Enjoy your Fall TV now, because the actors’ strike is just around the corner

In an email sent earlier today by SAG president Alan Rosenberg and Chief Negotiator Doug Allen, the Screen Actors’ Contract Negotiations committee is calling for a strike referendum to be sent to the membership (144,000+ actors) for a vote. If this recommendation is approved by the National Board during their Oct 18-19 meeting, the membership would have up to 45 days to vote for or against the strike authorization. A positive return of 75% or greater would initiate a work stoppage for feature films, free television, and pay cable television, while commercials, industrials, basic cable, TV animation, and video game contracts would be allowed to continue unimpeded.

Just be aware, there are a number of contentious issues and bad blood on both sides of the table here. Should it go that far, this would not be a pretty situation, and there’s no telling how long a strike might last. I’m all for equality of compensation and defining the boundaries of new media, but the industry may suffer severe damage from a work stoppage similar to or surpassing last Fall’s Writers Guild strike, especially in the face of current economic conditions both Stateside and abroad. The powers that be better think long and hard about putting personal differences aside and coming up with a quick, effective resolution.