Merger Button (Yes)

After discussing merger with other actor unions, on and off for nearly 60 years, the Screen Actors Guild's National Board declared in 1998 : “Times have changed. So must we. The Industry Ain’t What it Used to Be!” Ever-changing technology, jurisdictional questions, and the alarming growth of powerful, multinational entertainment conglomerates producing everything from live and animated film, prime time and non-prime time network and cable TV, computer games, CD-ROMs, etc., produced a formal decision: “The only way to negotiate effectively against these behemoths is to bring SAG and AFTRA together.” Merger. The Guild began an official campaign promoting a first-ever merger vote, but a rival “Save SAG” member group rose in opposition to the plan. When the ballots were tallied on January 28, 1999, merger had been voted down by over 52% of the voting membership, so no merger took place.