Based on the fact that SAG national director Doug Allen has called off the January 2 strike authorization vote as well as my reading of Variety deputy editor and TV reporter Cynthia Littleton’s highly critical analysis of the mistakes Allen and president Alan Rosenberg have made during the negotiations, I think I’m ready to call these negotiations over for this term.
The accompanying report by Dave McNary added that instead of the vote, Rosenberg and Allen have called for an emergency meeting of the national board on January 12 and 13, with McNary adding some speculative commentary:
[The] timing of the Monday night announcement was telling. It came a few hours after Allen and Rosenberg met with leaders of the Unite for Strength faction, a group of Hollywood moderates who gained five board seats in the fall after campaigning on a platform that asserted that Rosenberg and his allies had bungled the contract negotiations strategy.
This action lead Littleton to opine:
[The] national board meeting may result in a vote to replace some or all members of SAG’s contract negotiating committee. There’s growing speculation that Allen’s fate in the guild’s top paid position may also be on the line.
All I can say is, it’s about time! I’ve generally agreed all along with Wil Wheaton’s observation that this has been mismanaged from the start, and it’s about time some more shaking up of the entrenched board and president took place.
I can’t wait to see the outcome of the meeting.