Unite for Strength forwards 34 for SAG seats

ShalhoubCollinsHowardUnite for Strength, which has dominated politics at the Screen Actors Guild for the past three years, has unveiled its slate of 34 candidates for Hollywood seats, including first-time contenders Tony Shalhoub, Stephen Collins, Kate Flannery, Lisa Vidal and Iqbal Theba.The faction's slate, announced Thursday, comprises well over half of the 57 candidates for Hollywood seats, and underlines the waning influence of the self-styled progressive wing -- which isn't running a slate and has decided to abandon the Membership First label temporarily.The Unite for Strength slate includes incumbent national board members Adam Arkin, L. Scott Caldwell and Ned Vaughn, the public voice of UFS and its First VP.Ballots will be mailed to SAG members Aug. 23 and tabulated Sept. 22; about a third of the seats on the 71-member board are up for election in the contest. Hollywood seats comprise about 60% of the board with another 25% from New York.Notable opposition candidates from the progressive side -- which has urged a more assertive stance at the bargaining table and voiced skepticism about a merger with AFTRA -- includes incumbents Scott Bakula, David Jolliffe and William Mapother and former national board members Renee Aubrey, George Coe, Valerie Harper and Esai Morales.Current SAG president Ken Howard heads the UFS slate and announced in June that he was running for re-election along with secretary-treasurer Amy Aquino; they're also running for board seats. Howard will face a trio of indie candidates for president in David Hillberg, Asmar Muhammad and Sharon Rubin while Aquino's running unopposed for secretary-treasurer.Unite for Strength has taken over leadership of SAG by stressing moderation and pragmatism and pledging to push for a merger with the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, with official committees working on hammering out a merger plan by January."Two years ago, I promised members I would do everything possible to bring SAG and AFTRA together, so performers would no longer face the serious problems that come from being divided in two unions," Howard said in a statement Thursday. "Members have made it clear they need action as soon as possible, and I'm committed to delivering a formal merger plan by January. With an outstanding team like this leading SAG, I know it will happen." Shalhoub said he decided to run because of a trip he made to Madison, Wis., in March to support public employee union members. "I grew up in a union town, and as an actor I've always known there was a union behind me," Shalhoub said. "What I learned from my trip to Wisconsin in March was that we must never take our union protections for granted and we must not be divided. Madison's courage inspired me to step up, get involved, and fight for unity."The SAG election is likely to be seen as a referendum on the merger plan with AFTRA. A member vote could take place by the spring by the 120,000 members of SAG and the 70,000 members of AFTRA -- with 45,000 members belonging to both and approval requiring a 60% super-majority from those voting in both unions. SAG members rebuffed similar efforts in 1998 and 2003 amid concerns that a merger would cause SAG to lose its character as an actors union and that a combo could negatively impact the health and pension plans.In last fall's election, Membership First insisted that a merged union be for actors only without broadcasters and singers -- and then didn't win a single national board seat. Harper and Morales won two of 23 alternate seats while Unite for Strength took all the rest.The Unite for Strength board candiates are: Michelle Allsopp, Aquino, Arkin, Bob Bergen, Caldwell, William Charlton, Parvesh Cheena, Assaf Cohen, Stephen Collins, Mimi Cozzens, Ellen Crawford, Bertila Damas, Patrick Fabian, Flannery, Arye Gross, Ken Howard, Jon Huertas, Christine Lakin, Donal Logue, Allen Lulu, John Carroll Lynch, D.W. Moffett, Michael O'Neill, Conrad Palmisano, Tara Radcliffe, Sarayu Rao, Woody Schultz, Shalhoub, Mandy Steckelberg, Theba, Stacey Travis, Ned Vaughn, Vidal and Vivicca Whitsett.Other Hollywood candidates include Scott Pierce, Aubry, Robert Elliott, Jane Daly, George T. Woods, Stephen Mendel, Peter Antico, DeWayne Williams, John Solari, John Tremaine, David Dorfman, Ron Ostrow, Tony Santoro, David Hillberg, John Carroll Lynch, James Paradise and Nicholas Stankevich.No new candidates emerged in the official New York candidates list from those previously announced. Sam Robards announced last week that he was running for the presidency of the SAG New York division, challenging incumbent Mike Hodge, and leading a new faction dubbed One Strong Union in a challenge to the ruling United Screen Actors Nationwide. Robards is also seeking re-election to the New York board along with incumbent board members Justin Barrett, Andrew Dolan, Joe Narciso and Matt Servito. The other One Strong Union candidates include Corey Anker, Kelly Deadmon, Jeff Gruner, Phoebe Jonas and Gy Mirano.United Screen Actors Nationwide -- which has dominated the seats repping New York on SAG's national board in recent years -- announced two weeks ago a slate of 14 candidates for the board, including comedian Lewis Black and thesp Ezra Knight ("Law and Order").The USAN slate includes Hodge and national board incumbents Mark Blum, Rebecca Damon and Traci Godfrey. Other USAN candidates are Manny Alfaro, Dave Bachman, Marc Baron, Jay Potter, John Rothman and Kevin Scullin; all are currently on the New York division board and serve as national board alternates. Contact Dave McNary at dave.mcnary@variety.com