Studios sweeten SAG offer
August 15 deadline set
By DAVE MCNARY
Amping up the pressure on SAG, the majors have sweetened their final offer to the Screen Actors Guild, if the guild ratifies the deal by Aug. 15.
Insiders say the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers has told SAG leaders that the pay increases offered in the deal would be retroactive to July 1 -- the date SAG's previous feature-primetime deal expired -- if the guild can get it ratified by its 120,000 members by Aug. 15. Other elements of the contract, such as provisions involving working conditions, would go into effect on first day of first payroll period following SAG members' ratification.
Wow! Golly Gee Whiz! And they said Nick didn’t have a heart. They are too generous! Retro activating those wonderful pay increases. Sort of like sweetening a five gallon urn of coffee but putting in a grain of sugar. Speaking of five gallons that’s about what those minimums will amount to per job.
The AMPTP's offer comes with penalty. If SAG doesn't ratify by Aug. 15, then all changes in compensation and other terms would not be retroactive to July 1 but instead take effect on the first day of the first payroll period after SAG members ratify a deal.
You know, I bet a lot of actors are shaking in their boots. How about this for a penalty, Nick and those boys could soon be losing millions of bucks, if they already aren’t, with their defacto strike.
The move to offer a sweetener on an expired contract is a common tactic for the AMPTP -- both in terms of setting a date and giving an incentive along with not offering a union better terms if they reject.
The AMPTP and SAG had no immediate comment.
The congloms' move comes a day before SAG gives its official response to the AMPTP's final offer. And it's a day after AFTRA members ratified the latter's primetime deal with a 62.4% endorsement following a month of SAG campaigning stridently against the deal.
62.4% of what? 100 votes, a 1000 votes out of 70,000 ballots sent out to members. But then no one knows if the referendum passed, since none of the AFTRA Board members were allowed to verify the results.
In other developments, the majors took another swing at SAG for stalling on making deal, reaching out to more than 120 elected officials to blast the guild. AMPTP president Nick Counter sent a letter to the legislators along with the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in the wake of AFTRA's ratification of its primetime deal on Tuesday night.
Yep, they are feeling confident in the drivers seat, and all that rot. If everything is so hunky-dory, why the need to do all the lobbying? Ooops, I better keep quiet or they won’t make that five- gallon of gas raise, retroactive for me.
SAG had urged its 44,000 members who also belong to AFTRA to vote against the deal but the contract received 62% support. The majors' final offer contains the same terms as the AFTRA deal.
62% of What?
Counter noted in his letter that the AMPTP's spent 42 days in formal negotiations with the SAG over the last two and a half months and that its final offer is worth more than $250 million in increased compensation to SAG members over three years.
That’s using their math, where they count a fifty percent pay decrease in downloads, as a fifty percent increase. I believe they are using "Enron Math 101."
"The offer is also consistent with the four other industry labor agreements reached this year and proves that the Producers can make our New Media framework work for performers and all other talent," Counter said. "Unfortunately, SAG's Hollywood leadership has unnecessarily stalled these negotiations, which we concluded with our final offer of June 30, 2008. Instead of negotiating seriously, SAG instead began a destructive -- and ultimately unsuccessful -- campaign against the ratification of the AFTRA agreement."
The fact is that the SAG campaign was a lot more successful than Kim, Roberta, and Nick had hoped it would be. Even media pundits have acknowledged that the percentages were a less than rousing validation of the AFTRA contract.
Counter said SAG's anti-AFTRA campaign has stalled the negotiations and resulted in a de facto work stoppage.
"Each day that production grinds to a halt causes more and more dislocation to the economy of Los Angeles in particular and California in general," he said. "Our final offer is designed to end this de facto strike and put our industry and all those who rely on it back to work."
It is designed to end the de facto strike on their terms and with actors' pay formulas that will benefit them for decades to come, while taking away actors residuals, lowering their amount of union work, and eventually crippling their union.
SAG has insisted that actors deserve better terms than those in the AFTRA, WGA and DGA deals. Deputy national exec director Pamm Fair responded to Counter's letter by saying SAG wants to keep negotiating.
