After reading this op-ed piece by Ed Asner in the LA Times, I felt that Mr. Asner had spoken for me.

Yes, the guild is for me. And I am for the guild. Because of the guild, I have received a pension, a healthy amount of residuals along with numerous other benefits. And most of those things were not of my doing, but because SAG members that came before me, stood up to employers to form this union, to get pension & health, and the life’s blood of actors, residuals.

And now, in an act of expediency, there are actors that are willing to sacrifice all of that to keep working, at any cost. Their credo is..

Anyway, here is Mr. Asner’s wonderful piece.

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From the Los Angeles Times
Opinion

Ed Asner on SAG’s choice

Former SAG president Ed Asner says actors in the union can’t take the deal that is being offered.

By Ed Asner

December 28, 2008

“If you stand together, you cannot lose. Actors cannot be beaten except by actors. The guild is for you, and you must be for the guild. Stand together.”

Eddie Cantor, president, Screen Actors Guild, at the guild’s first annual membership meeting, El Capitan Theater, Hollywood, May 13, 1934

The guild is for me, and I am for the guild.

One of the singular privileges of my life is having served as president of my union. No laurels ever bestowed upon me meant as much. I love my union, and it has taken good care of me throughout my acting career.

But I now fear for the future of the Screen Actors Guild and for the acting profession.

Over the years, I’ve been accused of being crusty, crotchety, curmudgeonly and stubborn. And those were the nicer adjectives. Today, I embrace such descriptions, speaking with both my brain and my
backbone.

Our guild has been trying for several months to get a realistic contract signed with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — an association representing the eight global conglomerates that control movies and television. Meanwhile, the question “Why not just take the deal?” is being uttered from all corners.

We can’t take this deal because it will destroy the ability of actors to earn a living. Not top-earning stars, of course, but the hardworking players whose faces you see in countless television shows and movies. I can’t in good conscience stand down and let that happen. Almost all informed actors, including some recent outspoken A-listers, agree that what’s being offered is inadequate for SAG members. But many of them still won’t vote to authorize a strike. Do they realize how their go along to get along attitude will affect their brothers and sisters?

What all of those with weak knees fail to acknowledge is that the business plan for new media is being written right now, and that what we agree to now will become the “template” that the industry will cling to going forward, with no obligation to make charitable revisions. Why does that matter so much? Because right now, you can go to your local Best Buy, purchase a big-screen TV with a direct Internet connection and download television online programming with the touch of a remote. It’s happening now.

Actors simply can’t afford to be cut out of the emerging revenue stream. The offer in new media is a lot of zeros, unfortunately not lined up in a row. It includes zero minimum compensation, zero overtime, zero residuals structure, zero forced call consideration — pretty much zero everything. This deal will take billions of dollars out of actors’ pockets in the same way our bad deal in home video and DVDs has cost actors $4.5 billion in lost compensation over the last 27 years, according to estimates compiled by the Writers Guild of America.

In addition, the offer on the table guts the contract of its force majeure provision, which has been a protection since the first contract was signed more than 70 years ago. The provision ensures actors get compensated fairly if a production shuts down because of an “act of God.” (And by “God” I don’t mean the wealthy CEOs who run the media conglomerates or their attorneys at the AMPTP.)

Now that you have the background, let me directly answer the question that is on everyone’s minds with eight solid reasons, one for every conglomerate we’re collectively disputing:

Why now? Because this really isn’t the renegotiation of an old contract but a business plan for an all-new one. Once the plan is organized and instituted, it will be almost impossible to radically change it.

Why now? Because the rollbacks to our contract are immediate. What working person would willingly give away protections they’ve always had? Or give up an income source,in this case,residuals,they’ve always relied on to make ends meet?

Why now? Because otherwise we neuter our ability to bargain not just this contract now and in the future, but other contracts as well. Strong shows of union solidarity are what we need desperately in these uncertain times.

