Lest anyone believe that SAG and AFTRA have lost interest in their latest merger go-around, the two labor groups put out an announcement Monday, touting the fact that their respective merger task forces had gotten together over the weekend for a videoconference bi-coastal chit-chat, despite severe storm conditions in New York.

The meeting had originally been scheduled to occur face-to-face in New York. With Hurricane Irene's impending arrival, SAG and AFTRA had out-of-town constituents tune in via videoconference.

If anyone doubted our commitment to merger, what happened this weekend should put those doubts to rest -- even a hurricane couldn't stop us, said Ken Howard, national president of the Screen Actors Guild. We covered a lot of ground and I'm so proud of our SAG and AFTRA team. It's a challenging task, but we're working extremely well together and I'm more confident than ever that we will get this done for the members.

We made important progress this weekend, added Roberta Reardon, national president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. We examined the myriad strategies, approaches and structures to create a strong, new union that will further empower our members to strengthen their careers and secure their future. I thank everyone involved for their continued solidarity and deeply appreciate their patience and resilience as we worked through the challenges of Hurricane Irene.

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