"We don't think any legislators will be surprised that multi-billion dollar global companies engaged in negotiations with a union have resorted to rhetoric and mischaracterizations regarding union workers," she said. "While we have not yet seen evidence of a slowdown in production, any decrease in film and television production would be a result of the studios and networks that control the industry, not the actors they hire. Screen Actors Guild remains committed to bargaining a fair contract, and is available 24- hours a day, seven-days a week. If anyone is stalling, it's the AMPTP by suggesting that bargaining is over, when we clearly haven't achieved an agreement that is fair for actors and the industry. "
--
Here are three differnet articles, on the just completed AFTRA referendum. As usual, the Ol’ Dog will have a few words, huh? Okay several words!
From the Los Angeles Times
AFTRA, in a blow to SAG leaders, approves contract
A three-year pact is passed by 62.4% of the union's membership.
Hmmm, AFTRA says they have 70,000 members and Richard and Claudia says 62.4% of the membership approve the contract. Yikes! Let’s 62% of 70,000=43,4000. Yikes again! And that means 26,6000 members vote against it…huh, what? Oh what they meant to say was that of the members that voted, 62% of them voted yes. But, but,but, the other is a lot more impressive don’t you think?
The larger guild, seeking a better deal, could still take the risky step of a strike authorization vote.
Or they could just send out the AMPTP’s final offer, and explain why they think the membership should vote it down. It wouldn’t be a strike authorizationvote, but, if the membership turned it down, it would send a message to the AMPTP that SAG members want a better deal. Oh, and it wouldn’t need a seventy-five percent majority like a strike vote…and here’s the refereshing part, unlike AFTRA where ballots were sent out to 26,000 members, who had never once worked the contract, every member who got a ballot whould have worked it at least once.
By Richard Verrier and Claudia Eller
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 9, 2008
A campaign by the Screen Actors Guild to persuade members of a smaller rival union to vote down a new contract has foundered, an outcome that could weaken SAG's leverage in its negotiations with the Hollywood studios.
Members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Tuesday approved a new three-year, prime-time TV contract, dealing a blow to SAG leaders who had gambled heavily on defeating a contract they blasted as bad for actors.
The AFTRA vote -- widely viewed as a barometer of support for SAG negotiators -- doesn't eliminate the prospect of a strike, but it leaves the guild with fewer alternatives. The protracted negotiations are causing uncertainty throughout Hollywood, holding up feature film productions and casting a pall over the upcoming fall TV season.
"It's hard to not see this as a setback because they invested so much in this and drew a line in the sand," said David Smith, a labor economist at Pepperdine University. "It's probably going to limit their ability to negotiate for what they want."
SAG leaders could still seek a strike authorization vote from members, but that option is considered risky given the deteriorating economy and strike fatigue after the 100-day Hollywood writers walkout that ended in February.
"The town has been fairly terrorized this year and actors don't have more guts than the average person," veteran actor and former SAG President Ed Asner said during a meeting with TV critics on Tuesday. "They realize the tremendous cost. Probably, if push came to shove, most would vote against it. I myself would vote for it, but I would be in the minority as I usually am."
I would have to disagree with Ed on that one. Although, we have no idea how many members voted in this all important referendum, that could set the mold for actors on the internet for the next quarter of a century, I believe in a referendum not skewered by those who have never worked the contract, and never intend to work it, that actors would vote down the contract. Look, according to AFTRA its network code referendum passed by 93 percent. On this referendum that percentage dropped 31 percent, and that doesn’t take into account the affect of AFTRA soliciting the vote of a big percentage of those non-actors, broadcasters and other AFTRA members, who have never worked the contract.
Not surprisingly, the clashing unions interpreted the vote by AFTRA members differently.
SAG declared a moral victory, noting that the 62.4% ratification vote was below the norm given that another AFTRA television contract was recently ratified by more than 90% of voting members.
"Clearly, many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said.
Rosenberg also contended that results were skewed by the nonactors who voted. An AFTRA flier urged broadcasters to endorse the new deal even "if you haven't worked under this contract."
It really just didn’t urge them, in essence, it bribed them to vote for the contract by telling them it would put more money in their pension and health plan.
AFTRA leaders countered that broadcasters accounted for less than 10% of the union's 70,000 members, 52,000 of whom are actors. AFTRA did not report how many of its members voted. The 120,000-member SAG represents the vast majority of those working on prime-time TV shows and, unlike AFTRA, actors who work in feature films.
