SAG-AFTRA feud escalates over ‘Phase 1’
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A feud between Hollywood’s two actors unions boiled over this weekend after the Screen Actors Guild’s board of directors urged members to vote down a longstanding agreement with its sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
SAG’s board voted Saturday to hold a referendum on whether to end the so-called Phase 1 agreement under which the two unions have been jointly negotiating TV and theatrical contracts since 1981. Under the agreement, the unions have equal voting rights when it comes to negotiating the main TV and film contract for actors.
That has been a sore point with SAG leaders, who complain that AFTRA gets 50% of the votes even though it accounts for less than 10% of the contracts. SAG wants to replace the agreement with one that is more reflective of the union’s greater clout.
‘Phase 1 is as out-of-date as black-and-white television,’ said SAG President Alan Rosenberg in a statement.
The guild said that a yes vote, which the board recommended, would authorize directors to negotiate a new ‘equitable joint bargaining agreement’ with AFTRA. If that proves impossible, the guild added, SAG would then seek to independently negotiate its own contract with studios.
AFTRA fired back today, accusing SAG of attempting to undermine AFTRA and create a schism between the unions.
‘Given this critical time in the entertainment industry, our union members should be devoting their energies to preparing for negotiations and building solidarity, not working to destroy Phase 1,’ AFTRA said in a statement. ‘This latest action by SAG is merely a smokescreen for the internal battles between its national membership and a radical Hollywood faction.’
SAG National Executive Director Doug Allen said the SAG board reflected the interests of members nationwide and called the AFTRA statement ‘petty, silly and demonstrably untrue.’
The two unions have clashed for months over a host of issues. SAG leaders have been unhappy over what they view as efforts by AFTRA to cut into their union’s jurisdiction and negotiate contracts with less favorable terms, especially in the area of Internet residuals that are at the center of a 10-week-old strike by Hollywood’s writers.
The infighting comes at an awkward time for SAG, which is eager to present a united front as it prepares for contentious contract negotiations with studios. SAG, whose contract expires June 30, has been closely aligned with the striking writers.
AFTRA represents 70,000 actors, singers, broadcasters and other talent, while SAG represents 120,000 actors. About 40,000 people belong to both unions.
-- Richard Verrier
