Patt Morrison Blog
Patt Morrison for Friday, July 25
Someone’s kayaking down the LA River. That’s not a joke. How well a boat navigates the river can influence its protection status. Also, as wildfires swept across Northern California, residents were swept out of their homes in mandatory evacuations. When wildfires come to Australia, the residents stand their ground and fight the fires themselves - as firefighters have trained them to. Same fires - different solution entirely. Patt takes a look.
In the comments below, Don asked for more information on the Los Angeles River Expedition. Below are a few links:
FOLAR: Friends of the LA River
Also, SAG Membership Challenges Leadership while Talks Slow….A move by more than 30 SAG actors to organize and challenge existing leadership may or may not have influence on contract talks. The group, called Unite for Strength, is dissatisfied with SAG president Alan Rosenberg and the progress of the current negotiations. Election results could be announced on September 18, and with the slow pace of negotiations this summer, new leadership might be in place before a contract decision is made. Who’s getting the best deal? What do you think should be done?
The discussion on SAG and potential leadership challenge was passionate and heated … listen to the audio and comment below - tell us where you stand on the debate.
Tools
- July 25, 2008 4:34 PM by Aimee Machado
- Comments (8)
- Categories: Arts, Business/Economy, Environment, Politics/Public Affairs
- Tags: AFTRA, California Wildfires, Clean Water Act, Firefighters, Los Angeles River, SAG
8 Comments
I must say I have heard this argument far too often in the recent past. When I hear any elected official at any level stating that "This is not the time to question us, unity is too important right now" I know I am being sold a bill of goods. When I would hear such things from my previous union, ALPA, I knew it was because we were being sold out by our leadership. When I heard (and continue to hear) it from our federal administration, regarding the "War on Terror" I know it was because the administration knew decisions being made wouldn't stand to scrutiny, and so, with no where near enough information, I must say my impression is that, if the current direction of S.A.G. leadership is so weak that it can't stand intense scrutiny from it's membership, then there is no question that it is a failed institution. A union with no unity doesn't lack unity because the members are "weak" or "directionless", it lacks unity because the leadership is not addressing the worries of the majority. Across this nation, too many union and party members are embarassed into "towing the party line" through these lame-duck imprecations, and it needs to stop. Any opinion that can't stand scrutiny is simply a bad opinion!
Dan Morassutti,
Proud NON-union member
This impasse CANNOT be allowed to go on until September, when the SAG elections occur. We now have a de facto strike because Alan Rosenberg, Doug Allen, and the rest of the egomaniacal, zealous SAG negotiating team didn't want to make a swift, realistic deal with the AMPTP last February, right after the WGA strike was settled.
Back in November, Rosenberg basked in the cheers and applause of several thousand WGA members (myself included) when he allied SAG to the writer's strike, saying the WGA was fighting SAG's battle and it was effectively a joint strike. In February, he then did an about-face and decided he could do better than the WGA and make a name for himself, ignoring the pleas from all reasonable SAG members that no-one below the line in the industry could afford another strike or work slow-down.
Well, 5 months later we've had exactly that, a laborious dragging of feet and a refusal to end the suffering of thousands and thousands of people, in all levels of showbusiness, who have had a terrible, life-damaging year. The SAG leadership needs a major reality check: people are losing their homes, their savings, and their lives are being torn apart from all this labor strife. The AMPTP aren't going to offer anything more significant this year than every other Union has gotten, so make the best possible deal you can for now and stop the bleeding. It's time to cut our losses and re-examine the whole new media issue in three years. As long we have some jurisdiction this go-round, that's all that matters.
The AMPTP made their "final" over three weeks ago and the SAG negotiating team has rejected it, broken off talks, and won't even let its members know what the deal is. Why? Because they know the majority would vote for it and get this town back to work again. This is as despicable as the attempt to undermine AFTRA, using $150,000 of SAG members money to do so.
It's clearly about the SAG leaders trying to save face now. Any small gains we might get from here on will be far outweighed by what's already been lost. I am thoroughly disgusted by the stupidity and heartlessness of this SAG leadership. I feel utterly betrayed my parent acting Union.
JIM PIDDOCK,
(SAG, AFTRA, WGA, AEA member)
I agree with the previous poster that the suggestion of "bad timing" is a non-issue The SAG elections were always scheduled for September, and candidates' paperwork had to be in by today (I believe). This new slate of candidates represents the views of a great many SAG members who feel that current leadership is largely responsible for the current divisive and hostile atmosphere. (One representative from SAG called AFTRA a "scumbag" union. Honestly, how does this kind of talk help?) What is sorely needed is a return to calm, respectful debate as well as bridge-building between two unions with very similar interests. Yes, that should move towards merger, but nobody is suggesting that's going to happen overnight. What we need are calmer heads who will stop the pounding on the table and personal attacks and a bring in a new era of rational, informed, reasonable debate of the issues. We are moving into uncharted territory with New Media and the demise of the old commercial models. We need to be smart, fluid, strategic and regain the respect that SAG once had in this community.
