Thousands of members of the Screen Actors Guild will soon get to vote on that tentative contract deal with the big studio producers. The ballots to eligible guild members will be mailed out later this month on Tuesday, May 19, according to a message posted on the SAG website by Interim National Executive Director, David White, and SAG Chief Negotiator, John McGuire.
The old contract expired on June 30, 2008. After months of bickering between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a tentative agreement on a two-year contract was announced on April 17, 2009. The deal received the approval and recommendation of the SAG National Board of Directors. Yet, there will probably be some behind the scenes drama in the guild over the new media terms, which a group of hardliners had fought but failed to get sweetened for the estimated 120,000 SAG members. The opposition is lead by SAG President, Alan Rosenberg.
Ballots are due back by 5 p.m. June 9, 2009. Some informational member meetings are scheduled, with the first planned for May 21, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, 1755 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood beginning at 7 p.m.
