Written by David Lewis on Jun 10, 2009. Posted in On Location

SAG approves new contracts

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has announced that members have voted overwhelmingly to approve its TV/Theatrical contracts by a vote of 78% to 22%.

The two-year successor agreement covers film and digital television programmes, motion pictures and new media productions. The pact is effective until the 30th of June 2011.

The contracts provide more than USD105 million in wages, increased pension contributions, and other gains and establishes a template for SAG coverage of new media formats.

SAG Interim National Executive Director David White said, “This decisive vote gets our members back to work with immediate pay raises and puts SAG in a strong position for the future. Preparation for the next round of negotiations begins now. Our members can expect more positive changes in the coming months as we organise new work opportunities, repair and reinvigorate our relationships with our sister unions and industry partners, and continue to improve the Guild’s operations.”

However, Alan Rosenberg, the SAG President, said, "The membership has spoken and has decided to work under the terms of this contract that many of us, who have been involved in these negotiations from the beginning, believe to be devastatingly unsatisfactory. Tomorrow morning I will be contacting the elected leadership of the other talent unions with the hope of beginning a series of pre-negotiation summit meetings in preparation for 2011. I call upon all SAG members to begin to ready themselves for the battle ahead."