In the interest of full disclosure, I made a bet last week with a producer friend of mine named Elizabeth. It was a simple one: SAG will not strike this year. If the year closes without a strike or the SAG contract with the AMPTP gets resolved before the year is out, I get $20.

So, in the interest of Andrew Jackson, it’s with a little bit of glee that I get to report Doug Allen’s removal as National Executive Director and and Chief Negotiator of the Screen Actor’s Guild.

The SAG majority enacted something called “written assent,” where a majority of the Guild’s membership can force action on the entirety of the Union. Usually, these things would be handled by a vote, but the last time the silent majority tried to express their grievances, Doug Allen basically told them they were uninformed idiots and they should keep their mouth shut (HERE). The dissenting members then attempted to oust Allen through a good old-fashioned vote at a meeting, only to meet opposition from President Alan Rosenberg and a group of pro-Allen supporters who filibustered for 28 hours to avoid a vote.

Thank the Lord there are bylaws that allow for forcible removal. The SAG silent majority un-gagged themselves and acted upon “written assent” to meet the following demands (sent to SAG members in an e-mail):

In its entirety, the written assent accomplishes the following:

– Removes Doug Allen as National Executive Director;

– Engages David White as interim National Executive Director;

– Names John McGuire as Chief Negotiator for all contracts, including the TV/Theatrical Contract currently in negotiation;

– Replaces the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee with a Taskforce, which will represent the Board of Directors;

– Directs that only interim NED David White, John McGuire, or their designee may communicate on behalf of Screen Actors Guild to other organizations, the general public, or the press;

– Retains the law firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP to advise the National Board and represent the Guild in negotiation of the terms of a written contract with David White;

– In response to voting irregularities at the last Board meeting, instructs SAG staff to develop and implement a fraud-proof security system to regulate the use of the voting remotes used by Board members to cast their votes.

One would assume this would piss off Doug Allen…

DHD scooped up his e-mail reply to getting fired without a vote:

I have been informed by SAG counsel that the National Board has terminated my employment as National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of Screen Actors Guild. I am disappointed in the board’s decision, which was made by written assent, and I am proud of my record as SAG’s NED and Chief Negotiator.

I wish Screen Actors Guild and its members success and I have been honored to serve them. I have particularly enjoyed leading the wonderful men and women on the SAG staff and serving with SAG’s National President Alan Rosenberg and National Secretary-Treasurer Connie Stevens.

I have made some wonderful friendships with many SAG elected leaders, members and staff and will cherish those friendships forever.

My best wishes to you all,
Doug Allen

Wait! He doesn’t sound pissed at all!

Is it possible that over a year of preparing for these negotiations, only to have them so miserably fall apart that his own constituency ousted him is seen as a boon by Doug Allen?

Essentially, SAG has brought in a lawyer to run SAG in the interim (David White was SAG’s lead counsel until his war-time promotion) and dissolved the “negotiating committee” only to replace it with a “taskforce,” which is like changing out your “WWJD” t-shirt for a “Austin 3:16″ one.

It’s a new attitude, but it’s the same entity. Let’s just hope David White is a little more adept at winning me that $20.

Full press release:

Los Angeles (January 26, 2009) — The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors by written assent today terminated the employment of Doug Allen and appointed former Guild general counsel David White to replace him as interim national executive director. The board further appointed longtime Guild senior advisor John T. McGuire as chief negotiator.

The board also disbanded the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee and directed that it be replaced with a Taskforce directed to complete these negotiations on behalf of the board of directors.

All actions are effective immediately.

The assent was received and verified by Guild legal counsel and Screen Actors Guild’s outside counsel.

White has assumed his role as interim national executive director and will work from the Guild’s national headquarters office in Los Angeles beginning Tuesday, January 27, 2009.

“This is a difficult time for Screen Actors Guild and a particularly challenging period for working actors,” said White. “I am deeply committed to the Guild and its members and I believe that, working with the national board, we can help guide this transition.”

“I look forward to working closely with this talented and dedicated staff, many of whom I know well from my years as the Guild’s general counsel,” he added.

During his tenure as Screen Actors Guild’s general counsel, White directed the organization’s legal and governance staff and played a central role in the Guild’s contract negotiations and strategic planning efforts. He later co-founded and served as the managing principal of the consulting firm Entertainment Strategies Group (ESG). A graduate of Stanford Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, White was previously a labor and employment attorney at the Los Angeles firm of O’Melveny & Myers.

He has consulted for Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and a variety of urban development projects in the United States, England and South Africa. He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Grinnell College and is the former co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Labor Law Standing Committee. He also serves as a Mayoral-appointed commissioner of Los Angeles for urban area planning and development.

John T. McGuire is currently the Guild’s senior advisor. During his nearly 40 years with the union, he participated in or led more than 30 contract negotiations covering actors. From 1983 to 2001, he was Screen Actors Guild’s associate national executive director, the second highest ranking executive position. Prior to 1983 he served as the New York executive director.

McGuire graduated from Fordham College with a B.A. degree in History and from Fordham Law School with a J.D. degree in law. He has represented the union internationally at meetings with performer organizations around the world. He serves as a trustee of the SAG-Producers Pension & Health Plans, as well as vice president and founding director of the American Museum of the Moving Image, president of the Council of Motion Picture & Television Unions of New York City, secretary of the Motion Picture Players Welfare Fun and as a trustee of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. He is a member of the board of the Industry Advancement & Cooperative Fund and is vice president of the International Federation of Actors.

Guild senior executives issued an email reminding Guild employees to continue to pursue the organization’s core mission of serving and protecting the interests of Screen Actors Guild members.