The Screen Actors Guild is gearing up for a strike authorization vote. Today on its website, SAG announced the ballots for that vote will be going out to the membership on January 2, 2009. This is a serious step in the direction of another crippling labor strike in the entertainment industry.
On Monday, SAG leaders reportedly got a lot of positive feedback to their negotiation strategy from several hundred union members at a town hall meeting held at the Harmony Gold Theatre in Los Angeles. Two more town hall meetings are scheduled for next week. In a press release today, Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg said: “A yes vote sends a strong message that we are serious about fending off rollbacks and getting what is fair for actors in new media. ”
The strike authorization ballots will be counted on January 23. A yes vote by 75 percent of the ballots is required for passage. However, the Guild continues to stress passage would only mean the SAG national board of directors would be able to call a strike, “if and when the board determines it is necessary.”