AFTRA claim that 52,000 of their members are actors is total B.S. First they tell us there are only 44,000 dual card holders, then they tell us there are 52,000 actors. When you walk through the door, and plunk down your money at AFTRA, you get to pick your category. “Huh? I am an actor.”Look, if you aren’t a dual-card holder, and you have never worked a SAG contract, you ain’t much of an actor, and you, most probably, have never worked under this contract. And 26,000 of those members, not only got a ballot, but were, ah, urged to vote yes.
AFTRA President Roberta Reardon called SAG's actions "an unprecedented disinformation campaign" and praised actors for displaying "courage in the face of potential retribution by taking a stand against disunity." She called on the unions to revisit the possibility of merging and jointly negotiating an upcoming commercials contract.
But, but, but…Roberta you failed to praise all those broadcasters, weatherment, disc jockeys, anchormen and such for their courage in voting on a contract “even though they have never worked it.”
The contract ratified Tuesday was modeled after similar pacts negotiated by directors and writers. Although the accord includes pay hikes for actors and establishes payments for programs streamed on the Internet, SAG contended it didn't meet such key bargaining goals as increasing residuals from DVD sales and ensuring that all Internet programs were covered by its contract.
But, guys, you always seem to fail to mention the numbers. Like for instance, those ad supported streaming reruns where actors get between $25 and a $105 dollars for a year. (Ah, unless of course, they only run them during those 17 and 24 free windows…ah, well then they’d get nothing.) Well, except, of course, actors would get the satisfaction that they went along with the same deal those stalwart hardnosed directors signed, undermindig the writers. The same deal the writers were then forced to go along with because the DGA got it. Ah, and then, the same deal that AFTRA’s “negotiating fools” stepped in line to sign and, by doing soe, complete the hat trick. Of course, once actors finally realize releveant trick was the one played on thme, they’d probably end up feeling like, well, hockey pucks.
SAG allocated as much as $150,000 toward persuading 44,000 joint members to reject the federation's contract, blanketing members with ads, e-mails and automated phone calls. AFTRA countered by telling members that voting down the contract would heighten the prospects of a strike.
I hate to be an old fussbucket, but why doesn’t anyone ever mention, in one of these news stories, how much money AFTRA spent on their two PR firms, phone calls, ads, flyers, videos and stuff. Huh? Cause AFTRA ain’t talking? In fact, wouldn’t it be nice if someone, other than the Ol’ Dog, did a story about how AFTRA won’t let its members verify voting results, contracts and such. In fact, AFTRA won’t even let its board members see the results, so how does anyone know that this contract actually passed. What was that Roberta, "Trust You." Right!
The campaign opened a deep division among actors and has been a major distraction in SAG's negotiations with the studios. The two camps have failed to reach agreement on a new contract to replace one that expired June 30.
Talks will resume Thursday, when SAG is expected to respond to the studios' final offer, which was similar to the pact offered to AFTRA and included more than $250 million in gains above the existing contract, the studios said.
And they wouldn’t lie to us, right? Anyone who careully reads, and understands, this contract proposal, realizes for actors, it takes away much more than it gives—and, in a few years, it will take away what actors have struggled for, and that is the ability to make a living.
If, as expected, SAG rejects the final offer, the studios could declare an impasse, which would enable them to legally enforce their final proposed contract. The studios also could impose a so-called lockout, which would block actors from working and trigger what would amount to a strike. That, however, is viewed as a draconian measure because it would shut down most production, costing the studios dearly -- in addition to possibly creating sympathy for the actors.
Despite the outcome, SAG is unlikely to back down any time soon, said Jonathan Handel, a Los Angeles-based entertainment industry attorney. "SAG will be emboldened by the low yes vote achieved by AFTRA, and is likely to resist compromise" with the studios, he said.
richard.verrier@latimes.com claudia.eller@latimes.com
Times staff writer Maria Elena Fernandez contributed to this report.
---
Posted: Tue., Jul. 8, 2008, 6:22pm PTA FTRA accepts deal
Union members ratify primetime deal
By DAVE MCNARY
Despite the Screen Actors Guild's avid campaign, members of the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists have ratified the union's primetime deal by 62.4% -- a tally strong enough to send a rebuke to SAG, but not so strong that Hollywood's immediate future is clear-cut.
