This was just emailed to all of the SAG members!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMPTP Suspends Negotiations with Screen Actors
GuildGuild Offers to Continue and Negotiate “Around the Clock” to
Complete Deal
Los Angeles, May 6, 2008 -The AMPTP
suspended negotiations with Screen Actors Guild today over the objections of
SAG's negotiating committee. The committee had urged that the AMPTP continue
discussion and had offered to negotiate around the clock if necessary in order
to secure an agreement.The AMPTP declined to continue negotiations with
SAG claiming that it was necessary to turn their attention to negotiating with
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).Screen
Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg said, “It is unfortunate and
deeply troubling that the AMPTP would suspend our negotiations at this critical
juncture. We have modified our proposals over the last three weeks in effort to
bargain a fair contract for our members. We are committed to preserving rights
that have been in place for decades and not giving the studios the right to use
excerpts of our work in new media without our consent and negotiation. Our
negotiating team is prepared to work around the clock for as long as it takes to
get a fair deal. We want to keep the town working.”Over the last four
weeks Screen Actors Guild negotiated in good faith and modified many of its
proposals to the AMPTP. To date, the AMPTP has offered only a few modifications
to its new media proposal which was submitted to SAG in three documents
containing 36 provisions that differed from the deals agreed to with the WGA and
DGA.SAG's National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Doug Allen
stated, “We were hopeful that we could continue negotiations with the AMPTP and
reach a tentative agreement. We modified our proposals in effort to narrow the
gap between us and now we need the AMPTP do the same. SAG's objective is to
keep the town working and get a fair contract, so we are gravely disappointed
that we will now have to delay to a process that we started over three weeks
ago. We are willing to work for as long as it takes to negotiate a good
agreement for our members.”The AMPTP put forward a proposal that
differed substantially from the deals signed with the DGA and WGA. Management's
clip demand would gut existing provisions regarding actors' consent to use of
their clips and would allow studios and networks to use or sell clips – going
forward and from their libraries – in any way they choose and without consent.
About SAG
Screen Actors Guild is the nation's largest
labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich
history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break
long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists' rights amid
the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century.
With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents over 122,00,000 actors who work in
film and digital television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos
and all other new media formats. The Guild exists to enhance actors' working
conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on
behalf of artists' rights. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, you can visit SAG online at http://www.sag.org <http://www.sag.org/> .
Karmyn Tyler 
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