A monkey wrench SAG President Alan Rosenberg threw into pending SAG contract talks with producers was tossed back into his lap today by a Superior Court Judge.
Alan Rosenberg (SAG Guild President) and Anne-Marie Johnson (Guild 1st Vice President) filed a lawsuit against SAG this past week, seeking to reinstate Doug Allen (who was relieved of his duties as the Union's Chief negotiator) and to reconstitute the Guild's former negotiating committee.
The SAG board fired Allen last month on the grounds that he was mishandling negotiations with the studios.
Former SAG General Counsel David White was installed in Allen's place and is currently acting as interim Executive Director alongside John McGuire who was named the Union's new chief negotiator.
On the heels of the controversial White/McGuire power-play, the SAG board also disbanded the Union's negotiating committee (dominated by Allen's supporters) and appointed a new task force in their place.
According to Alan Rosenberg and his supporters, the move was not only "unwarranted" but "undemocratic" in nature.
To many Guild Members, ousting Doug Allen and the negotiating team amounted to "written assent" - which they allege - violated the California's Corporate Code.
Hence, the lawsuit to nullify the ousting of Allen and the negotiating team.
Talks with producers were scheduled to continue this week, but were suddenly halted due to the unexpected legal proceeding.
Attorneys for SAG appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court this morning to respond to the Plaintiffs' lawsuit.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Court found that the lawsuit was procedurally defective and refused to issue an injunction requested by the Plaintiffs.
In response, Plaintiffs’ counsel stated their intention to amend their documents and resubmit the paperwork for further review by a Superior Court Judge on Thursday, February 5th (2009).
The Guild and its attorneys have vowed to attend the court hearing and present a vigorous defense.
David White, acting interim Executive Director of the Guild, fired off an e-mail to me this evening in which he underscored the importance of continuing talks with producers as quickly as possible so that a fair contract may be negotiated for SAG members.
Once the legal issues are resolved, that is wholly possible.
In the meantime, the Guild will continue to work in the service of its members, with focus, dedication and commitment," White concluded confidently.
No comments:
Post a Comment