SAG rebuffs actors’ demand on who votes

Deepening the conflict within Hollywood’s biggest union, the Screen Actors Guild’s board of directors on Saturday rebuffed a demand by more than 1,400 actors that it immediately move to limit who can vote in upcoming contract negotiations.

Kevin Bacon, Glenn Close, Ben Affleck, Ethan Hawke and hundreds of other guild members signed a petition calling on the board to require that only actors who work at least one day a year be allowed to vote on the principal film and TV contract.

Most of the guild’s 120,000 members don’t work regularly, stoking concerns that nonworking members might be more inclined to support a walkout by actors when their contract expires June 30. Actors begin contract negotiations with studios Tuesday.

To make it more palatable, the petition’s backers had modified their initial proposal, reducing the work requirement from five days to one day a year.

As expected, the measure faced heavy opposition from many of the guild’s Hollywood board members, who argued that it would disenfranchise most guild members. SAG President Alan Rosenberg had dismissed the idea as elitist.

The board referred the matter to a committee, which proponents widely interpreted as a rejection. “I don’t think there is a will to address this issue seriously under the current leadership,” said actor Ned Vaughn, one of the petition organizers. “We’re disappointed, but that hardly means we will go away.”

In SAG, any member in good standing can vote on the film and TV contract. Actors qualify for membership if they have appeared in a principal or speaking role in a SAG film, video, television program or commercial. Also eligible are extras who have worked at least three days on a SAG-covered show in their lifetimes and people who qualify to join through a sister union.

Also Saturday, the guild’s board adopted a budget for its upcoming fiscal year that included a projected $6.5-million deficit. Guild officials said the deficit reflected what would be extraordinary expenses in the coming year, including those related to contract negotiations, research, additional hiring and financing a possible actors strike.

In an interview, SAG Executive Director Doug Allen downplayed the deficit, saying any shortfall would be covered through the guild’s substantial reserves, estimated to exceed $30 million.

“We’re healthy financially,” Allen said. “We’re just using some of our savings to make sure we can accomplish what we need to.”

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richard.verrier@latimes.com