Internal Strife Emerges in Actors Union

Cracks are beginning to emerge within the Screen Actors Guild as the union prepares to go to its members for a strike authorization. Some Guild members question whether the union should stage a walkout against the major Hollywood studios at a time of deep recession, the Los Angeles Times reported. Tensions reached a tipping point recently when SAG’s New York board publicly took the unusual step of calling on the union to scrap a planned strike authorization vote, citing the deteriorating economy, the Times said. At a meeting in New York on Dec. 15, SAG members said the union remained more divided than ever. New York members used the forum to lambaste the union’s leadership for its handling of the contract negotiations, the Times said. The union and the studios are at odds on compensation for actors whose work is distributed through downloads, online streaming and to portable devices. The union has been working without a contract since June. The strike authorization vote is scheduled to begin on Jan. 2.