmoil between these two unions going on. The announcement of whether the contract is accepted by AFTRA or not will be made in early July. If AFTRA members do not accept the contract offered to them, then both SAG and AFTRA will return to the negotiating table. If AFTRA’s members do accept the contract, then SAG will have a difficult decision to make which could very well be to STRIKE.