Actually, what is missing here, is a TALLY. We have no idea how many members voted in this referendum. We didn’t get the usual breakdown that we would get from a SAG vote. We don’t now were these undisclosed number of votes came from. We don’t know the break down of those voting. How many were actors, broadcasters, weathermen, news anchors, disc jockeys or TV correspondents? And since there is no requirement that you have actually worked under a union contract to join AFTRA, we, also, don’t know how many were designers, plumbers, electricians or grocery works. We don’t know the geographical breakdown. Did more votes come from the branches, or from New York and Los Angeles where the majority of the work is done. In fact, we don’t know much about this referendum at all, since, even, AFTRA board members weren’t allowed to watch the vote tally, much less verify the results. The vote count in this referendum was not overseen by members, they were not privy to the actual count, and, as I said, will never know who decided this referendum. But, that doesn’t stop AFTRA’s Roberta Reardon, AMPTP’s Nick Counter, or the media from saying actors have spoken.
The three-year agreement received support well below the usual level in such tallies, following a month of unprecedented battling between the thesp unions.
"SAG ran a well-funded and ferocious disinformation campaign that created a lot of confusion," said AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said at a news conference Tuesday evening after the results were announced. "We are the ones who won the moral victory."
Moral Victory, Roberta? Now that takes guts, coming from the person that helped oversee this morally challenged vote. Coming from a person who basically bribed non-actors to vote in this actors' referendum, “even if they had never worked the contract,” because it would put more money their pension and health fun. Read the flyer at http://sagwatchdog.com/cgi-bin/admin_config.pl/read/877
The ratification was not a surprise, due to the faltering economy and the lingering impact of the 100-day WGA strike. Terms in the AFTRA pact mirror those in the contracts signed by the WGA and DGA, along with the majors' final offer to SAG.
The economy may be faltering, but our employers are making record profits. NBC can pay three billion for the weather channel, but the best they can do for actors is give them a lot of hot air, and what amounts to around a five gallon of gas increase whenever they do an acting job?
The Screen Actors Guild was hoping for a defeat of the AFTRA pact, which would have given the guild more leverage as it resumes talks Thursday on its own feature-primetime deal.
The AFTRA victory signals that there's not enough support among SAG's 120,000 members to vote for a strike authorization, which would require 75% approval. Still to be decided is whether the 37.6% support for SAG in the AFTRA vote shows that the guild has enough clout to persuade the Alliance of Motion Picture & TV Producers to include a sweetener or two to close the deal with SAG.
Personally, the Ol’ Dog thinks the only thing this referendum signals, is that if a union is willing to sacrifice its own members in a sham referendum, they will be welcomed with open arms by our employers and empty heads by those who praise it.
SAG and the producers meet again on Thursday and that meeting will provide the key clue of how long talks can be expected to last. TV and film productions want to know as soon as possible how quickly they can resume a normal work schedule.
The AMPTP issued a statement Tuesday telling SAG it should take AFTRA's deal. "We appreciate today's vote of confidence by actors in the agreement we reached with AFTRA, and hope that it demonstrates to SAG's Hollywood leadership that there is support for the new economic relationships we have built with writers, directors and actors -- and not much support for a strike, whether de facto or real," it said.
Actors? Right! 
Ballots went out to all 70,000 AFTRA members. AFTRA did not disclose how many thesps voted.
SAG's effort was enough to lower the approval rate below the usual 90% given to guild contract votes. But producers and AFTRA expected a result around the 60%-70% level.
And that is what is known as adjusting your expectations, in order to belie the fact that you underachived expected results.
Screen Actors Guild had lobbied hard for defeat of this pact and, in a statement Tuesday evening, complained about AFTRA but significantly stopped short of declaring this a triumph for their side.
However, SAG president Alan Rosenberg attempted to portray the 37.6% "no" vote as a moral victory after SAG spent a month urging its 44,000 members who also belong to AFTRA to turn down the deal so that SAG could negotiate better terms. "We will continue to address the issues of importance to actors that AFTRA left on the table and we remain committed to achieving a fair contract for SAG actors," he added.
Rosenberg said AFTRA had taken advantage of non-actors, such as news people, sportscasters and DJs. "In its materials, AFTRA focused that appeal on the importance of actor members' increased contributions to help fund its broadcast members' pension and health benefits," he added.
