* PART TWO !! Why Ken Howard runs from a Debate

After a 3 week fishing and sightseeing trip, it’s nice to be back. I know that some of you like me have yet to vote. I waited a couple of days for my ballot but couldn’t delay, so I made sure I got back in time to pick up my mail and vote.

In my effort to and catch up on old news and campaign literature, I came across this video by USF’s candidate and front for SAG President Ken Howard.

Now, I ain’t got the time or inclination to provide a complete transcript for his entire nine minute statement, but click the link above if you’d like to read it, but I will try and cover the highlights of what he had to say. But, like I said one thing that is readily apparent is that if he is elected he will be little more than a puppet president, and his strings will be pulled by someone else behind the scene.

For instance in a recent article by Entertainment Lawyer Jonathan Handel this exchange.

In an open conference call today, SAG VP and presidential candidate Anne-Marie Johnson said she will seek a strike authorization next year, before the mandated early negotiations next fall, if she’s elected. She argued that that’s what’s needed to gain bargaining leverage and added that she’s “confident” the SAG membership would vote Yes, especially after the guild conducts an educational outreach campaign during its wages and working conditions (W&W) meetings with members.

Johnson added that some people say her Membership First faction is strike happy. She denied that, but said that union members would feel the impact of new media defects in the existing contract before the negotiations next fall, and added that she thought at least 75% of the board will support a strike authorization. She also argued that the sunset clause in the contract, which calls for blank-slate renegotiation of the new media provisions, is “not worth the paper it’s written on.” That’s seems to be a signal that she thinks a strike will be necessary to force renegotiation.

In an email interview with me, Ned Vaughn, spokesman and board candidate on the moderate Unite for Strength slate, responded as follows:
“How we address a strike authorization depends on what we see headed into the negotiations. It’s my firm belief that we must negotiate the next TV/Theatrical contract jointly with AFTRA, so it’s not a decision that would be made unilaterally. That said, the sole focus of Unite for Strength is increasing performers’ bargaining power, so if a strike authorization is needed, we would certainly support it.”

Huh? Let’s get this straight, UFS’s Ken Howard is running for SAG’s highest office, but, but UFS’s Ned Vaughn is their spokesman?

On one hand Membership First’s candidate for SAG President, Ms. Johnson is out front taking tough questions and making statements as to what she will do as SAG president, while on the other hand Mr. Howard is kept sequestered in a studio someplace to read prepared statements.

Is there little wonder he refused to debate Ms. Johnson, they don’t even trust him to take questions from Jonathan Handel.

In fact, the truth is that Unite For Strength has consistently refused to debate at any level, and that is because most of their statements quickly disintegrate into dubious dust when contested and held up to light.

Here is an example of those dubious statements as espoused in Mr. Howard’s video. They sound good, when uncontested, and articulated by in a sincere manner by Mr. Howard, but what happens when they are confronted by someone with the facts to dispute them. (George Burns said that the key to success in showbiz is sincerity and if you can fake that you’ve got it made.)

Highlights from Ken Howard’s video.

This election is about one question what steps are we going to take to strengthen SAG and make sure we can negotiate the best possible contract. My answer to that is that question is very clear. First, we have got to build close relationships with all the other entertainment unions, so that we can approach future contract negotiations as a united front.

It all sounds nice but it ignores the reality of what is really going on. First of all, in the last contract negotiations, there was a united front of all the entertainment unions and that didn’t stop the DGA from stepping in during the WGA strike and undermine them with a sweet heart deal worked out in secret between the DGA and AMPTP. See story. http://sagwatchdog.com/cgi-bin/admin_config.pl/read/940

And most critically our two unions representing actors in our industry have got to work together as one and the surest way to achieve that is to merge SAG and AFTRA so that there is only one performers union. Having two separate unions for performers just doesn’t make sense, it allows our employers to divide us.

