SAG board grants AFTRA merger

The pending marriage between your Screen Stars Guild and also the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists has moved one step closer. SAG's national board has approved a merger proposal with 87% from the panel OKing the program, SAG introduced Friday evening. The proposal would go to AFTRA's board, which meets Saturday and when AFTRA leaders approve, it might trigger a election by SAG and AFTRA people beginning February. 27 with tabulation on March 30. Merger competitors around the SAG board were not able to satisfy the 25% threshold that will have needed that the minority report be released within the balloting material. If the AFTRA national board approve, the proposal will be delivered to 120,000 SAG people and 70,000 AFTRA people, who include stars, tv stations, DJs, performers and ballroom dancers. To pass through, the referendum would want a 60% approval margin from both orgs among votes cast. The brand new union is going to be known as SAG-AFTRA, should people approve the merger election. SAG people defeated merger plans in 1999 and 2003 while AFTRA people supported both. In 2003, the merged union could have been known as the Alliance of Intl. Media Artists, who have been an issue within the defeat. Key particulars from the proposal will unquestionably be recommended by SAG persident Ken Howard throughout Sunday's SAG Honours ceremony in the Shrine Auditorium in La. The SAG prexy typically gives an on-air speech throughout the kudocast. Howard and AFTRA leader Roberta Reardon make the merger of these two unions their signature problem and received strong support from people in recent elections. The merger proposal was hammered out in a nine-day meeting earlier this year through the AFTRA and SAG Group for just one Union to sort out particulars like a title, governance, financing, membership needs and dues. That group had met five occasions since June. SAG's chosen leadership continues to be centered recently by individuals in support of a merger, who contend that the combined union could be more effective and take away jurisdictional overlaps. Competitors within SAG, whose influence has decreased recently, contend that SAG should remain for stars only and assert the new union will face problems in trying to mix the and retirement plans. SAG and AFTRA share jurisdiction on primetime TV. After many years of bitter disputes, AFTRA split from SAG on joint negotiating in 2008 and discussed another deal a complete year before SAG arrived at an accord -- resulting in producers choosing to sign with AFTRA for pretty much brand new shows. Howard suggests that people of SAG and AFTRA wish to mix unions to then resolve the dilemma of seeing pension and health contributions get into separate SAG and AFTRA plans, that are operated by joint industry-union boards. Howard was handily re-chosen to some second two-year term in September. If the suggested SAG-AFTRA merger pass, annual elections is a factor of history using the contests happening every 2 yrs rather. The program is targeted at mixing SAG's annual direct voting structure for many offices along with other slots filled using AFTRA's national convention structure, held every 2 yrs with associates chosen in the local level. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com