Why now? Because the illogical optimism out there about SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists uniting and the economy being better in three years doesn’t hold. We have no guarantees of either, although I have high hopes that actors will find a new resolve as we face common threats.

Why now? Because we are tactically in a better position now than if we wait. The moguls will have a lot of explaining to do to their institutional investors if a strike occurs that they easily could have headed off.

Why now? Because if we accept this deal, we knowingly give up future income important to our survival, particularly in the form of residuals, which we’ll never get back as television and other media transition to new media.

Why now? Because the worst-case scenario now is not nearly as bad as the worst-case scenario for the future. Would you rather be out of work temporarily or squeezed out of the profession entirely because it no longer pays a living wage?

Why now? Because they want to sow doubt and fear. If we play into it, it will be the seminal moment that marked the dissolution of our union. We will look back with terrible regret for having stood by and done nothing.

When it comes to union negotiations,the only negotiating strategy that makes sense is to get the best deal for your members. Nobody at SAG has called for a strike, just an authorization to be used at our national board’s discretion. Nobody at SAG wants a strike.We just want a fair deal for actors and the same opportunity to negotiate as any other guild. We want a deal that doesn’t include rollbacks,addresses our specific needs and that allows us to share in the success of new media when that success inevitably arrives.

One of our former guild presidents recently wrote that it’s not the right time to strike. She may feel that taking that uncertainty for management off the table is an effective form of negotiating. There are a lot of us who are older and wiser, and who know better.

Fortune has smiled on me, and I have had a good run. The same opportunity may not be there for tomorrow’s actor.

I am for the guild, and the guild is for me. Let’s stand together.

(Ed Asner has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1955 and served as its president from 1981 to 1985.)

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I have never personally met Mr. Asner, although I saw him numerous times walking right along with other SAG members in the picket lines of the 2000 commercial strike. On, the other hand, I never once saw Melissa Gilbert, either on the picket line, or for that matter, supporting her union brothers and sisters in any way during the strike.

Now, this is not to say that Ms. Gilbert did not have her excuses for not showing up at one single union function during the entire 6 month strike.

In, fact she sent out the following email during her candidacy for SAG President in 2001.

I must admit when I first read it, I thought it was a cruel hoax being played out on her. But, no, it was the real thing. I realized then that this woman was so involved with herself that she actually thought the ‘humorous’ excuses she gave for deserting her union in its time of need were valid.

I invite you to read it, and then compare it to Mr. Asner’s heartfelt article, and decide for yourself who speaks for you as a loyal member of the greatest actors guild in the world; a man with the pro union convictions of Mr. Asner, or a woman with the obvious Me First, self-involvement of Ms. Gilbert.

Here is Ms. Gilbert’s email:

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By Melissa Gilbert

…As for my participation in the strike. I have said that those few months were very busy for me as I was working and dealing with family issues.

My name is on the contract campaign and although, I wanted to participate, I was unable to. The fact is that I was only asked to be at two events and my schedule wouldn’t allow my attendance.

I can say that whatever guilt feelings I had were calmed when I saw so many recognizable faces out there.

I am also proud and moved by the commitment from the branches. Without the tremendous national turnout things would have been a lot different. There are many new board members who did participate in strike activities. In fact, their activities during the strike were the first time that they got involved with the guild at all. That is not the case with me. I worked on the guild’s legislative endeavors extensively for years before the strike. That has been my response to the question of my participation up to this point.

Unfortunately it has not been enough for some people. So, I went through my 2000 date book. What follows is a general accounting of my life for those six months:

Early April – I was filming a pilot for Aaron Spelling

Mid April – I had bone graft surgery on my jaw
and was unable to go out in public for weeks.

Late April – I was in a lawsuit filed by the people who bought my old house.

Early May – I was in Houston celebrating my son’s birthday. He lives there with my ex-husband.

Mid May to late May – I was here celebrating my birthday, my husband’s birthday & flying in-laws in and out of town.

June – My kids were out of school and my nanny quit.

Late June- I was helping my newly divorced best friend care for her family after she had surgery.

