N.Y. S.A.G. Board Puts Pressure on Guild to Start Talks

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By Gillian Reagan

February 29, 2008 | 12:12 p.m

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The Screen Actors Guild's New York board is urging S.A.G.'s leadership to begin bargaining by March 31, well before the June 30 expiration of the SAG-AFTRA TV/theatrical contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. S.A.G says it will be ready to open contract talks with the studios in the spring, but that's not good enough for the New York board, according to the Hollywood Reporter. "I see absolutely no value to the members in delaying these talks any longer," said Sam Freed, the guild's New York president. "We are dealing with serious issues. We should already be at the bargaining table." Alec Baldwin weighs in after the jump!

The resolution charges that SAG's leadership "is ignoring the proven success of the strategy of early negotiations" and indicated that if its leaders were following recent precedent -- a reference to the early DGA talks, which broke the WGA logjam -- "negotiations on the TV/theatrical contract would now be in process and would be completed by the end of March."

Guild leadership, the resolution continues, "is instead wasting valuable time and Guild resources fighting with our bargaining partner and unnecessarily delaying the start of negotiations."

The jab is a reference to the pace of the ongoing talks between AFTRA and SAG negotiators in preparation for the talks with the AMPTP.

"SAG should pursue a course similar to the DGA, where early negotiations short circuit the need for a strike," New York member Alec Baldwin said.

In a response, SAG national executive director and chief negotiator Doug Allen said that despite the claims that the guild is moving slowly, "we are well under way in this important, collaborative process."