SAG Insurrection Introduces Brave New Levels of Seething Internecine Hatred

In a savage coup of upstart infidels, the Unite for Strength ticket outlasted incumbent Alan Rosenberg’s MembershipFirst slate in Thursday’s SAG board election, thus opening a new era of moderation, peace and progress in Hollywood’s rancorous labour wars. Or… not. Maybe? It’s too soon to tell, frankly, with new leadership including Amy Brenneman, Scott Bakula, Adam Arkin, ‘05 loser Morgan Fairchild and Assaf “Brother of Sacha Baron” Cohen making up only a theoretical majority at best; studio-friendly Variety says the SAG/AMPTP squabble’s days are numbered, union flunky Nikki Finke says that’s “simpleton” piffle, and here in the middle, we can’t help but notice that SAG’s contract-negotiating team isn’t changing at all. Still, we look to the future with cautious optimism perhaps best evoked by Rosenberg’s concession on Thursday:

In a statement, Rosenberg extended an olive branch of sorts. “I congratulate those members newly elected to our board of directors,” he said, “and I look forward to working closely with each of them.

“Now it’s time to work in tandem on behalf of SAG members throughout the country, to get a fair contract we can all be proud of. A union divided benefits only the employers, and SAG members deserve nothing less than unified, focused leadership,” he said.

Indeed — focus on this, bitches, hinted MemFirst spokeswoman and board member Anne-Marie Johnson: The Rosenberg gang still controls Hollywood, 37-18. The victors are having none of it, though; expect newly designated U4S henchman Assaf Cohen to fire back with his brother’s withering official response by the end of the day.

• SAG members vote for change [THR]

• SAG Election Results [SAG]