Reardon blasted Rosenberg's contention, asserting that 74% of AFTRA members are actors and more than 90% are entertainers such as singers, dancers, comedians and musicians.
But with Ms. Reardon’s response, with its skewered, unsubstantiated percentages, one thing is apparent she didn’t deny President Rosenberg’s charges that non-actors voted in this referendum, and most probably significantly influenced it. The response is what you get a lot of from the leadership at AFTRA; A non-responsive, response.
"Today's vote reflects the ability of AFTRA members to recognize a solid contract when they see it," Reardon said. "Despite an unprecedented disinformation campaign aimed at interfering with our ratification process, a majority of members ultimately focused on what mattered -- the obvious merits of a labor agreement that contains substantial gains for every category of performer in both traditional and new media."
One wonders, if as Roberta claims, members were able to recognize a solid contract when they see one, then why did Ms. Reardon, and her cohorts, find it necessary to revert the solicitation broadcasters, who have never worked the contract, to vote on it.
The flap created a battle between the two actors unions, with many high-profile members choosing sides. Alec Baldwin, Sally Field, Tom Hanks and Susan Sarandon backed the AFTRA deal while Viggo Mortensen, Jack Nicholson, Nick Nolte and Martin Sheen endorsed SAG's anti-AFTRA stance.
Reardon belittled SAG for using member dues to attack another union and said that the Membership First faction that controls SAG's national board should be replaced at upcoming elections.
But, but, but… on one hand, she admonishes SAG for interfering in an election that directly affects the livelihood of their members, while on the other, she states that SAG’s National board should be replaced. Hmmm, can you spell hypocrisy?
AFTRA ditched its joint bargaining partnership with SAG in March following a heated jurisdictional dispute over "The Bold and the Beautiful."
"Clearly, this was not a typical ratification process, and it would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise," Reardon said. "To those of us for whom labor solidarity is more than just a slogan, the idea that politically-motivated leaders of one union would use their members' dues to attack another union is unconscionable. Working people do not benefit when their union is under attack."
What a bunch of BS. This from the lady instrumental in selling out actors in order to poach contracts to benefit the AFTRA Organization and put money in their coffers.
The results of the AFTRA vote came nine days after the AMPTP broke off negotiations by delivering the final offer on June 30, a few hours before SAG's feature-primetime contract expired. Actors have been working since on some TV programs under terms of the expired deal; SAG's also granted waivers to more than 355 indie features.
SAG had contended that actors deserve sweeter terms in areas such as new media, DVD residuals and salary minimums. AFTRA argued that approval will put the industry back to work and that the deal includes gains in salaries and new media without rollbacks or concessions.
Hey, on a local TV interview today, she said the same thing, that the AMPTP’s Nick Counter has professed, "actors are well paid." How would she know, since she has the same number of IMDb credits as Nick, ah, actually she has LESS acting credits than the AMPTP negotiator; she has NONE, and he has ONE, (As himself, in "Who Needs Sleep?" (2006)) Hello? Think about that, the AMPTP negotitor has worked this contract more than the head actor negotiaor...ah, and your wondering why it sucks.
Reardon said she'd be surprised if the SAG deal wasn't resolved by September but refused to comment further, noting that she hasn't been in the room with SAG and the AMPTP. "I have a hard enough time reading the tea leaves in AFTRA," she added.
I bet as not a hard of time as actors have reading the contracts AFTRA keeps from the membership. 
SAG now faces the unsavory prospect of AFTRA signing up new shows shot on digital -- an area of shared jurisdiction -- with the new contract.
Reardon also indicated AFTRA is planning another run at a merger with SAG, though details haven't been hammered out, by seeking to organize a summit meeting in coming weeks. "For the sake of our members, organized labor must be united, especially in a world of ever-increasing corporate consolidation," she said.
The only thing merger with AFTRA would accomplish would be more of the same, as witnessed in this referendum. Actors livelihoods being compromised by non-actors who have no horse in the race, but want to make hay at their expense.
Rosenberg has indicated he doesn't necessarily oppose a merger, but the notion hasn't been particularly popular in recent years among the Membership First faction in Hollywood -- mostly due to suspicions that the terms would favor AFTRA.
