:D :D :D AFTRA WW Committee Chair jumps through hoops for NED Hedgpeth !!

Los Angeles (February 29, 2008) –The Hollywood Joint Wages and Working Conditions Committee of Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists today unanimously adopted the following resolution:

The Hollywood Joint SAG/AFTRA Wages and Working Conditions Committee, which represents the majority of working actors in this country and has worked so well together to create proposals that truly reflect the needs of middle class actors in all categories, reaffirms that:

The Joint SAG/AFTRA Wages and Working Conditions Committee, negotiating team and National Boards will diligently and patiently adhere to the wages and working conditions process; and

Only when the Chief Negotiators, the Joint Wages and Working Conditions Committee and the Joint National Board of Directors of SAG and AFTRA decide it is strategically the best time to negotiate with our employers will an official statement announcing such decision be made by our unions.

Following the release of the statement, Matt Kimbrough Chair of AFTRA’s Steering Committee issued the following Mea Culpa.

STATEMENT FROM MATT KIMBROUGH, CHAIR OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION AND RADIO ARTISTS STEERING COMMITTEE:

“The statement issued yesterday by the Screen Actors Guild was erroneous and unfortunately does not accurately represent the current state of affairs between SAG and AFTRA. SAG and AFTRA are not at this point ‘jointly’ participating in the Wages and Working Conditions process for the upcoming Prime Time negotiations.

We are merely co-hosting these meetings. Moreover, Friday's session was an unassigned assemblage of members and had no authority to represent AFTRA's elected leadership or the opinion of the majority of its actor members.

In my efforts to complete the W&W process, rather than allowing a lengthy discussion on Friday to disrupt the real business of the meeting, I allowed misleading language that misrepresents AFTRA and its members to remain in the resolution. I regret that I did not object to this language at the time. The resolution, now released, is being used as a weapon in an internal political battle between factions within SAG. AFTRA has no interest in being caught up in SAG's internal battles and I am troubled by the inaccurate rhetoric that distorts the state of our current relationship with each other.

The fact is that the overwhelming majority of AFTRA leadership believes that we have a responsibility to proceed with negotiations as soon as possible. I share that belief. I apologize to my leadership if Friday’s resolution has caused anyone to question this position.”

But this is nothing new at AFTRA where members are denied a vote on whether their dues are increased, or their union turned over to agents in a half-million dollar payoff. And although AFTRA gets a 50/50 say in SAG’s contracts while only having THREE shows out of the HUNDREDS negotiated, SAG gets no say in AFTRA’s Network code-- nor do AFTRA members get to vote on it in referendum.

So, according to Mr. Kimbrough, the statement issued by SAG on the WW vote is rhetoric. This even though, he admits that it was a unanimous vote by both AFTRA and SAG committee members that he agreed to.

Mr. Kimbrough states, “I allowed misleading language that misrepresents AFTRA and its members to remain in the resolution.”

Hmmm, does that mean that only the AFTRA chairperson vote counts when AFTRA members on a committee vote?

I don’t know about you but that sounds like block voting to the Ol’ Dog. The AFTRA chair decides the vote, and all the other committee members go along or AFTRA knocks their block off.

In regards to this unfortunate incident, this was posted on the Deadline Hollywood website.

Matt Kimbrough, shame on you.

The joint SAG/Aftra members of the W&W process who have been participating in the Wages and Working Conditions meetings all month long voted unanimously on this resolution, and I saw no-one in the room have any problem with this, including you!

You stated: “Moreover, Friday’s session was an unassigned assemblage of members and had no authority to represent AFTRA’s elected leadership or the opinion of the majority of its actor members.”

Are you saying that every member of this joint committee wasted their time, and sat there with no authority? We made sure that only people who are on the W&W committee voted, and that they had participated in the month-long meetings. Are you saying that their hard work and their voices do not count? Board members from both SAG and Aftra were in the room, along with rank & file members, and the body voted unanimously for the resolution.

We moved swiftly on the vote, and no one had any objections, including you. Obviously someone gave you marching orders after the vote, (100% contrary to the room), and you cannot think for yourself.
This vote was nothing more than a vote to reaffirm the process, and that we are all working together with integrity.

Where is your integrity?

It has been stated over and over again, that there is a process in place, and only when that process is completed, can negotiations formally begin. Anyone who has a clue knows this. Grandstanding by certain factions within both organizations are doing more harm than good.

You, my friend, know this as much as anyone.

Now, Aftra has all the information from the W&W’s, is refusing to acknowledge that we are still in Phase 1 by parsing words like “joint” and “co-hosting”.

Everyone knows that meetings with CEOs are in process and have been for weeks.

Everyone in the room was on the same page, and now you have polarized us once again. Aftra is steering actors down a very sad path; already actors working on Basic-Cable shows get no residuals, thus no Health & Retirement, and so what I glean from your statement is that Aftra is going to go in early, before the process is completed, and attempt to negotiate with the AMPTP without SAG, and further destroy an actors’ ability to make a living in this business.

Aftra has 3 shows on PrimeTime, and does no film. How dare Aftra decide to invade SAG jurisdiction. As a member of the Aftra National Board, I reject this end-run around a process that has been in play for decades.

It is obvious that Aftra is run by paid staff, whose only interest is claiming jurisdiction to the detriment of actors:

Aftra has invaded traditional SAG jurisdiction in the recent years, making individual deals in Basic-Cable, offering cut-rate deals for actors that give away 10-15+ 24-hour days of free reruns, which means actors get no residuals, thus no Health & Retirement. Think about it: Actors get no residuals for a year. Not only are these SAG members working under an inferior Aftra contract, their pension accrual rate is less; Aftra is 1.7% and SAG is 3.5%.
Aftra made a deal for 6 years with Nickeodeon giving away free internet streaming.

In 2005, during co-SAG/Aftra Interactive (video games) negotiations, SAG was in the process of negotiating residuals; Aftra folded and settled for a deal with no residuals in the fastest growing business in our industry, “revenue was up 43% in 2007 to $18 Billion dollars” Variety 1/17/08. No residuals for actors.

Nikki Finke’s first comment on the Resolution is that t it would be “bad news for the AMPTP”. Thank you Matt, for destroying the solidarity of the W&W process, and for turning your back on actors.

Comment by Frances Fisher — March 1, 2008 @ 2:52 pm

Top Ten Reasons why Matt Kimbrough decided to apologize for his part in the WW resolution.

(9) He forgot that at AFTRA, it is never a Dunn Deal, until Mathis gets the okay from Hedgpeth.

(7) He helped draft and unanimously pass, an erroneous statement with misleading language and inaccurate rhetoric

(5) He Okayed the resolution, forgetting that the meeting was an unassigned assemblage of members who had not been given their marching orders by AFTRA Staff.

(3) He got caught up in the democratic fervor of the meeting and figuratively lost his head, then changed his mind, when he literally nearly lost it later.

(2) He listened when his inner voice, Kimbrough, told him yes, but changed his mind when his outer voice, Kim, Told him no.

(1) He had too many cannolis before the meeting, and too little cajones after the meeting.

Matt Kimbrough, shame on you.

Where is your integrity?

Top Ten Reasons why Matt Kimbrough decided to apologize for his part in the WW resolution.