Just the facts: Watchdog Interactive referendum facts that you won’t get from SAG’s Current Leadership: Fact: If EVERY Hollywood member that voted had voted for the strike referendum, it still wouldn’t have passed!

19 April, 2005 (20:21) | 2005 | By: Arlin Miller

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Fact: 82.6% of all vidgame earnings are generated in Hollywood. ($4.1 million) Next on the totem pole NY, 12%, with $611 thousand dollars.

Fact: AFTRA has NEVER provided statistics on how much their earnings are from Interactive contracts! When pushed for an answer a SAG senior staffer stated that it was about two-to-one, SAG over AFTRA.!

FACT: Hollywood YES on the strike vote was 65.77% NY was 52.83%.

FACT: SF voted NO by 60% to 40% and their total earnings are an anemic $20,579, or Just 4% of all earnings.

FACT: Nationwide, taking out NY and LA, the rest of the country makes only 5% of all the earnings!

Fact: Hollywood members were mailed 71.4% of the total ballots even though they make 82.6% of the earnings.

FACT: Even if Hollywood had voted UNANIMOUSLY for a strike authorization, it would not have passed!

FACT: Both Presidents gave their support to the negotiating committee when it decided to seek a strike authorizationand then not only withdrew their support and refused to help promote a YES vote in any way, but in fact manipulated their statements to the voters in a way to support the NO vote!

FACT: The ONLY reason the negotiating committee voted YES (reluctantly) was because of NED Hessinger’s statement that current SAG signatories would be able to hire SAG members on non-union projects if there is no new contract and that there would be nothing SAG could do about it. SAG could not enforce RULE ONE because of Federal Labor Law and that punishing actors for working non-union in the wake of a failed strike vote would be “ILLEGAL.” And, Yes, those on the negotiating committee insist that he used THAT word. And that “At the caucus and at the NEC he completely changed his story – he said, “No, what I said was that IN MY OPINION any actor who would be brought up on charges for working non-union [for former SAG signatories on non-union games] would have a case to challenge this with the Department of Labor.”

FACT: Had the negotiating committee been told that there were NO LAWS, that there was NOTHING ILLEGAL, that the Department of Labor WOULD NOT interfere on this and that all of this was just Greg’s OPINION (speculation, really)– the committee would have voted unanimously to REJECT the contract proposal.

FACT: All things being equal, if this contract proposal had gone out to the “affected’ members for ratification, it would have been overwhelmingly rejected 61% to 39%. Those voting mandating that the leadership take the proposal back to the bargaining table to get a better deal!

OPINION: Therefore, by rejecting this proposal isn’t the NEC just following the overwhelming voice of the voters? Maybe they aren’t ready to strike yet, but 66 percent in Hollywood and 61% nationwide also aren’t ready to accept the current proposal. So, it’s imperative that SAG immediately demands that the vidgamers return to the bargaining table.

If they refuse, return to ALL the voters. This time with EVERYONE on board—and as they have ALWAYS done under similar circumstances in the past, the membership will overwhelming back an assured leadership!

A.L, Miller SW Editor & Chief