In a compromise struck between divided camps within the actors union, the national board of the Screen Actors Guild called for bringing in a federal mediator to break the logjam in contract talks with the Hollywood studios, putting off more drastic plans to seek strike authorization from members.
The resolution appeared aimed at finding middle ground between union hard-liners who wanted an immediate strike vote to give their leaders leverage in stalled contract negotiations and moderates opposed to such action who recently won key seats on the national board and now have a voice in setting its direction.
But SAG's desire to bring in a federal mediator drew a noncommittal response from the Hollywood studios, which have been adamant that the actors will not be getting a new contract substantially different from those already negotiated by other talent unions. And in a bit of hardball rhetoric pegged to the worsening economy they hinted actors may now even get a worse one.
"There is simply no justification for SAG to expect a deal that is in excess of what the other guilds negotiated in better times," the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of the major studios, said in a statement.
Meeting at the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown, the national board also agreed to give the union's negotiating committee authority to seek a strike vote should the mediation efforts fail. The vote came in the first board meeting since a group of moderate actors supported by Tom Hanks and Sally Field won key board seats in the Hollywood division, tilting the balance of power away from the more hard-line incumbent group known as Membership First, which dominates the union's negotiating committee.
"We hope mediation will help move the process forward," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement. "Economic times are tough for all Americans, but we must take a stand for what is fair."
The national board also voted to add four members to the guild's 13-member negotiating committee in hopes of jump-starting talks that have languished for months. Although the new committee members haven't been picked yet, moderates are expected to be allotted three of the four seats, which would only increase their influence.
At the same time, the new board members are walking a political tightrope and are fearful of appearing overly accommodating to the studios.
