Screen Actors Guild Prepares For Its Own Fight

It turns out the writers aren't the only ones that are unhappy with the way things are going in Hollywood. The Screen Actors Guild is preparing for a fight for revenue increases from online media and DVD sales, a similar complaint to the Writers Guild of America. But as this great LA times piece explains, the powerful SAG might not have enough leverage at a time when the economy is bad and Hollywood is already strike-weary from the WGA strike.

Labor unions have more or less been on the run in recent decades, with union membership rates at about 12 percent nationwide. But in Hollywood, the SAG and the WGA have maintained quite a bit of power. That is, until recently. Now, with internal politics threatening to fracture the SAG, we'll see how the entertainment industry will shake out.

Although I'm rooting for the unions to get their writers and actors at least some of the demands they're asking for, I'm skeptical. I can hold out with my Netflix queue, but I fear this time the media executives will end up getting the better end of the bargain.

Cross-posted at campusprogress.org/blog.