A 2003 merger vote received support from three-quarters of AFTRA members but voting among SAG members fell 2% short of the required 60%. Pro-merger forces, led by then-SAG president Melissa Gilbert and topper Robert Pisano, were at the forefront of that campaign and asserted that combining SAG and AFTRA would lead to greater bargaining clout and operating efficiencies, along with resolving jurisdictional disputes.
The merger backers received extensive help from the AFL-CIO, which strongly favors combining unions that have similar jurisdictions. But opponents were able to persuade voters that SAG would be a shell under the new structure; that the org would be less responsive to the unique needs of actors; and that plans to subsequently merge the SAG and AFTRA health plans would be damaging to SAG participants.
Reardon also plans to offer SAG an olive branch by reviewing the possibility of renewing joint bargaining for the upcoming commercials contract, which expires in October. AFTRA leaders angrily ditched the Phase I bargaining pact with SAG in March over accusations that SAG was attempting to poach "The Bold and the Beautiful" from AFTRA.
Ms. Reardon can put her olive branch in that unsunny place, as far as the Ol't Dog is concered. Phase One is over. If, SAG ever agrees to bargain again with this disingenuous group of management lackey’s at AFTRA, then they might as well forget any more referendums, and with the saved money, by a supply of K-gel for each and every member, cause they sure as hell are gonna need it. 
Additionally, Reardon has worked up an ambitious proposal for all the town's major unions -- the DGA, WGA, IATSE. SAG and AFTRA -- to come together together prior to the next round of negotiations to maximize their leverage. The WGA would be first up with a deal that expires in May 2011.
By George, our new labor leader, messiah Roberta Reardon. Her stomach may not be as big as her predecessor, but her ego certainly is.
SAG placed a full-page ad in the Ketchum-based Idaho Mountain Express today from the guild's national negotiating committee to the entertainment industry leaders attending the Allen & Co. Sun Valley Media Conference.
"This media conference is the place where significant deals get made," Rosenberg said. "We wanted to remind the entertainment media leaders in attendance that there is another important deal to be made. Actors are the creative heart of the entertainment business, and our Screen Actors Guild members want to partner with our industry to invest in and share the rewards of our mutual digital future. Let's keep talking and let's make a fair deal."
--
AFTRA ratifies contractMembers approve new deal by 62% margin
By Leslie SimmonsJuly 9, 2008, 12:50 AM ETUpdated: July 9, 2008, 12:50 AM ET
After a bitter feud with sister union SAG over its primetime/TV contract, AFTRA's membership on Tuesday approved the union's new deal with the studios. Slightly more than 62% of the voting members said yes to the pact.
Well, at least unlike the LA Times, Leslie got it right, in regards to it only being the voting members, not 62% of the membership.
"Today's vote reflects the ability of AFTRA members to recognize a solid contract when they see it," AFTRA president Roberta Reardon said late Tuesday. "We were faced with an unprecedented situation of another union mounting a well-funded and ferocious attack on our contract-ratification process. In the face of that kind of attack, I think the percentage that ratified this contract is really good, and I'm thrilled."
Ah, whenever someone talks about the percentage. Say percentage of what?
SAG, whose leadership had contended that a separate deal with AFTRA would dilute its clout at the bargaining table, asserted that the referendum was skewed by nonactor members of the union.
"Clearly, many Screen Actors Guild members responded to our education and outreach campaign and voted against the inadequate AFTRA agreement," SAG president Alan Rosenberg said.
"We knew AFTRA would appeal to its many AFTRA-only members, who are news people, sportscasters and DJs, to pass the tentative agreement covering acting jobs. In its materials, AFTRA focused that appeal on the importance of actor members' increased contributions to help fund its broadcast members' pension and health benefits."
The AMPTP said the AFTRA ratification was "a vote of confidence by actors."
The organization said it hopes that passage will demonstrate to SAG's Hollywood leadership that "there is support for the new economic relationships we have built with writers, directors and actors -- and not much support for a strike, whether de facto or real."AFTRA declined to reveal the specific number of votes received in the ratification process for the primetime/TV deal, indicating that releasing the numbers could benefit the employers they negotiate with in future talks. It was the fifth national contract the union has negotiated in less than a year.
