Columbus partner Mike Asensio was quoted in the January 9 Reuters article, Divided Hollywood Actors Union Nears Boiling Point."
According to the article, moderate board members of Hollywood's deeply splintered Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are expected to try to oust a contract negotiating team they see as too militant and cancel a strike authorization vote in stalled contract talks with major studios. SAG's members have been without a film and prime-time TV contract since their old labor pact expired on June 30, hours after studios presented union negotiators what management called its final offer.
Insiders and labor experts see SAG leaders as unlikely to go ahead with a vote asking formal permission from rank-and-file members to call a strike if necessary. Proceeding with a strike authorization but failing to muster the required 75 percent majority of those voting would cripple SAG's remaining bargaining clout.
"It doesn't appear that they can count on getting that kind of vote back if they were to send out the strike authorization. And if you can't get that back, it's a very risky move," said Asensio, who specializes in labor disputes and has followed the SAG talks.