Though I have viewed the SAG Hollywood leadership as being toxic and wrong-headed, I am thinking that finally a tipping point has been reached from which solid and reasonable leadership has the chance to emerge. If that's so then the past few years may in the end, offer a new culture to a much beleagured union and a culture worth the wait.
As the previous two comments have noted SAG has painted themselves into an intractable position. In previous negotiations the strike authorization vote has been a negotiating tool that was requested of membership at the start of negotiations to herald support from members. That vote was not offered at any time and now the resistance and isolation from leadership, the secrecy and narrowness exhibited makes it impossible for them to even consider exposing the terms to a membership so beaten down and disillusioned that SAG would not come close to getting the percentage they need to show solidarity.
Again, this is a national union and the shenanigans here do not reflect the nature of the rest of the country. But an apathetic membership has been successfully manipulated into this needless dilemma. Perhaps, out of stress, this membership is on the verge of becoming willing to opt for change.
I was interested in a preview of your program mentioning kayaking to establish navigability on the Los Angeles River!
A missed chance for me, as I heard on your program just now that George and a few others were about to launch at Canoga Park: Do you have contact information for this group?
Thanks
Don
Hi Pat,
Thank you for a great, abiet freightning segment today. As a 26-year veteran the film industry, a member of several Hollywood guilds and associations including SAG, and more recently a chronicler of how technology is changing our industry and work, it's my opinion that SAG’s leaders are not acting responsibly. They have got to come to grips with their insularity, and figure out how to settle this thing NOW.
Every guild and union in our industry currently finds themselves at one of the most complex crossroads in the history of our business. Everyone who breathes is starting to understand “The world is flat again”. Many of our crafts and livelihoods have been commoditized beyond our wildest imaginations and whether we like it or not, the multinationals run the show. Not to mention, there are MANY new venues and types of entertainment and more coming every day. Yes, there are a few extremely bankable actors who have some clout, but do SAG’s leaders think that clout extends to them? The fact is that besides a few of the biggest “stars” we are now ALL replaceable.
Yes, there are a tremendous amount of issues to be sorted out. Yes it will be difficult, but stopping the entire machine and exacerbating the widespread economic distress now plaguing many of us, will not help matters, and certainly not garner any sympathy for SAG’s cause.
It’s time to take a grown-up look at the situation and understand that we must keep working while negotiating. With a little luck there will be a change of course in Washington this November and we can start get some semblance of economic sanity and corporate fairness back in our lives. But don’t fool yourselves, if this strike happens and it extends for any period of time, SAG will be crushed as a union (quickly) and the collateral damage in this industry town will be catastrophic.
Lawrence Jordan
Encino, CA
Founder, HDFilmtools.com
With all due respect to Mr. Rosenberg, and the huge unpaid and volunteer task he has taken on, his insistence that SAG Hollywood attempted to put all the acrimony behind them is, from my observations of the Hollywood Board room, just not true. 1st, Sag Hollywood instituted bloc voting -- where the majority would win and would appear to have all the votes cast as %100 for(which, by the way, is NOT democratic), and was an attempt to nullify the Regional Boards of SAG, and AFTRA. After passing that, they then put it aside and approved a referendum to go out to the SAG membership to do away with Phase I, and then thought better of it. There was a purported(and if true, highly stupid) attempted raid on an AFTRA daytime show, and though SAG claimed it was blameless(I have no way of knowing what is true or not), the attempt still found a more than sympathetic ear in the Hollywood Board room. Add that to a large faction on the Hollywood board that views AFTRA with venom, and were instrumental in defeating both of our previous attempts in the last ten years to merge(AFTRA approved both plans, SAG defeated them both, the last one by a mere 2%(the plan was approved by 58% of the vote -- a super-majority of 60% was needed -- and this after a campaign was launched by those affiliated with the Membership First faction that sowed fear about the pension plans, among other issues) -- their(MF) intended purpose is to destroy the other union, not to merge with them. My point in listing all these, is that I think it's disingenous to pretend that none of what has gone before, up until the "ironclad agreement" to negotiate together, has ever happened. AFTRA has always wanted a merger, as have the majority of SAG members, and, yes, it is complicated, but not impossible. Most AFTRA board members are also members of SAG, and vica versa -- they are not some bogeyman concocted out of thin air to compete for work for their memberships -- both unions want jobs for actors and protections for actors, and it would be better for all us if it were under one umbrella so that we can continue to get the best terms available for actors.
I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Rosenberg. Shame on Mr. Vaughn for coming out now against current board while we are in the middle of negotiation. You can't have it both ways - you can't say you want the best contract for Actors and then come out against the President and board knowing that it will only further weaken our position on getting a good deal. You are playing right into the AMPTP hands - Mr. Vaughn talks about being strategic, if this is any indication on how his slate plans on playing it - scary! If you had the good of your union in mind, why not wait and why play it out in the press, and I know the elections are now, but you can run for SAG office and get your word out to SAG members only. What you're doing and I'm sure you mean well only hurts us SAG members in getting a good deal.
Thank you Mr. Rosenberg for fighting the good fight - you are my Hero!
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