SAG faction escalates battle

The board majority of the Screen Actors Guild on Monday stepped up its efforts to oust the union’s executive director, taking its case directly to members.

In an e-mail statement to SAG members, the majority coalition said it no longer had confidence in the leadership of Doug Allen, citing his “failed strategy” for securing a new contract for actors. SAG members have been without a contract for almost seven months.

The statement further accused Allen and SAG President Alan Rosenberg of thwarting the will of the board majority last week, when it was blocked from voting on a resolution to fire Allen and replace the union’s negotiating committee.

“We firmly believe that SAG needs a change of course and a new captain,” the board members said. “Mr. Allen has held fast to a failed strategy for over half a year, even as members have lost nearly $50 million from working under an expired contract.

“With a new direction, we can turn this around and put the Screen Actors Guild back on the right track,” the statement said.

A SAG spokeswoman said neither Allen nor the guild would comment.

Rosenberg, who has staunchly defended Allen as a tough negotiator, responded:

“There’s one glaring reason we haven’t been able to have significant movement in these negotiations, and that’s because every time Doug does something, members of our board put out a press release cutting his legs out from underneath him. These people are like children.”

The statement from board members came in a response to a letter Allen wrote last week in which he proposed postponing a strike authorization vote.

Instead, he proposed asking members to vote -- without a board recommendation -- on the studios’ final contract offer. But that idea was roundly dismissed by the board majority, which favors negotiating for more favorable terms and then presenting a revised package to union members.

Allen has strongly backed the strike vote, saying it would give him leverage in negotiations. But his aggressive pursuit of the referendum sparked a backlash among members who felt the tactic was ill-timed, given the hardships facing members amid a deep recession.

If Allen doesn’t resign, his hand may be forced. Moderate directors are working on a plan to oust Allen, possibly through a mechanism known as “written assent,” which allows board members to take action by casting their votes in writing. Such a vote could happen by next week, potentially triggering a protracted legal battle.

In a letter to members sent over the weekend, Allen acknowledged that the board is now “deeply and publicly split” and vowed to press ahead with the strike authorization vote if the board did not accept his “compromise.”

The suggestion did not sit well with board member Todd Hissong, president of SAG’s Chicago branch.

“Yet again you have the audacity to make ultimatums to your employers,” Hissong wrote.

“You have grossly violated your responsibilities to the Screen Actors Guild. . . . I hereby demand your immediate resignation as our national executive director.”

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richard.verrier@latimes.com