SAG: No Strike-Authorization Vote

With contract up June 30, SAG chief says he hasn't asked for strike authorization.

By B&C Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/29/2008 4:02:00 PM

With the current contract between the Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers set to expire Monday, June 30, SAG Sunday said it wasn’t asking members to authorize a strike.

“We have taken no steps to initiate a strike-authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild,” SAG president Alan Rosenberg said in a statement. “Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction. The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee is coming to the bargaining table every day in good faith to negotiate a fair contract for actors.”

Many industry insiders expect talks -- which went on over the weekend -- to continue at least until July 7, when members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists will vote on whether or not to ratify their deal with the AMPTP. SAG has pushed hard against the AFTRA deal, with 44,000 of its members also holding AFTRA cards.