*shock AFTRA Leader Spills the Beans on Disney Sellout.

The following post by Broadcaster David Browde,( AFTRA Board Member, a member of AFTRA Now, and a signer of the AFTRA Ad that appeared in the trades) pretty well spills the beans in regards to the self-serving rational AFTRA uses to justify their selling out of actors in order to buffer their coffers.

The post appeared on the Showfax Bulletin Board. It is in response to another posters question. Not only is it full of inaccuracies, as the Ol’ Dog will demonstrate, but, also, it is, perhaps, a tad more revealing than he intended, or realized. Especially the part about AFTRA’s dealing with Disney.

In another thread you had asked regarding specific shows and work your children have done. Both Anne Gartlan and I inquired of the staff at AFTRA who handled the relevant negotiations, and this is what I was told:

"Lilo vs Avatar – Lilo was produced under the SAG animation agreement, which is comparable to the AFTRA Animation agreement. Both the SAG and AFTRA animation agreements have the same rates and, in cable, a per run residual.

Yes, the animation agreements have the same rates, but this was not originally the case. The AFTRA Avatar contract was so bad, the animation voice actors revolted to such an extent, that AFTRA actually, a first, had to go back and renegotiate the rates up to SAG rates.

However, Avatar is produced under the Uptown (Nickelodeon) animation agreement, which was bargained 5 years ago. The Uptown Agrmt has the same “initial” rates as the full animation agreement, however, the run pattern provides for the exhibition window.

First off, you don’t have the same rates when you give producers “exhibition windows” and a contract that incorporates the Network code with its embarrassing under-five sell out of day players, and its free exhibition windows that virtually guarantees that actors will get NO RESIDUALS the first year.

You may both recall the situation which occurred a few years ago over this agreement (the original contract was re-opened mid-term to address the exhibition pattern – improvements were made at that time). We are fully aware of the problems the Uptown animation agreement presents and are in the middle of bargaining a new agreement, even as we speak. Our primary goal in these negotiations is to make sure the residual formula tracks the full animation agreement (per run). It should be noted that Nickelodeon was, indeed, producing animated programs non-union at the time the Uptown agreement was originally bargained.

Not true! Nickelodeon was BUILT on SAG animated programming: The following shows were under SAG contracts “Spongebob” “Squarepants,” “Rugrats,” “Fairly OddParents,” “Hey Arnold”, “Wild Thornberrys,” “CatDog,” “Rocket Power,” “Angry Beavers,” and “Aaah! Real Monsters.” It was only after SAG’s organizing of these shows that AFTRA stepped in and organized the animation series “Dora Explorer,” with a cast made up primarily of, our guilds most vulnerable, children--and an inferior contract implementing residual giveaways.

Raven vs Cory – AFTRA has an agreement with one of Disney’s productions arms, It’s a Laugh Productions. This agreement covers all programming produced by that company, specifically ½ hour children’s programming, not intended to air originally in prime time. There are provisions built into the agreement that in the event certain budgets are exceeded or if a program is aimed at the prime time audience, increases would automatically apply.

Now ain’t that generous of them. They undercut actors rates and take away their residuals, but, but if they increase their budgets and appear in primetime increases would automatically apply. Now, we can’t exactly verify any of this since AFTRA’s NED Kim Hedgpeth won’t let AFTRA members see these contracts. (Now look out for those falling Browde Beans!}

Raven was a SAG show, produced prior to the IALP agreement. At the time Disney was considering the Raven spin off, they came to AFTRA to let us know that there were several new series they were considering, including the spin off and that they were planning on producing under the IALP agreement. They asserted that the budgets were very low (in the low $600,000’s), lower, in fact, than Raven. They asserted that they were unable, because of costs, to produce all of the shows they were considering and, if they had to produce Cory under SAG, or AFTRA’s Exhibit A, there was a very good chance they wouldn’t produce it.

There you go. That’s the self-serving B.S. rationalization, AFTRA’s leadership and negotiators are trying dump on actors to justify undercutting their contracts. It’s the Big Con. And if AFTRA’s go-along-to- get-along, lockstep negotiating team is allowed to be an equal partner in SAG’s 2008 TV/Theatrical negotiations, they will, along with voice-over AFTRA loyalist Paul Christi and his fellow USAN AFTRA loyalist in sheep’s clothing, have a majority say in TV/Theatrical negotiations. Yes, this group made up primarily of broadcasters and voice over actors will have a bigger say in what kind of a contract SAG actors receive, than the actors that actually work the contract. And this even though, AFTRA currently has just three shows on the entire primetime network. And let’s not forget that they will determine what kind of residuals actors get not only on TV shows, BUT ON MOTION PICTURES.

