SAG-AFTRA Election Heats Up: Matthew Modine & Joely Fisher Say Opponents’ Lack Of Union Experience Is “Unacceptable” As Sides Battle Over Health Care

Mike Kraycik has been reelected to SAG-AFTRA’s national board representing Philadelphia – another win for a candidate backed by Fran Drescher’s Unite for Strength ruling party, which now appears likely to hold onto power in the national board room no matter who wins the national presidency – Drescher or Matthew Modine.

Fran Drescher supporters have held on to two more national board seats as the SAG-AFTRA elections wrap up later this week. Incumbent Bill Mootos has been reelected in New England, and incumbent Mel MacKaron has been reelected in New Mexico.

The day after SAG-AFTRA presidential candidate Matthew Modine threatened to sue rival Fran Drescher for defamation unless she issues a public apology, her Unite for Strength slate doubled down on her claim that Modine’s MembershipFirst slate violated the union’s election rules.

Matthew Modine is threatening to file a lawsuit against Fran Drescher if she doesn’t issue a public apology to him by Friday.

EXCLUSIVE: With just one week to go in the SAG-AFTRA election, Matthew Modine has accused Fran Drescher of defamation and threatened legal action if she doesn’t issue a public apology by Friday.

Towanda Underdue has been elected to the national board of SAG-AFTRA representing the union’s Washington-Mid Atlantic local. Underdue, whose many credits include House of Cards and Veep, defeated Lance Lewman 486 votes to 425.

Two more local SAG-AFTRA presidencies have been decided: Jim Gleason won a squeaker in New Orleans, and Rik Deskin won handily in Seattle. Both elections are setbacks for Matthew Modine, who’s running against Fran Drescher for national president.

SAG-AFTRA’s national election committee has found that KTLA “crossed the line from journalistically appropriate news coverage” of the union’s ongoing election to “improper promotion” of candidates running on the union’s opposition MembershipFirst slate, which is headed by presidential candidate Matthew Modine.

The battle for control of SAG-AFTRA has turned ugly, with allegations and threats of lawsuits flying between the feuding factions. Unite for Strength, the union’s ruling party, is calling on Matthew Modine and his MembershipFirst opposition party to publicly denounce the “rhetoric of hate” allegedly espoused by unnamed supporters of his who sit on the union’s boards of directors. MembershipFirst, in turn, is threatening legal action.

Camryn Manheim, SAG-AFTRA’s national secretary-treasurer, and nine other members of her Unite for Strength ruling party have filed an election campaign violation complaint against Matthew Modine, Joely Fisher, Sam Rubin and their MembershipFirst opposition party.

SAG-AFTRA is the only major Hollywood union that doesn’t own its own headquarters, and that’s become a topic of heated debate between its warring factions in the union’s ongoing election of national and local officers. SAG – and now SAG-AFTRA – hasn’t owned its own national offices for 35 years, leasing at two different locations since 1986.

Hilary Swank has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the board of trustees of the SAG-AFTRA health plan after being denied coverage for the treatment of ovarian cysts. New court docs obtained by ET show Swank and the board of trustees of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan have entered into a written settlement agreement to resolve the matter and dismiss any further legal action.The details of what the settlement entails have not been made public at this time.

Hilary Swank and SAG-AFTRA have reached an agreement.

UPDATED with corrected information (see below): Whoopi Goldberg, Matt Dillon, Mia Farrow, Liam Neeson, Diane Keaton, Mark Hamill, Nick Nolte and George Takei are part of an an all-star lineup of SAG-AFTRA members who have endorsed Matthew Modine for president of the union, and Joely Fisher, his running mate, for secretary-treasurer.

Whoopi Goldberg, Matt Damon, Mia Farrow, Liam Neeson, Diane Keaton, Mark Hamill, Nick Nolte and George Takei are part of an an all-star lineup of SAG-AFTRA members who have endorsed Matthew Modine for president of the union, and Joely Fisher, his running mate, for secretary-treasurer.

Ballots for the upcoming SAG-AFTRA election are in the mail, and once again, national board candidate Shaan Sharma has come under fire from members of the union’s Unite for Strength ruling faction. Two years ago, a fellow L.A. Local board member and Unite for Strength stalwart referred to him in an email as a “brown lackey” of the union’s opposition MembershipFirst faction, and “the epitome of brown boys who are Republican traitors to our race.”

A federal judge has denied actress Frances Fisher’s verified application to file a breach of fiduciary duty complaint against SAG-AFTRA over the raising of eligibility requirements for coverage under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder dismissed Fisher’s application Friday without prejudice, however, meaning that she can refile a modified version of the application.