SAG Strike looming?

The New York Times, along with several other media outlets, reported over the weekend that the federally appointed mediator was unable to facilitate an agreement for a new contract between the Screen Actor's Guild and The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. SAG will now ask its members to vote in favor of authorizing a strike, and will preface that with an education campaign to encourage them to do so. SAG members have been working without a contract since June 30, and it seems like a large part of their disputes with AMPTP revolve around how actors will be paid for videos streamed online and other new media.

A vote to authorize the strike would allow SAG leaders to begin a strike at any time. The Writer's Guild of America began their strike just a little over a year ago, on November 5, 2007. I don't know if SAG will be able to get its members to back a strike at this point, though, given the vastly different economic landscape. If a strike were authorized, however, it could mean another awards season marred by an ongoing strike, and another disrupted television season as well.