SAG Director Still in Crosshairs

A majority of board members of the Screen Actors Guild has continued to pursue ousting the union’s director. In an e-mail sent to guild members, the majority coalition expressed not having confidence in the leadership of Doug Allen and his strategy of getting a new contract between SAG and the major Hollywood studios, the Los Angeles Times reported. “We firmly believe that SAG needs a change of course and a new captain,” the Times reported the board members as saying. “Mr. Allen has held fast to a failed strategy for over half a year, even as members have lost nearly $50 million from working under an expired contract. A resolution proposed by the majority of board members to fire Allen failed to get to a vote Jan. 12 due to what the majority believed was a blocking maneuver by members supporting of Allen and union President Alan Rosenberg. A SAG spokeswoman said neither Allen nor the guild would comment, the Times reported. The union has been working without a contract since June and negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have not taken place for months. The union and studios are at odds over compensation from television programs and films made available through new media distribution.