Date: 1st January 2000

Have Sag "Militants" Prolonged Strike?


An unwieldy decision-making bureaucracy that involves 105 board members is one of the factors preventing the Screen Actors Guild from reaching an agreement with the advertising industry to end the strike that is now nearing its sixth month, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Thursday).

The newspaper also indicated that the strike has been hampered by disagreements between the union's more "militant" leadership and its full-time staff, including chief negotiator John McGuire, who, according to the Times, "were skeptical that a strike would be effective." The SAG leaders have also reportedly been at odds with what the Times called "the less confrontational" officers of AFTRA and SAG's own New York membership. Negotiations between the union and the industry are set to resume in New York today.

Source: Studio Briefing