The following is an email that I have sent out to fellow SAG members. It is an effort to inform members about these contracts that AFTRA refuses to let their own members see.
So, far I have managed to get my paws on FIVE of them. Although these documents represent only a small portion of AFTRA’s Basic Cable contracts, I believe they give members an insight to how they are being sold down the river by AFTRA.
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There has been a lot of propaganda coming out of AFTRA since their leadership learned about SAG NED Doug Allen's letter to the membership detailing AFTRA's Poaching of SAG Contracts by undercutting minimums and giving away residuals.
AFTRA's leadership continues to deny this undercutting is going on, while at the same time denying its membership their right to look at these contracts. Yes, it boggles the mind that a union won't let its members see the contracts they have to work under. But as you'll see they have a reason for not allowing actors to see these contracts which take money out of Actors' pockets, and puts it into AFTRA's coffers.
Not only was this contract for only 80% of SAG minimum, but by incorporating AFTRA's Network Code, it gives the producer the opportunity to work actors under-five for two days for a grand total of 
341 dollars and, yes, by giving away ten free exhibition days, it all but eliminates any residuals the first year--but as they like to say at AFTRA to justify their poaching, "what do you want, to read about a job or have one."
Actually, professional SAG actors don't just want a job. They want one where they are fairly compensated for their talents. They want a job which allows them to make a decent living for themselves and their families. And they don't want another union, such as AFTRA, sneaking behind their backs and undercutting contracts that help make it possible for them to make that living.
For fellow AFTRA members, and those of you, SAG members, forced to join AFTRA to work these contracts, there is some consolation. After this AFTRA contract came to light, (which was carved out behind SAG's back, while SAG was negotiating with producers to get higher rates for actors on Basic Cable programs) there were numerous complaints. AFTRA, then, renegotiated this contract for its run on IFC under its present title “Minor Accomplishments.” No, AFTRA didn’t eliminate the ten free exhibition days. Ah, apparently there weren't enough complaints to get them to do something as drastic as that, or more likely, if they hadn't given producers those ten free exhibition days, there would have been no reason for the them to go AFTRA--and it would have been a SAG Contract with no residual giveaways.
Now, I'm not trying to give you the false impression that all AFTRA basic cable contracts giveaway ten free exhibition days, because they don’t.
Some giveaway fifteen free exhibition days.
And the following clause from this contract should tell our background community all they need to know regarding AFTRA's promise to them to hold background caps.
So much for being upfront with the background actors.
One thing, however, that the AFTRA apologist say is true. Unlike SAG, under AFTRA’s negotiators, one contract doesn’t fit all! For instance under AFTRA’s Comedy Central agreement, instead of $759 dollars, daily minimum is $590 dollars. And on a Comedy Central Show like “American Body Shop,” you give up FIFTEEN FREE EXHIBITION DAYS, while on a Nickelodeon show, its TWENTY FREE EXHIBITION DAYS. (The good news is that’s down from Nickelodeon's previous THIRTY FREE EXHIBITION DAYS. Oh, by the way, figuring 2 plays per day on those 15 free exhibit days, residual payments under a SAG contract would be $785 dollars. That's right every time you work one of AFTRA's "Lowballers," AFTRA has effectively picked your pocket for hundreds of Dollars. You got to love it, now that AFTRA's leadership's underhanded basic cable deals have been exposed, they talk about a spirit of cooperation between the unions. Sort of like catching a pickpocket with his hand in your pocket, and he pleads "Hey why can't we just all get along here?"
Hey, Mates now lets go down under.
Yes, contrary, to what some may try and tell you, AFTRA has its share of foreign productions. In fact, THIRTY-THREE PERCENT of AFTRA's hour dramas are shot out of country. The half-hour AFTRA shows are shot in the USA, just as the half-hour SAG shows were being shot in the USA before being poached by AFTRA with substandard contracts. In the case of “Bianca,” which has been retitled “Monarch Bay,” most of you SAG/AFTRA members wont have to worry about giving up those fifteen free exhibition days since the show is being shot in Australia.
But don't think AFTRA shows just go down under, AFTRA shows like "The Best Years" also go up yonder.
Now a little something for the boys from your friendly lowballers at AFTRA.
So, there you have it, some of the AFTRA contracts that treat actors like "Dirt." Speaking of which:
Now, these are a few of the contracts that have come to light. The reason only a few of these contracts are available is because AFTRA refuses to show them to members. (If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about their basic cable deals, and AFTRA's leaderships' integrity, nothing does.) You see, when an actor works one of these contracts, they are not given a contract, with specifics, like the ones we've shown you, but rather a standard AFTRA employee/empolyer contract. It is only later that the actor learns that he/she will not get any residuals the first year--and a large portion of these shows that come, and go quickly, that means actors on them will likely NEVER GET ANY RESIDUALS.
We have only looked at five of AFTRA's Basic Cable Contracts, and they giveawy FORTY-FIVE FREE EXHIBIT DAYS. It was only a few years ago before AFTRA started their poaching campaign that out of all the basic cable shows AFTRA had only a couple, SAG had the rest. Now AFTRA has all but one of the half-hour basic cable shows and nine of the hour shows, for a total of TWENTY TWO SHOWS. You start to average that out and your talking around FIVE HUNDRED FREE EXHIBIT DAYS days for Producers at Disney, Lifetime, Comedy Central, and more. How does the old song go, "They, and AFTRA, get the gold mine and you, and SAG, get the shaft."
In a 1952 National Labor Relations Board referendum, actors overwhelmingly chose SAG
to represent them in filmed TV. This resulted in SAG getting jurisdiction over ALL acting on television except that done in a LIVE MANNER-which went to AFTRA. So not only does SAG have a legal mandate to represent actors on these cable shows, whether digital or film (unless they are done in a LIVE MANNER) but it also has the mandate of the actors involved.
> (To see the official charter documents copy and paste the following link in the address window above and hit enter on your keyboard: http://sagwatchdog.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi/read/710
If you are a member of the Screen Actors Guild, you need to contact SAG NED Doug Allen at SAG_NED@sag.org and demand that he and our SAG Board take ACTION against AFTRA's lowball-poaching--and ENFORCE SAG'S JURISDICTIONAL MANDATE NOW!
(Please forward this to TEN actor friends.)
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A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief 
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Watchdog Exclusive: The AFTRA Basic Cable Lowball Contracts that they don't want you to see.
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