SAG

AFTRA Endorses New Labor Contract with Game Publishers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 11:33am.
Los Angeles - The national board of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) has approved a deal with video game publishers governing actors' work done for video games, which will now be sent out to members for a vote, Variety reported.
tags: Games | SAG | AFTRA |

Screen Actors Guild Members Approve Contract 78%-22%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 10, 2009 - 9:10am.
Los Angeles - The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) membership has given 78% approval for a proposed new contract with the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), ending a year-long stint where actors were working without a contract. The union said that an above-average 35% of its 110,000 members who received ballots voted on the proposed contract. "This decisive vote gets our members back to work with immediate pay raises and puts SAG in a strong position for the future," said SAG interim national executive director David White.
tags: TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP | Alan Rosenberg |

SAG Board Reaches "Tentative" Labor Deal; Actors to Vote

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 20, 2009 - 8:16am.
Los Angeles - Hollywood film and television actors will soon be voting on a new contract following ten months working without one, after the board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) narrowly approved a deal put forth by the studios and networks on Sunday, Variety reported. The SAG board voted 53.4% to 46.6% to approve the deal, which includes a 3.5% pay increase, and similar terms for payments on new media jobs as were accepted in the deals the studios struck with the Writers Guild of America (WGA), Directors Guild of America (DGA), and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).
tags: Video | Law | TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP |

LA Times: Actors, Studios Close to Labor Contract Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 6, 2009 - 9:02am.
Los Angeles - Following four weeks of private talks between Screen Actors Guild (SAG) interim executive David White and several top studio executives, including Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Bob Iger and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) president Peter Chernin, the two sides are "very close" to resolving most of the sticking points holding up a labor contract deal, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing "people familiar with the situation."

SAG Rejects "Last, Best & Final" Contract Offer From Producers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 23, 2009 - 8:22am.
Los Angeles - The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has rejected the "last, best and final" contract offer presented by Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) after a new round of negotiations. The new talks came after SAG ousted its executive director and chief negotiator in ongoing contract talks with producers; three-quarters of the union's board voted against the new offer.
tags: Law | TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP |

Lawsuit Over Ousted Leader Delays New SAG Contract Talks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2009 - 12:57pm.

Los Angeles - The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has postponed a planned reopening of stalled contract negotiations with the studios and networks tomorrow, after it was threatened with a lawsuit seeking to reinstate ousted chief negotiator Doug Allen, the Los Angeles Times reported.

tags: Law | Lawsuits | TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP | Doug Allen |

SAG Ousts Leader Doug Allen; New Task Force to Seek Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2009 - 10:17am.

*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.

tags: TV | Moves | Movies | SAG | AMPTP |

Will SAG Actually Go Out on Strike?

Authored by Jay Baage on November 24, 2008 - 10:43am.
tags: Video | TV | Film | SAG |

Following Failed Mediation, SAG to Seek Strike Authorization

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 24, 2008 - 8:03am.

Los Angeles - Following two days of federal mediation with movie and TV producers that failed to produce new contract terms, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) plans to launch an educational campaign for its 120,000 members that will urge them to support a referendum authorizing the guild to call a strike, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "We have already made difficult decisions and sacrifices in an attempt to reach agreement. Now it's time for SAG members to stand united and empower the national negotiating committee to bargain with the strength of a possible work stoppage behind them," the guild said in a statement.

tags: Law | TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP |

Actors Guild Requests Federal Mediator on Labor Contract Talks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 20, 2008 - 9:01am.

Los Angeles - Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has formally requested that a federal mediator be brought into negotiations between its 120,000 actor members and the movie studios and networks over labor contracts.

tags: Law | TV | Movies | Washington | SAG | AMPTP |

AFTRA Ratifies Labor Contract; SAG Set to Respond Thursday

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 9, 2008 - 9:09am.

Los Angeles - The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the other large Hollywood performers' union aside from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), announced on Wednesday that its members have ratified its previously announced labor agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by a 62.4% margin. The new three-year deal includes a 10% increase in minimum payments, and creates new residuals for paid Internet downloads, ad-supported streaming and other new media usage.

tags: Video | Advertising | TV | Movies | SAG | AMPTP | AFTRA |

AFTRA Reaches Tentative Contract Deal with Producers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 28, 2008 - 10:18am.

Los Angeles - The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA), one of Hollywood's large performers' unions, on Wednesday announced that it has reached a tentative new three-year labor agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The deal, which must still be approved by AFTRA members, will increase pay to performers and guarantee compensation for appearances in video content that consumers pay to stream and download online -- an issue that had been a sticking point in negotiations.

tags: Deals | Video | TV | Movies | SAG | WGA | AMPTP | AFTRA |

Kid Nation & the Sordid Reality of Reality Television

Authored by Scott Goldberg on August 29, 2007 - 10:13am.
Kid NationA mock dialogue between two kids, Timmy and Janie, ages 9 and 10, as they begin their first day of school: (Timmy walks into class looking rather pale, with scars on his face and neck, about 20 pounds lighter than his classmates remember from the spring.  He seems grim) Janie asks Timmy, “What did you do this summer?”  Timmy responds, “I went to New Mexico for 40 days working for CBS on a reality show called Kid Nation about a group of kids forming an adult-less society where I drank bleach from an unmarked bottle and burned my face with grease from a frying pan in an unsupervised kitchen.  What did you do?”
tags: Law | TV | CBS | Television | SAG | Millennials | WGA |

Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy Win SAG Awards, Safe Oscar Bets

Authored by Jay Baage on January 28, 2007 - 4:04pm.
Dreamgirls newcomer Jennifer Hudson and old-timer Eddie Murphy each won a SAG award on Sunday night, making it ever more likely they both will take home Oscars in February. Eddie Murphy also took the opportunity to reflect a little on the nature of these Hollywood award shows and which movies and actors they celebrate.

SAG Union Actors Reject Video Game Contract Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 22, 2005 - 8:53am.
Los Angeles -- The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), a trade union representing Hollywood's actors, has announced that its members have voted to reject the contract agreement recently reached between the union's negotiating committee and video game publishers. The deal avoided a potential strike among actors who lend their voices and likenesses to video games. Video game publishers rejected actors' demands to earn residuals for their performances, based on video game sales, although the agreement did provide a pay hike and improved benefits. "The video game market has grown to be enormously profitable, and our members have played a tremendous role in generating those profits," said SAG national executive director Greg Hessinger. "While the tentative agreement reached included several key gains, the Guild's National Executive Committee has made the final determination that this proposal was not enough. We will now explore our options." While SAG members voted to reject the contract, the agreement was approved by another major actors' union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Many voice-over actors belong to both unions, so the SAG contract breakdown is not expected to have a major impact on game production.