SAG asking members to back strike motion

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The Screen Actors Guild says its 120,000 members should support a strike aimed at forcing major U.S. studios into a new labor contract.

The Los Angeles Times said Sunday that in order to implement a labor strike, the union must receive supportive votes from 75 percent of members participating in the vote.

The strike proposal was made Saturday by top union officials after negotiations on actor compensation for media distributed on the Internet once again fell apart.

The guild and top studios have remained divided on the compensation issue since June 30 and now SAG officials are eyeing a labor strike as their next maneuver.

The guild said in a statement it would attempt to earn member support for the proposed strike referendum by educating SAG members on the conflict, the Times said.

"Management continues to insist on terms we cannot possibly accept on behalf of our members," the union said. "We remain committed to avoiding a strike, but now more than ever, we cannot allow our employers to experiment with our careers."