The current AFTRA leadership, like most despotic groups, can come up with plenty of reasons to keep their membership in the dark, in order to better control them. Like, “oh, you can’t see the contracts you might audition for or work under, cause, cause, it could benefit our employers.” The only thing that benefits our employers, in this case, is keeping those numbers secret, in order to allow them to use this referendum as means of ballyhooing it as a validation of their offensive offer.
Reardon said she thought Rosenberg was "grossly misinformed" about AFTRA's broadcasting membership. About 4,200, or less than 6%, of AFTRA's 70,000 members are broadcasters, with 90% of AFTRA's membership characterized as entertainers, including actors, announcers, comedians and dancers, she said.
Talk about double talk; let’s see, less than 6% of AFTRA’s membership are broadcasters with 90% characterized as entertainers including actors, announcers…huh, announcers? And here all of these years, I thought announcers, were broadcasters. Like, I said, above, Ms. Reardon, with another of her non-responsive responses, does not deny that at least 26,000 ballots went out to those who have never worked the contract, even though the AFTRA constitution’s article 13, is very clear, that in referendums like this, ballots will only go out to affected members. So, once again, Roberta, how is someone who has NEVER worked the contract an “affected” member. What? You’ll get back to us on that.
The AMPTP made what it termed its final offer to SAG on June 30 -- the day the contract expired -- and broke off talks, maintaining that it would not resume negotiations. The guild will meet with the AMPTP on Thursday to give its response to the offer, which mirrors AFTRA's contract, as well as those passed by the DGA and WGA membership.The studios contend that the $250 million package presented to SAG goes beyond the pacts made with the DGA, WGA and AFTRA in that it is tailored to SAG's demands, with a new-media framework for feature films and significant gains for working actors.
It’s tailor made, alright. A tailor made straightjacket with restraints that will not permit actors to make a living on the internet, that will tie actors arms when it comes to clip consent and force Majeure.
AFTRA members approved terms that include a 10% increase in minimums over three years, employer contributions to health and retirement plans, continued consent for the use of actors clips outside promotional use and jurisdiction over programs produced for distribution on the Internet and in new media. The new contract also creates a new residual structure for paid Internet downloads that AFTRA says significantly increases the current rates and establishes a residual platform for ad-supported streaming and use of clips on the Web.
Actually, the deal on downloads, is half of what our old contract formula that SAG and AFTRA already has in place. In fact, SAG is in arbitration right now to get them to pay what they have agreed to. Those hardnosed AFTRA negotiators, those negotiating fools, gave that a way in one fell swoop, and are now, along with our employers, calling it an increase.
The contract covers a dozen shows in primetime and cable, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Flight of the Conchords" and "Rules of Engagement," and involves higher fees for downloads and residual payments for Internet streams and clips.
The ratification comes in the wake of an intense skirmish between SAG and AFTRA, in which the latter ended up negotiating on its own for the first time in 27 years. AFTRA and the studios' negotiating arm, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, brokered the deal May 28.
Reardon said AFTRA will now set its sights on seeking a summit of top actors, supporters and union leaders to discuss how to achieve unity and "ultimately, if feasible, merger of the performers' unions."But the next step, according to Reardon, will be for the national board and locals to review "the conditions needed to restore the trust required to re-establish joint bargaining on our respective commercials contracts."
As to joint bargaining; all I can say is when it comes to AFTRA, as an actor, I certainly don’t want to ever bargain again with that JOINT!
That contract, usually bargained jointly by SAG and AFTRA, covers TV, radio and new-media commercial performers and is set to expire Oct. 29.
So, there you go. Three different takes from the LA media on this referendum. Although, SAG gets some feedback in the articles, why is it I get the feeling that they are more sympathetic to AFTRA and the AMPTP? Could it be that Hollywood is a company town, and that anyone who stands up to the company, will find they have little company when doing so.
Oh, well, this referendum when portrayed as an actors referendum is nothing more than a sham. If SAG is to be successful in these negotiations, they need to show it for what it is.
If the Ol’ Dog had the bucks to do it, I would start by putting ads in the trades highlighting Nick Counters statement that the referendum was “a vote of confidence by actors” followed AFTRA’s flyer soliciting broadcasters to vote in the referendum, “even if they had never worked the contract.”
What’s the Ol’ adage, a picture is worth a thousand words.
*All formating is SW's.
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