Two more articles this week on pending SAG strike vote

Two more articles on the strike from the news this week.

More than 130 Hollywood stars oppose strike vote

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 130 Hollywood stars including Oscar winners George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Morgan Freeman and Sally Field, joined on Monday in opposing a strike authorization vote by the Screen Actors Guild.

The A-list performers registered their opposition in a letter that circulated on the Internet as union leaders, including SAG President Alan Rosenberg, met in New York City with rank-and-file members to seek support for a strike authorization.

The letter marked the latest sign of sharp divisions within the 120,000-member union over tactics employed by Rosenberg and his allies to squeeze a better contract offer from major studios, especially for pay from work put on the Internet.

A smaller group of stars including Mel Gibson and Martin Sheen on Friday voiced support for a strike vote, while board members from SAG's New York division came out against it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4BF08P20081216

Discord rises within SAG over strike vote
Union leaders face mounting opposition from members who question the wisdom of holding a strike authorization during a recession.

By Richard Verrier and Matea Gold December 16, 2008

On the cusp of a crucial strike authorization vote by members of the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood's biggest union is wrestling with rising discontent among its members over the prospect of an imminent showdown with the studios.

The union representing 120,000 actors is spending more than $100,000 on an "education campaign" to muster support for a strike authorization vote, which union leaders say is necessary to give them leverage in negotiations with studios that have gone nowhere for months. The sides are sharply at odds over how actors should be compensated in the digital era.

But the campaign is facing mounting opposition from many of the union's own members, who question the wisdom of holding a strike vote in the midst of a deep recession that has forced widespread layoffs and cutbacks across the entertainment industry. Others fear that a strike would give only a leg up to the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which has already negotiated a contract with the studios and has been signing more shows in prime-time TV.

read on latimes
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-sag16-2008dec16,0,4614088.story