I don’t make a habit of referring to articles written by one of the worst reporters on the face of the earth but I will make an exception today. Yesterday, Michael Cieply had this story in the Times:

Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild publicly declared war on a fellow actors’ union at a Monday rally here, increasing the likelihood of new labor strife in an entertainment industry still recovering from a writers’ strike that ended just four months ago.

Standing outside the union’s Wilshire Boulevard headquarters, Alan Rosenberg, president of the 120,000-member guild, urged supporters to reject a tentative deal reached last month between the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Hollywood’s production companies.

“We are engaged in the battle of our lives,” Mr. Rosenberg told a group that appeared to number several hundred and included the actors Ed Asner, Keith Carradine, Justine Bateman and Joely Fisher. “It is essential,” he added, “that we vote down that Aftra deal.”

The crowd responded to the speeches with chants of “Vote No!” and bristled with signs opposing the federation’s contract.

About 40,000 of the federation’s approximately 70,000 members also belong to the actors’ guild. And Aftra’s Los Angeles office resides in the same building as SAG’s headquarters.

    I’m not saying that Rosenberg is wrong or right about AFTRA’s contract. But, as I pointed out a couple of days ago again, I don’t see the wisdom of carrying out such a public fight against AFTRA–unless you are absolutely sure you can land a far superior contract if the AFTRA contract goes down. And I’m not sure how that happens when the WGA and Directors Guild have all made deals and SAG members were already out of work during the WGA strike and, thus, unlikely to want to want to hit the streets again. But, heck, what do I know.

    But, I’m sorry this comment from AFTRA’s president Roberta Reardon isn’t any better:

“It’s just unconscionable that one union should start a war against another,” Ms. Reardon said. “This simply demonstrates their ineptitude.”

    AFTRA played an equal roles in starting this internal fight. And what is the point of calling your sister union–in theory–inept in the press?

    Are there any adults at the helm of either union?