Latest in Membership First

More than 130 actresses and #MeToo activists have signed a statement in support of SAG-AFTRA presidential candidate Matthew Modine in the wake of a joke he made at Thursday night's town hall meeting of the union's three leading presidential candidates. "We deplore the politics of personal destruction" that have been…

Membership First, the "loyal opposition" at SAG-AFTRA, has unveiled its slate of candidates in the upcoming elections. Patricia Richardson is running for president of the guild's Los Angeles local, and Frances Fisher and David Jolliffe are vying for two local vice president slots. As previously reported, Matthew Modine…

Gabrielle Carteris has been re-elected president of SAG-AFTRA in a contentious race to lead the 140,000-member performers union. Her slate of Unite for Strength running mates also made narrow gains but further solidified their control of the national board and the union's Los Angeles local, of which Jane Austin was…

Although the recent SAG-AFTRA election might suggest that the guild's two bickering factions will be sharing power over the next two years, the balance of power actually remains unchanged. The real power at the guild is held by David White, the union's national executive director. The national board of directors has…

UPDATED with details and reactions: As expected, Ken Howard has been re-elected President of SAG-AFTRA, defeating challenger Patricia Richardson. But in a big surprise, his Unite for Strength running mate Jenny O'Hara was beaten in the race for Secretary-Treasurer by Richardson’s Membership First running mate Jane…

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA presidential candidate Patricia Richardson is calling for sweeping changes in the way the union does its business and deals with its diverse membership, vowing to heal the infighting and to take the fight to the producers for better wages and working conditions. Perhaps just as important, she's…

Saying that "it's time for a change," Patricia Richardson today announced her Membership First slate of running mates in the upcoming SAG-AFTRA election. Richardson, best known for her starring role on Home Improvement, announced last month that she is running against Ken Howard for President. Her running mate is…

UPDATE, 7:45PM: EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA Executive Director David White may be a candidate to head up the NBA players union, but he's still got a big supporter in the head of the Hollywood union. “Just as it was with their opposition to merger, MembershipFirst remains out of touch with members," SAG-AFTRA president Ken How…

SAG-AFTRA tonight put out the full list for its first National election since last year's merger. With every single office in the national union in play, it is a big list. Partially because of that, SAG-AFTRA has not made clear affiliation to particular slates. In summary, the candidates for National President in…

Here’s another sign of the demoralization of SAG’s Membership First: Anne-Marie Johnson is stepping aside as chairwoman of the Hollywood Division after having been 1st VP for 3 SAG presidents (Melissa Gilbert, Alan Rosenberg twice, and Ken Howard). I understand she doesn’t think she would be reelected now that MF is a…

2ND UPDATE: Hollywood can most likely expect a quick and easy negotiation when the Screen Actors Guild joins with AFTRA to negotiate with the studios and networks starting Monday. It also looks more than likely that SAG will merge with AFTRA soon. That’s because the so-called pro-moderation and pro-merger SAG National…

I have been wondering how any honest campaigning can be held in the ongoing SAG election what with this ludicrous anti-free speech SAG-AFTRA Non-Disparagement Agreement in effect. It forbids any criticism of either guild’s current leadership written or verbal — which in effect silences not just any public dissent but…