They insisted that even at these low budgets, they would only be selecting one of the series in consideration. I personally spoke with one of the series regular’s agents, explaining the AFTRA formula, specifically the window residual formula.

The “window residual formula” that’s an AFTRA code word for giving away UP TO TWENTY FREE EXHIBITION DAYS of actors’ residuals. Actors need to stand up now, and forcefully inform AFTRA’s leadership that WE DON’T DO WINDOWS!

He (the agent)clearly understood and also acknowledged that Disney had indicated they weren’t sure what they would be producing, that there was a chance the spin off would NOT be produced.

. Hey, there’s another agent you’d choose over your union. Right along with the ones that have told their clients offered inferior Internet rates. “Hey if you don’t take it someone else will!

The IALP agreement is about to expire and I had a conversation this morning with one of the Disney representatives. While Disney acknowledges that they wouldn’t go out of business if they had to pay full Exhibit A, they would certainly not be producing the number of series they are contemplating, nor the number of episodes. They would also have to consider where the programs would be produced and would have to consider other venues. Non-union? No, but certainly a lot less work and possibly moved out of the country. Can I prove that? No.

When Cory was originally produced, it was produced under front of the book – it was a children’ program like Saved by the Bell (a network, Saturday morning program) and was not intended for prime time. As soon as I found out about the prime time exhibition, I alerted the company and they immediately bumped it up to WB/UPN supplement, giving the free lance performers a retroactive increase. The series reg’s however, were not affected, in the same way they would not be affected if this were MADE for broadcast television. Obviously, however, the issue is really the reuse.

“Cory in the House” was a spin-off from the Hit SAG basic cable series that made millions for Disney, and this guy wants you to believe that if AFTRA hadn’t low-balled SAG’s contract with their residual giveaway this show would not have been produced. Forget the fly swatter get out the shovel.

During a conference call this week we also raised your issue re: the Young Performers Committee and unreturned phone calls, and were advised that these concerns were heard at the highest levels of AFTRA, and it's something that will be addressed.

Yeah, just like AFTRA’s leadership has addressed the issue of actors asking to see the contracts that they will, or have, worked under. They turned their backs and have refused. They don’t want SAG actors to see them, because once they do, it will be over for them, once and for all.

I know that may not be exactly what you wanted to hear...but that's what it is.

No, what SAG actors want to hear is that SAG gets AFTRA’s hand out of our pockets, even if they have to cut it off. And we want them to get their noses out of our negotiations, even if we have to cut IT off. If AFTRA succeeds in bullying SAG into shared jurisdiction on these basic cable digital shows, and participation in our TV/Theatrical contracts, it won’t be long before all contracts will be under AFTRA’s jurisdiction. If SAG doesn’t take action now and end any sort of shared jurisdiction with AFTRA, especially on digital scripted dramatic shows, with the trend toward digitally produced feature films how long do you think it will be before they will be claiming jurisdiction over digital MOVIES? And, once this happens, if you think both producers and agents won’t help them gain complete jurisdiction over actors, you ain’t paying attention. Do, you really think AFTRA is gaining this jurisdiction without the help of the big ATA agents who package shows? You know the ones. The ones that AFTRA sold out their own membership to for a half million dollars by allowing to them to get their foot in the door on ownership of production companies. And of course, you know AMPTP head negotiator Nick Counter has got to be salivating anticipating AFTRA’s continued participation in negotiations. Especially when he knows that AFTRA’s block of negotiators will combine with SAG’s New York, AFTRA loyalist, board to pretty settle for pretty much whatever they are told to take.

Especially, if Nick employed the same successful tactic that Disney used on AFTRA negotiators and told them that, “…they would certainly not be producing the number of series they are contemplating, nor the number of episodes. They would also have to consider where the programs would be produced and would have to consider other venues.”

The message is starting to get out to the SAG membership all around the country; a Chicago actor posted this on the SAG Actor Bulletin board. )

”… okay, it's war. And it's a war AFTRA will lose, mark my words.

Of course, producers will ATTEMPT to negotiate with AFTRA, street whore union it is, ready to sell it's rear to the lowest bidder. Producers and studio's love to lowball, coz they love their money.

You may want to entertain delusions that SAG made a strategic blunder.

Nay, its your street whore of a union that has signed it's own death warrant, with your unions poaching and undercutting and turf-grabbing ways, and while you all continue to refer to a segment of our Union as "Mefirst", methinks from now on, I shall refer to AFTRA no longer in the courtesy of its name, but as the "street whore union".