What doesn’t make sense is to incorporate in our union non-actor members who don’t work our contracts. Does it make sense that a merged union would have thousands upon thousands of members who would continue to work while the rest of their fellow members were out on strike? Well, that is exactly what would happen if we merged under the circumstances Mr. Howard advocates. No way would broadcasters (Disc Jockeys, newsmen, sportscaster, etc with hundreds of various contracts legally be able to go out on a sympathy strike, even if they wanted to.) All that this sort of merger would accomplish is to further dissipate the power of actors who actually work these contracts to determine their own futures. This was amply displayed when AFTRA’s leadership coerced their broadcaster to vote in the AFTRA TV/Theatrical contract even if they had never worked it because it would increase their Pension and Health benefits. http://sagwatchdog.com/cgi-bin/admin_config.pl/read/877

Our predecessors many of whom were at the forefront of forming our great guild, long ago realized that a merger with AFTRA would take the control away from Hollywood actors, who are the most affected by the contracts, and spread the control to those around the country, giving the majority of control to broadcasters and actors who seldom worked the contracts. Here is what SAG President Walter Pidgeon said in his letter to the SAG membership back in the early Fifties.

What Mr. Howard ignores is the reason that actors have to pay two initiation fees is that AFTRA has caused this problem by poaching SAG’s cable contracts by undercutting SAG’s rates by offering employers contracts with inferior minimums and residual giveaways.

Merger or no merger, how can our employers divide us, if the leadership of both AFTRA and SAG are making their decisions based on what is best for their members rather than their organization? For instance when AFTRA secures a contract that undercuts a SAG contract aren’t they, rather than our employers, responsible for actors getting inferior minimums and no residuals the first year? We already have an agreement (99-CVR-17R) signed by AFTRA and SAG that basically says that neither union will undercut the other. AFTRA has repeatedly violated that agreement to the detriment of actors, yet nary a word on this from Mr. Howard. The truth is that we are not divided because of our employers but rather the predatory actions of AFTRA’s leadership. Mr. Howard’s merger solution in dealing with AFTRA is somewhat like catching a burglar in your house—and instead of confronting him, and taking the necessary action to stop him, you invite him to move in.

The irony here is that SAG Presidential Candidate Ken Howard stood by while AFTRA went from only a couple cable shows only five years ago to having most of them now, by undercutting SAG’s rates—and now he bemoans the fact that actors have to pay two initiation fees and two sets of union dues. He and his cohorts were complicit in allowing this to happen, and now they are using it as a reason to force a merger on SAG members. But, then that was the plan from the outset, right?

Listen, to properly answer Mr. Howard’s questions, will take some time. So I will be adding to the post as the day continues. Look for the update indicator as the day progresses.

Oh, and by the way congratulations to Mr. Howard for his Emmy. He is truly a marvelous actor.

UPDATE Part TWO (We continue with excerpts from Ken Howard’s video.

If we had merged then we wouldn’t have lost tens of millions of dollars in increases.

In coming up with his tens of millions of dollars lost in increases, once again, Mr. Howard his going to the USAN/UFS main source of information the AMPTP website. But then, of course, they are “go-along-to-get-alongs” who would never challenge what their employers’ state as fact, even though they have never substantiated that claim. But if it were true who would be responsible, those members like Mr. Howard who supported AFTRA in their undermining SAG in the middle of their negotiations by signing a sweetheart deal with the AMPTP, or those members who stood up against SAG signatories doing non-union work and residual giveaways. In his Emmy acceptance speech Mr. Howard said about negotiations.

“You know we actors are so thrilled with the amazing success of cable television, the advent of new media and can barely wait to renegotiate!

Wait, we just signed a new contract with employers; Mr. Howard, why didn’t you and your gang, seriously negotiate in the first place, by supporting a strike authorization--instead of shooting down that and our true constitutional, fairly apportioned, negotiators? You did this with talk about how members didn’t have the resolve to stand up to the AMPTP, and that our negotiators were asking for unrealistic things like signatories only doing union work and a continuance of residuals! Have you noticed how “go-alongs-to-get-alongs” like Ken Howard and his USAN/UFS pals always say wait until next time. Like when Whipsaw Bob, Melissa and her Restore Respect/USAN gang persuaded members to vote for their one year extension, so as to be prepared to go after an increase in the DVD residual formula…well, there was no preparation, and no mention again of an increase in the DVD formula…uh, and of course there was no increase in the 3 decade dormant DVD formula.

