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The U.S. Department of Labor has denied all protests over the re-election of Gabrielle Carteris to the SAG-aftra presidency in August and will not a order a re-run of the contest.

Carteris won re-election last August over opponents Matthew Modine, Jane Austin, Queen Alljahye Searles and Abraham Justice and will remain the top elected officer of the performers union. Her re-appointment sparked protests over allegations that Carteris had improperly used SAG-aftra resources to promote her candidacy, as well as that two episodes of Fox’s spinoff “BH90210” — in which Carteris portrayed the president of a fictional actors union –had amounted to a “not-so-subtle national commercial” for the her campaign.

“We are grateful for the thorough review conducted by the Department of Labor regarding the unfounded challenges to our election process,” SAG-aftra announced Tuesday. “In its decision to deny the request for a rerun of the election, the Labor Department has...

Adam Nelson, campaign manager for Matthew Modine in his failed bid for SAG-AFTRA President, filed a federal complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor alleging multiple labor code violations by guild president Gabrielle Carteris.

The complaint accuses Carteris and her campaign of more than a dozen violations of Title IV of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which outlines labor laws concerning union elections. Carteris won last month’s guild election by a significant margin, earning 44% of the vote with 13,537 votes. Modine received 10,682 votes, with 5,048 for Jane Austin; 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice.

Nelson’s complaints were initially sent to SAG-aftra’s national election committee, along with those from 13 other union members; but all protests were dismissed. Now, making good on threats of Labor Department appeals made during the election, several supporters of Modine and the Membership First slate are turning to Labor Sec.

Several protests have been filed with the federal government over the re-election of Gabrielle Carteris to the SAG-AFTRA presidency in August.

Carteris won the contest handily to remain as top elected officer of the performers union with 13,537 votes, or 44% of ballots cast, compared to 10,682 for Matthew Modine; 5,048 for Jane Austin; 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice. SAG-aftra’s national election committee denied all 14 protests on Oct. 8.

Los Angeles board member Brian Hamilton confirmed Thursday to Variety that he had met for several hours with investigator Troy Krouse of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards in the agency’s Los Angeles. “He said my protest was very interesting,” Hamilton added.

Hamilton is alleging in his complaint that the two August airings of the Fox series “BH90210,” in which Carteris starred as the president of a fictional actors union, amounted to “a...

SAG-AFTRA has honored President Gabrielle Catereis, Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon and Chief Operating Officer Duncan Crabtree-Ireland with George Heller Memorial Award gold cards.

The award is presented every two years at convention and bestowed based on contributions and years of service to SAG-aftra or its predecessor unions. Recipients are selected by a subcommittee comprised of past recipients and National Honors and Tributes Committee members from around the country.

The union announced the awards Saturday during the third day of a four-day convention at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The convention is closed to the news media.

Carteris was re-elected president in August to remain as top elected officer of the performers union with 13,537 votes, or 44% of ballots cast, compared to 10,682 for Matthew Modine; 5,048 for Jane Austin; 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice. She’s best known as the Andrea Zuckerman character from “Beverly Hills 90210.” She also...

SAG-AFTRA’s national election committee has denied all protests over the re-election of Gabrielle Carteris to the SAG-aftra presidency in August.

Carteris won the contest handily to remain as top elected officer of the performers union with 13,537 votes, or 44% of ballots cast, compared to 10,682 for Matthew Modine; 5,048 for Jane Austin; 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice.

“We conclude that there was no violation of the SAG-aftra Constitution, the Election Policy, or federal election law,” the committee said in its ruling. “Accordingly, we dismiss all post-election protests.”

Los Angeles board member Brian Hamilton, who had filed one of the protests, confirmed the denial to Variety and said that he and other protestors would probably meet shortly to discuss filing a protest with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hamilton alleged in his complaint that the two August airings of the Fox series “BH90210,” in which Carteris starred as...

Several protests have been filed over the re-election of Gabrielle Carteris to the SAG-AFTRA presidency last week.

Carteris won the contest handily to remain as top elected officer of the performers union with 13,537 votes, or 44% of ballots cast, compared to 10,682 for Matthew Modine; 5,048 for Jane Austin; 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice.

Los Angeles board member Brian Hamilton alleged in his complaint Tuesday to the union’s election committee that the two August airings of the Fox series “BH90210,” in which Carteris starred as the president of a fictional actors union, amounted to “a not-so-subtle national commercial” for the Carteris campaign. The series is a reboot of the original “Beverly Hills 90210,” in which Carteris played the brainy Andrea Zuckerman.

Carteris is also one of the executive producers of “BH90210” and goes by the name “Gabrielle” in the series as president of the “Actors Guild of America.

