SAGWatch

At first blush the line taken by the Allens and the party lines 13-10 NEC vote attacking the tentative AFTRA Exhibit A agreement looks like insanity. It’s certainly an admission that the Allens and the Membership First party have been unable to convince the rest of SAG as well as all of AFTRA of their world view.

But even if it seems ill conceived and badly executed, there is a strategy behind the Allens lashing out at SAG’s sister union. And if we can get beyond the macho chest thumping of SAG and the posturing of wounded innocence adopted by AFTRA, we can fathom a positive way forward, if only the two unons can take a deep breath and really think about exactly what they really want to accomplish.

We don’t question for a minute that the leaders of Membership First and their opposition, and that the leaders of AFTRA share the same primary goal. Everyone on all sides wants the best possible contracts, the highest wages and the best working conditions. There are differences of opinion on what the right levels are, what the right tactics are, and almost everything else, and that’s fine, but the ultimate goal is and should be the same.

So, for the moment let’s set aside the institutional interests, too, and concentrate on the problem at hand. That problem is TV/Theatrical, and how to make the best of the current very bad situation.

We are where we are. AFTRA has concluded its contract with some very important gains. It’s not perfect, far from it. SAG is stuck in the tar pits, with management saying the AFTRA deal is all you’re getting.

That’s what’s led to the now failed attempt by the Allens to get AFTRA to hold up ratification of Exhibit A, and the planned “educational campaign” designed to defeat it. The Allens think that their only chance to make major breakthroughs above the AFTRA deal’s parameters is to make the AMPTP think the AFTRA deal is not going to fly. Using traditional labor logic, that’s a pretty reasonable place from which to start.

The problem is that the other side gets all this and has signaled clearly that while there’s some shuffling around that might be done, and there’s some new language to be had on force majeure, that’s all there is. They say go ahead and strike all summer, the deal will still be the same this fall – or it may be worse.

The AMPTP isn’t the JPC, but this has echoes of 2000, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, that only adds to the hardening of positions. If you’re Membership First, you probably view the Commercials Strike of 2000 as a painful battle that led to an eventual victory. If you’re not in Membership First, you probably see the strike as a hugely expensive disaster that drove a lot of production non union and badly hurt your income, something from which you have not recovered.

That difference in outlook is at the center of the dispute today. Membership First thinks the strike was a big win, and thinks repeating it could be a painful but ultimately positive tactic. Everyone else sees it as a disastrous loss and wants to avoid it at all costs.

There really isn’t a compromise position on that part. But there is a compromise position on Exhibit A. If you read between the lines of the AFTRA letter to the Allens, duck through the threats of lawsuits, and take a deep breath, it’s right there.

AFTRA isn’t going to announce the results of the ratification vote on Exhibit A until July 7 at the earliest. That means the Allens have at least until July 7 to negotiate and push as hard as they want for whatever they want. We’re not saying they’ll get anywhere, but they can take their best shot.

It’s not perfect. It’s not the same as going first, which they did, and then didn’t make a deal. It doesn’t give them free reign to strike, and we haven’t forgotten Rosenberg’s upset at not getting “his” strike. But it does give the Allens the imagery of a threatened strike, and it gives them at least a month, a week of it after the expiration of the contract, to negotiate anything they can. AFTRA has already indicated it will back off and give SAG more time to negotiate. They did it twice during the first round of TV/Theatrical talks, and might even do it again.

The Allens should accept this as a reasonable compromise, and decide not to waste our money on a campaign they’ll call educational that everyone else will view as disinformational. They should avoid the legal battles and they should avoid the likely defeat, which can only further weaken SAG. If they don’t want to openly support ratification of Exhibit A, at the least they should not oppose it, either publicly or through back channels. That means no “education campaign” either.

It’s probably the best compromise they can get, and it’s the best for everyone in both unions. If the Allens are true SAG patriots they’ll take the compromise, even if it means they have to offer some difficult explanations to the voters this summer. They can always blame any failures on AFTRA. It will at least be a consistent message.

After the dust settles we can examine next steps and avoiding these crises in the future. But right now we need the Allens to declare victory and announce peace and go back to the bargaining table, and then we can all move forward, if not in perfect step, at least together.