| Hollywood is often seen as a business operating on hardball bases rather than softball. In the union politics it is no different. Screen Actors Guild, representing mainly those in the cinema and TV movie business, have fallen out with their TV news anchor and radio jock colleagues. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is going in separate direction so that they can negotiate their own contracts. The movie moguls must be pleased. I've read Larry Hagman's autobiography and he explained quite candidly how brutal the business can be. Usually it is the bosses that try the divide and conquer technique. It's not usually the unions that set about promoting a divided front.The war of words has begun. "It's really tragic," said SAG president Alan Rosenberg. "It's tough enough to compete with the Hollywood studios and try to get fair wages and working conditions for actors. Now we have to compete against our own union. . . . What they did today was turn their back on every acto... |
