SAG pulls plug on Indy stoppage waivers

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998732.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

SAG pulls plug on stoppage waivers
Suspended program covered 800 productions
By DAVE MCNARY

With a SAG strike becoming less likely, the Screen Actors Guild has announced it's pulled the plug on offering waivers to indie film producers that would allow production to continue if there's a work stoppage.

SAG made the brief announcement Friday evening, suspending a program that's covered over 800 productions in about a year.

The so-called guaranteed completion contracts provide for a producer to be allowed to continue shooting if a work stoppage occurred, in exchange for agreeing to observe the terms of whatever new deal SAG negotiates with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers.

The move comes on the heels of SAG national exec director Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg announcing that they've delayed sending out the strike authorization vote to explore making a run at a last-ditch round of negotiations with the congloms. Allen was nearly fired earlier in the week at a bitter national board meeting by the moderate majority with Rosenberg and his Membership First allies filibustering to block a vote.

SAG said in Friday's announcement that the national board had made the decision to suspend the waiver in a meeting Friday.

"Screen Actors Guild today announced that in light of the over 800 productions signed to Guaranteed Completion Contracts, SAG’s national board of directors has determined that the GCC’s have served their purpose and has decided to discontinue offering GCC’s," the announcement said. "Screen Actors Guild will continue signing independent productions to the terms of the 2005 Codified Basic Agreement for Independent Producers."

The waivers were granted solely to non-AMPTP companies. [more]