*A correction has been made to this story.
Los Angeles - The board of directors of Hollywood union the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has ousted executive director and chief contract negotiator Doug Allen.

Allen was heading up tense negotiations between SAG, whose 120,000 actor members have been working without a contract since the end of June, and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Allen had been positioning the union for a potential strike, as negotiations had come to an impasse.

Following Allen's departure, the SAG board appointed John McGuire as its new interim executive director and chief negotiator, and dissolved its existing negotiating committee in favor of a "task force" that will seek a final deal with AMPTP, Reuters reported.

*Correction: This story was corrected to reflect that Doug Allen did not resign, but was in fact terminated by the board.

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/au4m1 (SAG statement)

http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE50P15820090127

http://digitalmedialaw.blogspot.com/2009/01/sag-national-executive-director-firing.html