July – I spent the month nursing my husband after he had knee surgery.

August – I began construction on my new home.

September-October – I was on location shooting a movie for CBS.

During all of this I was caring for a terminally ill dog.

I really don’t feel that what goes on in my life is anyone’s business. Unfortunately divulging this information seems to be the only way I can get my point across. My opponents are using that fact that

I did not participate in the strike as a campaign tool. They have said nothing about my platform or my views. It kind of makes me think that if this is all they can say about me, then maybe everything I am saying is right.

I thank you for your concern about our union. I thank you for your involvement. I want to leave you with one last thing. Whether I am president or not, I am on the board for two more years and I will continue to fight for what I and many people believe is best for our union and its members.

Thank you again,

Melissa Gilbert

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This gal is wasting her time as an actress, she should be writing the top ten ‘reasons’ bits for David Letterman.

In her op-ed piece Ms. Gilbert cries out “Now is not the time to strike!”

Hmmmmaybe she’s got another sick dog. You think?

A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief

*All Formatting is SW’s,

Happy New Year

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One only has to read the newspaper or the trades to realize Nick and the boys have their propaganda machine running at full speed.

Of course, the compliant media dependent on those rewarding movie ads and other goodies supplied by the studios and producers are more than willing to push their propaganda.

Case in point; Former SAG President Melissa Gilbert’s recent producer propaganda parroting piece in the Los Angeles Times.

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SAG shouldn’t strike

Melissa Gilbert, a former SAG president, says asking guild members to authorize a strike puts them and the economy at risk.

By Melissa Gilbert
December 17, 2008

The Screen Actors Guild, under the leadership of President Alan Rosenberg and its board of directors, has asked members to authorize a strike. This is a foolhardy move that endangers not only the union but our entire entertainment industry, the economy of the communities in which we work and our country as a whole.

Yep, nothing like a foolhardy move that let’s the membership have a voice in their futures to endanger their union. You, folks, you just don’t get it. Better we should let Melissa and her anti democratic gang of USAN New York Board members, and self-centered high profile members make that decision for us.

Now is not the time for a strike.

This, of course, is the eternal K-gel rallying cry of the “go-along-to-get-along’s.” They were crying it when SAG went on strike to get pension & health and residuals. Hell, they were crying “Now is not the time” when SAG was formed during the Great Depression.

I say this not just as one of the guild’s 120,000 members, or as one of the millions of Southern Californians who would be affected by a strike. I offer this perspective as a former SAG president who, between 2001 and 2005, oversaw five successful negotiated contracts.

Oh, and two unsuccessful referendums that cost the membership millions of dollars. As to those successful contracts, one of them included the lowest increase in minimums in SAG history, 2.5%.

I Even if it were advisable, SAG is in no financial position to bear the burden of a work stoppage at this time. The 2005 TV/theatrical negotiations, which took only a few months, cost the guild about $200,000. The cost of the current negotiations, which have dragged on since the spring, must be approaching $1 million. The guild reports that it has about $48 million in reserves, but nearly every penny is already allocated for operating costs. Where are the millions more needed to fund a strike, including the staff overtime and travel expenses that are inevitable?

Man, can this gal come up for reasons to cave into producers. As for her facts or bookkeeping, I wouldn’t take them too seriously! First of all, according to SAG, their reserves are not $48 million but rather $33 million dollars.

Now, if indeed, Melissa’s numbers are more current than those posted August 15th, 2008, then that certainly shoots down the poor economy excuse as it would mean SAG has added $15 million dollars to its reserves in the last four months. As to the fact that SAG might have deficit if we did strike; well, duh? We had a deficit in 2000 when we struck, but, guess what, the next year, 2001, we didn’t have. As for a strike eating up a significant or unmanageable amount SAG’s reserves, hardly; the total cost was just over two million dollars. The following are the deficits in that time period.

Just mailing out the ballots Jan. 2 will cost the guild $120,000. A PR campaign and more town hall meetings, like the one Wednesday night in Hollywood, will add to that tab.

