SAG sues over 'false' e-mails
SAG suit: 'False' e-mails used to frighten voters
Aug 10, 2004
SAG disclosed a lawsuit Monday accusing a special effects makeup artist of trying to influence last summer's SAG-AFTRA consolidation vote by allegedly sending bulk e-mails to scare staff and members from voting for the proposal.
SAG said the e-mails were falsified to appear as though they came from, or were sanctioned by, the guild when in fact they were sent by John Vulich in an inappropriate attempt by an employer to influence a union election. The claims were made in a federal lawsuit that Vulich unsuccessfully sought to have dismissed last week. The guild also is threatening to take the matter to the U.S. Department of Labor.
"When an employer uses illegal and harassing means to influence a union vote, the fundamental right of our members to self-determination is undermined," SAG general counsel David White said. "Employers have no business interfering with the rights of working actors to make the critical decisions of their union.
Vulich's attorney denied most of the claims, saying only that Vulich provided technical assistance to a SAG member who opposed consolidation. The measure failed to get the required 60% member approval, falling 2% short.
Defense attorney Bret Fausett disputed the notion that Vulich is an employer in the sense used by the union. Vulich, president of Optic Nerve Studios, is an Emmy-winning makeup effects specialist whose credits include such series as "The X Files" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the film "Being John Malkovich."
SAG said Vulich regularly hired actors, something his attorney denied. Vulich on Monday was on location in Romania and unavailable for comment, his colleagues said. Vulich's company is not a signatory to SAG's basic contract.
"SAG has concocted this bizarre scenario of how he was calculating at home how he could sabotage the merger so he could profit. It makes no sense," Fausett said. "SAG has brought this lawsuit to send a message to its members -- do not take a position against us, do not campaign against us (because) otherwise we will come after you."
The lawsuit stems from an anonymous e-mail sent to SAG staff and a separate group of bulk e-mails sent to members before the July 2003 consolidation vote.
Vulich has admitted being involved with the bulk e-mails but denies any knowledge of the ones sent to staff. The latter, which were intercepted before they were widely distributed, allegedly appear as if they were official SAG messages and claimed that staff would lose their jobs if the merger went through.
Thousands of SAG members likely received the bulk e-mail, which argued against the consolidation.
SAG officials are not saying that the messages caused the proposal's narrow defeat, but they do believe that it had some influence.
Using subpoenas, SAG traced the bulk e-mails to Vulich through his Internet service provider. After repeated denials, Vulich now acknowledges that he was involved with those messages, both his lawyer and the guild said.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Gary Feess denied two motions to dismiss the case. One was an "anti-SLAPP" motion -- SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation -- that claimed Vulich was being punished for exercising his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit, which alleges nine claims including fraud, libel, interference with employment relations and computer fraud, will now proceed to discovery.
"Mr. Vulich has alleged that he worked on behalf of SAG members in connection with his sabotage efforts, but he has refused to produce any credible evidence supporting this assertion," White said. "Our members are very public in speaking their minds, and we do not believe that they conspire (with) employers to undermine a legitimate union vote."
The union also is investigating a similar e-mail campaign that took place during the fall's commercials contract vote and the source of the addresses for the bulk e-mail list.
Fausett said the addresses were gathered by members who objected to paying as much as $3,500 to use SAG's official member e-mail list.
"The lawsuit has no merit," Fausett said. "Mr. Vulich should be commended for standing up and defending the right of SAG members to communicate with each other."
SAG said the e-mails were falsified to appear as though they came from, or were sanctioned by, the guild when in fact they were sent by John Vulich in an inappropriate attempt by an employer to influence a union election. The claims were made in a federal lawsuit that Vulich unsuccessfully sought to have dismissed last week. The guild also is threatening to take the matter to the U.S. Department of Labor.
"When an employer uses illegal and harassing means to influence a union vote, the fundamental right of our members to self-determination is undermined," SAG general counsel David White said. "Employers have no business interfering with the rights of working actors to make the critical decisions of their union.
Vulich's attorney denied most of the claims, saying only that Vulich provided technical assistance to a SAG member who opposed consolidation. The measure failed to get the required 60% member approval, falling 2% short.
Defense attorney Bret Fausett disputed the notion that Vulich is an employer in the sense used by the union. Vulich, president of Optic Nerve Studios, is an Emmy-winning makeup effects specialist whose credits include such series as "The X Files" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the film "Being John Malkovich."
SAG said Vulich regularly hired actors, something his attorney denied. Vulich on Monday was on location in Romania and unavailable for comment, his colleagues said. Vulich's company is not a signatory to SAG's basic contract.
"SAG has concocted this bizarre scenario of how he was calculating at home how he could sabotage the merger so he could profit. It makes no sense," Fausett said. "SAG has brought this lawsuit to send a message to its members -- do not take a position against us, do not campaign against us (because) otherwise we will come after you."
The lawsuit stems from an anonymous e-mail sent to SAG staff and a separate group of bulk e-mails sent to members before the July 2003 consolidation vote.
Vulich has admitted being involved with the bulk e-mails but denies any knowledge of the ones sent to staff. The latter, which were intercepted before they were widely distributed, allegedly appear as if they were official SAG messages and claimed that staff would lose their jobs if the merger went through.
Thousands of SAG members likely received the bulk e-mail, which argued against the consolidation.
SAG officials are not saying that the messages caused the proposal's narrow defeat, but they do believe that it had some influence.
Using subpoenas, SAG traced the bulk e-mails to Vulich through his Internet service provider. After repeated denials, Vulich now acknowledges that he was involved with those messages, both his lawyer and the guild said.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Gary Feess denied two motions to dismiss the case. One was an "anti-SLAPP" motion -- SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation -- that claimed Vulich was being punished for exercising his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit, which alleges nine claims including fraud, libel, interference with employment relations and computer fraud, will now proceed to discovery.
"Mr. Vulich has alleged that he worked on behalf of SAG members in connection with his sabotage efforts, but he has refused to produce any credible evidence supporting this assertion," White said. "Our members are very public in speaking their minds, and we do not believe that they conspire (with) employers to undermine a legitimate union vote."
The union also is investigating a similar e-mail campaign that took place during the fall's commercials contract vote and the source of the addresses for the bulk e-mail list.
Fausett said the addresses were gathered by members who objected to paying as much as $3,500 to use SAG's official member e-mail list.
"The lawsuit has no merit," Fausett said. "Mr. Vulich should be commended for standing up and defending the right of SAG members to communicate with each other."
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