Several protests have been filed challenging the validity of SAG-AFTRA’s recent presidential election, in which incumbent Gabrielle Carteris handily defeated opponents including runners-up Matthew Modine and Jane Austin.

One of the challenges, filed Tuesday by Brian Hamilton, a founder of Membership First, claims that Fox’s current series BH90210 was “a not-so-subtle national commercial” for Carteris’ re-election campaign. The series, which premiered August 7 – nine days after election ballots were mailed to union members – is a reboot of the original Beverly Hills, 90210 featuring cast members, now all grown up, playing fictionalized versions of their real-life selves struggling to get the reboot produced.

The election challenge notes that Carteris, one of the show’s executive producers, plays the “hard-working and concerned” president of the fictionalized “Actors Guild of America.” She and the other leading characters all go by their real-life first names – not the names of the characters they played in the original show.

After one of the most openly hostile guild elections in recent Hollywood memory, SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris pulled out a victory over challenger Matthew Modine, ensuring the continued control of Hollywood’s actors guild by the Unite For Strength party for at least the next two years.

The “Beverly Hills 90210” star won 44% of the 30,837 votes cast, the union said, while Modine won 35%, SAG-aftra reported early Thursday. Jane Austin followed with 5,048 votes, Queen Alljahye Searles with 1,096 votes and Abraham Justice with 367 votes.

In addition, “The Practice” star Camryn Manheim was elected as secretary-treasurer with 52% of the ballots cast, defeating Jodi Long, Chuck Slavin and Rob Stats.

“I’m very grateful to all of the dedicated SAG-aftra members who participated in our union’s elections,” Carteris said in a statement. “Their support is humbling and I vow to fight every day on their behalf. We will keep building on our commitment to honesty,...

Update: SAG-AFTRA presidential candidate Matthew Modine has conceded defeat, sort of. The election was marred by some mudslinging from each side, and in a statement Modine appears to be keeping options open if the election is scrutinized.

“I am proud of our campaign for transparency and the goal of uniting all 160,000 members of SAG-aftra,” Modine said. “It has been an honor to stand with you. I congratulate all of our MembershipFirst candidates on winning important victories tonight. Each will be instrumental in forming a more perfect union. It appears there has already been a challenge from outside of the political groups with allegations of impropriety and possible Federal election law violations. Therefore, as a matter of principal it is important to withhold judgment until it is determined that the election was held fairly and in compliance with the labor code. If it is determined that the election was...

Gabrielle Carteris has been re-elected president of SAG-aftra, fending off challenges from Matthew Modine and three other contenders.

Carteris won handily with 13,537 votes, or 44% of ballots cast, to 10,682 for Modine and 5,048 for Jane Austin, 1,096 for Queen Alljahye Searles and 367 for Abraham Justice.

The results were announced early Thursday morning at 4 a.m. following one of the most bitter election campaigns in memory, including multiple accusations of misconduct.

Camryn Manheim won the secretary-treasurer post with 16,047 votes, or 53%, as Carteris’ running mate. She defeated Modine ally Jodi Long, who garnered 10,251 votes, followed by Chuck Slavin with 2,204 votes and Rob Stats with 1,790. The union mailed a total of 145,700 ballots, so the participation level was about 21%.

Carteris, best known for playing Andrea Zuckerman on “Beverly Hills 90210,” has been president since 2016. She and her allies in the moderate-leaning Unite For Strength and United Screen Actors Nationwide have been in control of SAG-AFTRA and SAG for a decade.

One of the most bitter SAG-AFTRA elections in memory concludes Wednesday following strident campaigns by president Gabrielle Carteris and Matthew Modine.

Both have accused the other of multiple violations in the battle for the top slot at the performers union, which has 160,000 members. The fracas has been so heated that turnout may rise above the usual 20% to 30%. Results could be announced by Wednesday afternoon.

Carteris, best known as for her portrayal of the brainy Andrea Zuckerman on “Beverly Hills 90210,” and her allies in the Unite For Strength and United Screen Actors Nationwide have been in control of SAG-aftra for a decade. Modine, whose credits include “Full Metal Jacket” and “Stranger Things,” has mounted an aggressive challenge through the Membership First slate.

SAG-aftra, WGA and the Directors Guild of America are all heading into what are sure to be complicated master film and TV contract negotiations early next year with the major studios,...

Matthew Modine has been accused by SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris of violating federal laws in his campaign to unseat Carteris.

The production of three campaign videos for Modine by the for-profit New York Film Academy — on whose board Modine sits — has been blasted by Carteris for alleged violations of federal labor law prohibiting union candidates from accepting contributions from any employer.