Here is what Mr. Howard states in his pro AFTRA video in regards to Presidential Candidate Anne Marie Johnson, Connie Stevens and Membership First.

Their record is clear. Their attacks on AFTRA are too numerous to list.

Translation: He doesn’t list attacks on AFTRA because there are none. Unless he considers pointing out to the membership that AFTRA has been undercutting SAG contracts, is, inded, attacking them. AS to their lowballing, it is a matter of record. If you’d like to see just some of the examples of the cable contracts they acquired by undercutting SAG’s contracts with inferior minimums and residual giveaways, just check out this site with photocopies for all to see.

It is clear that that Ken Howard, who wants to be SAG’s President, is either in heavy denial, or simply wants to be president in order to be a schill for AFTRA. Why doesn’t he address this issue? And while where at it, why did he support AFTRA’s undermining SAG’s negotiating team, instead of supporting AFTRA’s giveaway contract. A contract which clearly undermined SAG’s negotiating Teams efforts to protect members from non-union work--and a complete surrender to the AMPTP’s demands on new media. It was a surrender on what both sides agreed was the core principle of our union--that our signatories should not be allowed to do non-union work. And now, only a couple of months after selling out this principle, he says that he can “…barely wait to renegotiate.” Oh, and one thing that he doesn’t mention is how he will renegotiate a contract now that he and his cohorts have exhibited to our employers their lack of resolve to even stand up for SAG’s core principle.

After badmouthing Presidential Candidate Anne Marie Johnson, Mr. Howard misquotes Ms. Johnson by saying…ah, what was that Ken”

Ah, actually, what she said was that all "actors" should be under one roof. She has never advocated broadcasters, D.J.’s, newscasters, weathermen and other performers who don’t work our contracts being in SAG. That could have easily been straightened out in a debate, which is just one reason why Mr. Howard has run from any sort of debate. He would rather "perform" without any contradictions to his unsubstantiated accusations and rhetoric.

But then she says she doesn’t support merger, which is the obvious way to get all performers in one union (Once again the Ol’ slight of hand, replacing actors with performers) and, in fact, she says the very first thing she would do if she were elected would ask SAG members who were already in AFTRA to choose which union they would rather have represent them. Well then what, does she want SAG to raid some of AFTRA’s membership?

Poor Ken doesn’t have a clue. If he did, he would know that petitioning the NLRB for “elections” to let actors decide who they want to represent them is not raiding. In fact, that's exactly what happened in the Early Fifties when the AFL-CIO’s jurisdictional arm the 4A's awarded all acting to the TVA.

The Screen Actors Guild immediately the National Labor Relations Board for elections to determine which union actors wanted to represent them.
In the course of the next two years the NLRB held thirteen certifications elections. SAG won 12….When the overwhelming desire of screen actors to stick with SAG became obvious, the AAAA withdrew its attempt to put together one big television union and disbanded the TVA. Left with jurisdiction over LIVE television, AFTA in September 1952 added the word “Television” to its name and became and became AFTRA

The actual words of the SAG charter-- which is still in effect, has been posted several times on this website, and it awards all acting on TV to SAG “except that which is done in the manner of a live broadcast.”

So tell us again Mr. Howard how SAG is raiding AFTRA, and tell us how all those shows AFTRA has poached from SAG are done in the manner of a live broadcast.

Well, I hope you folks can see why Ken Howard ran from any debate with the very knowledgeable Anne Marie Johnson…he would have been shown up for what he, indeed, is, a front for UFS, USAN, AFTRA and, yes, the AMPTP.

The truth is that today is about the last day you can vote and get your ballot in, so if you haven’t voted, please do so.

If I have time, just to set the record straight, I’ll try and cover more of Mr. Howards comments. Just look for another update logo.

PART TWO IS BELOW

Highlights from Ken Howard’s video.

UPDATE Part TWO (We continue with excerpts from Ken Howard’s video.