From LATimes.com

In an effort to jump-start stalled contract negotiations with the studios, SAG President Alan Rosenberg and Executive Director Doug Allen called on News Corp. President Peter Chernin and Walt Disney Co. President Bob Iger to revive formal bargaining.

It came on the same day that the stock market plummeted as the House of Representatives turned down the Bush administration’s Wall Street bailout plan.

In their letter, which was also addressed to the studios’ chief negotiator, J. Nicholas Counter III, the union leaders said it was futile to send the studios’ “final offer” to members, and they alluded to a poll in which fewer than 10,000 members urged their leaders to reject the proposed contract and instead “fight” for a better deal.

“It is our fervent hope that this news will encourage you and your colleagues to reengage in formal bargaining, with the exchange of proposals and compromise by both sides necessary to reach agreement.”

They added: “We owe it to our constituencies and the thousands of others in this industry that depend on a productive, stable and uninterrupted relationship between the Screen Actors Guild and the networks and the studios. … What do you say; when can our committees meet face-to-face?”

See the rest of the article here.