SAG-aftra’s election rules, sent out before every election, say, “The prohibition on employer contributions extends to every employer, regardless of the nature of the business or whether any union represents its employees.”

The videos were produced at no cost to Modine, who narrated and highlighted the contributions of stunt performers, background performers, singers and dancers. They’ve since been removed from Modine and the Nyfa’s website.

“These aren’t just flagrant violations of our union election rules, but of federal labor law as well,” Carteris said.

More than 100 women, including Ellen Barkin and Allison Janney, have voiced support for Matthew Modine’s campaign for SAG-AFTRA presidency, following a joke at a SAG-aftra meeting that some decried as misogynist.

With voting set to conclude on Aug. 28, the campaigns have featured vitriolic attacks between supporters of Modine, secretary-treasurer Jane Austin and incumbent president Gabrielle Carteris for several weeks.

The latest incident took place on Aug. 16 at a town hall meeting featuring Austin, Carteris and Modine, organized by the UnionWorking group. During the Q&a portion, Modine responded with a joke when asked why he’s the best choice by saying, “Because I’m the only man running…?”

Modine then explained that he was the only man who had been invited to participate in the town hall. Two other candidates – Abraham Justice and Queen Alljahye Searles – were not invited by the organizers.

In recent days, Carteris supporters...

More than 130 actresses and #MeToo activists have signed a statement in support of SAG-AFTRA presidential candidate Matthew Modine in the wake of a joke he made at Thursday night’s town hall meeting of the union’s three leading presidential candidates.

“We deplore the politics of personal destruction” that have been waged against him on social media,” reads the statement signed by members including Ellen Barkin, Rosanna Arquette, Allison Janney and Diane Ladd. (See it in full below.)

Asked during the Q&a portion of last week’s event why he is the best choice to lead the union, Modine — who heads up the Membership First slate — said: “Because I’m the only man running…?”

Supporters of his two main rivals – incumbent Gabrielle Carteris and independent candidate Jane Austin – have leapt on the joke as proof that he’s a misogynist. A tape recording of the joke, however,...

The three leading candidates for president of SAG-AFTRA spoke Thursday night at a members-only town hall meeting at the Faith Presbyterian Church in Valley Village. The event was sponsored by UnionWorking, a grassroots organization that seeks to “stem the tide of union busting.” About 150 SAG-aftra members attended, many of whom were also candidates running for various guild offices and board seats.

“It was terrific to have a thoughtful discussion of the important issues our members are facing,” said incumbent and frontrunner Gabrielle Carteris, who’s running on the Unite for Strength slate. “I thank UnionWorking for providing the opportunity, and I’m especially grateful to the members for coming out to participate. As I said during my remarks tonight, when I look back over the last few years, I am extremely proud that we have made real gains in key areas. And I mean we. I did not do it alone.

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and seven of her supporters are threatening to file a lawsuit against their opponents over recent allegations of misconduct by Carteris.

United Screen Actors Nationwide, which endorses Carteris, issued the threat Thursday against presidential challenger Matthew Modine and 19 of his allies running on the Membership First slate, including Ed Asner, Diane Ladd, Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Martin Sheen.

Pamela Jeffrey of the New York firm of Levy Ratner wrote a cease-and-desist letter in response to a July 29 threat from attorney Robert Allen to file a lawsuit on behalf of unnamed members if Carteris was not removed from the ballot. Allen accused Carteris of allegedly using insider information to take credit for SAG-aftra’s new deal with Netflix and alleged that she has been using union resources to promote her candidacy via official SAG-aftra videos.

Jeffrey called the allegations baseless and accused the 20 members — many...

SAG-AFTRA has released the official line-up of national officer candidates in its upcoming election.

For president, incumbent Gabrielle Carteris will face off against Matthew Modine, head of the Membership First opposition slate; Jane Austin, the guild’s current national secretary-treasurer; actor/stuntman Abraham Justice, and Queen Alljahye Searles, who describes herself on Twitter as an “Entertainment Industry Professional-Teacher-Mother-Accountant-Entrepreneur-Gourmet Culinary Artist-Writer.”

The candidates for national secretary-treasurer are Jodi Long, running on the opposition slate; Camryn Manheim, running on Carteris’ Unite for Strength slate; New England-based actor Chuck Slavin; and actor/stuntman Rob Stats.

Some 45 national board seats are up for election this year, along with all local officer, local board, and convention delegate positions. The guild’s executive vice president and other vice presidents will be elected at the SAG-aftra Convention in October.

National officer ballots will be mailed to all eligible SAG-aftra members nationwide on July 29, with a...