After all of the idiocy we saw from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) during the writers’ strike, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m siding with the producers on this one: the Screen Actors Guild is about to make a massive mistake, and doesn’t even seem aware of it.
If you’ve been following the SAG negotiations - and let’s be honest, you might not be, since it’s not getting the attention the writers’ guild negotiations got, you know that not all of the actors in SAG are excited by the idea of striking at a time when the country’s economy is in such ill shape. In fact, a petition went around signed by quite a few of the guild’s “A-listers,” requesting SAG not move to strike - especially at a time when the guild has no bargaining power and a strike would put so many people out of employment.
SAG executive director Doug Allen answered the concerns over the strike in a letter to the guild’s members, but I have to question Allen’s stance. He told members that he hopes a strike will not be necessary, but if they receive the proper authorization from its voting members, the guild will strike. Not to worry, Allen’s missive said, a strike would not shut down the industry, because the guild has other contracts - commercials, video games, basic cable, etc - wouldn’t be affected by a strike.
Reported by Variety, the AMPTP issued a statement attempting to clarify the situation. ”Today's SAG statement suggesting that a SAG strike would not have a devastating impact on our industry, in the midst of the greatest economic turmoil since the Great Depression, simply defies reality. The 100-day writers strike -- which resulted in the writers receiving the same terms that the DGA achieved without a strike -- cost our economy $2.5 billion. A SAG strike would cost the working families who depend on our industry even more -- at a time when everyone is already under extreme pressure by the unprecedented national economic crisis."
While I think the AMPTP has things right this time around, I can’t help but feel like they are also exploiting the economic crisis as a means to keep the actors from striking - playing on the fears of the members who have said they don’t want to strike because of the economy, and fanning the flames of dissent.
What neither side is talking about is that a strike would not prohibit actors not in SAG, but in AFTRA, who has already reached an agreement with the AMPTP. Those actors would continue to work, although a SAG strike would seriously affect the industry as a whole.
Eventually, it all comes down to the members. If they agree to a strike, the guild is going to strike. If they don’t, there won’t be a strike. But a responsible leader should be pointing out to the guild the precarious situation a strike would put them in, not just assuage the members’ fears with statements that everything will be alright - especially when it very well may not be.
