Such a move could resolve Hollywood's current stalemate by the middle of August, should a majority of the thesps voting endorse the deal.
The Screen Actors Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers had no comment Monday.
But guild insiders have acknowledged that it has few other options left in the face of the congloms' refusal to change terms contained in the two-week-old final offer. It's becoming increasingly apparent that SAG's not going to ask its members for a strike authorization, since it's highly debatable whether the guild would achieve the 75% support level needed for a work stoppage.
Although nearly all major studio features have closed down due to the uncertainty over the SAG situation, producers are pondering going ahead with such projects. Additionally, a dozen TV series have continued to shoot and SAG has issued more than 500 waivers to indie features.
SAG's national board is due to meet July 26 and if it agrees to send the deal to members, it would give thesps enough time to ratify the deal by Aug. 15 -- the deadline set by the AMPTP to ratify the pact in order for members to receive about $10 million in pay retroactive to July 1.
It would be a surprise if SAG's leaders would include an endorsement of the deal in the ratification ballot. Instead, the more likely scenario would be sending out the AMPTP's deal without any recommendation or with pro and con arguments.
The AMPTP has insisted that the proposed deal is generous, particularly amid a souring economy, and emphasized that the terms mirror those contained in pacts with the DGA, WGA and AFTRA. SAG topper Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg have insisted that the actors deserve a better deal.
Allen and Rosenberg have also said they won't send the final deal to members despite the AMPTP's request to do so. The congloms made the final offer on June 30 as SAG's feature-primetime deal expired.
If SAG members vote down the deal, guild insiders believe they could return to the bargaining table with more leverage. It's unclear whether such a scenario could take place, given that AFTRA's ratification was approved by 62% of those voting -- despite an aggressive campaign by SAG against the AFTRA pact.