This from the gal whose regime spent millions on failed referendums.

To be sure, most SAG members who have read the producers’ contract proposal are not happy with every point of the deal. And true, actors’ needs differ from those of our fellow artists. But it’s also safe to say that there is a deal to be made, just as there was for the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

“Deal” indicates compromise. There has been no compromise. In their own words, the AMPTP has admonished SAG for not taking the same offer as the other guilds took. Thank God, they didn’t also make a “deal” with the janitors union or we’d be cleaning up after shoots.

I am not swayed by arguments that, given the current economic conditions, now is a good time to strike. How can any SAG member vote to knowingly put so many people, in our industry and in myriad associated businesses, into further jeopardy during the largest financial crisis since the Depression?
The Great Depression; Oh, you mean when studios were making record profits, and when the Screen Actors Guild was formed?

Unemployment in California is expected to hover around 9% in 2009, and home values here still haven’t hit bottom. A strike would bring Los Angeles to a grinding halt, and the economic damage would ripple across the county and the state.

Oh, I get it we are to take one for the industry, while our employers are making record profits off our work. This from Box Office Mojo (12/29/08):

Now, here’s a thought that never crossed Little Ms. Melissa’s pretty little head How about multi-millionaire employers taking one the industry for change.

I On top of that, NBC — one of the largest buyers of scripted programming — announced last week that it will put Jay Leno in its 10 p.m. slot five nights a week. This represents a pink slip to numerous craftspeople who would have worked on the one hour dramas that traditionally have lived in that slot.

She’s got me there. My God, we are up against the Jay Leno factor! Speaking of Jay Leno, her litany of excuses is beginning to sound like a David Letterman ‘Top Ten Reason’ bit.

Each day brings another reason not to strike. And yet — strangely — SAG’s leaders keep insisting that a strike authorization is the only way to show the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) “that we mean business.” Really? Is that really what we think?

Hmmmhey, I know how to show them we mean business. Ah, by not getting a strike authorization. Yep, it’s a tried and true military tactic. Show the enemy you mean business by throwing down your arms.

On Monday, about 300 guild members in New York rallied in support of a strike, just as 400 did in Los Angeles last week.

Duh, Melissa, Dear, the rally in NY was against a strike, or even having a strike authorization! Poor goofy, Melissa, me hopes that she’s getting her bogus information from the worlds oldest publicist Al Shighmer, other wise the poor dear is in a lot of trouble.

But many thousands of members, here and across the country, were not cheering. In fact, I hear from many working guild members that not only will they vote against a strike authorization, they will not honor a strike if one is called.

Hmmm…you mean they’d have to choose between their union or their employer? Just a thought Melissa, if that’s all your hearing, maybe you should stop hanging around with your USAN and Restore Respect pals and keep in touch with the rest of our members. Hmmm, it seems when SAG had a poll ten thousand of those members, who bothered to return their postcards, voted 87 percent to 13 percent to reject the AMPTP’s final offer.

The words “financial core” — a way of declaring oneself covered by any union contract even as you give up voting rights and other membership obligations — are on more lips. To see this kind of rift in the guild is horrible. But it’s happening.

Hmmm.the old phrase “The smeller is the fellar” comes to mind. No doubt Melissa wouldn’t bring this up unless it is on her mind. Well, look. she has already been brought up on charges for doing non-union work.

A growing number of programs — on network, cable and the Web — work under AFTRA contracts. It was hardly the time for SAG to distance itself from that sister union. Yet, SAG leaders did just that last spring. They ended our joint-negotiating relationship with AFTRA, which then quickly struck its own deal with the AMPTP. With SAG leaders now saying they’ll “show the AMPTP” by calling a strike, whose contract do you think will get more use going forward on new productions?

Talk about revisionism! Duh! Melissa it was AFTRA that walked out of joint negotiations, the day before they were to begin. But, hey, she is on a roll; why let facts get in her way. Oh, and just for your information Ms. Gilbert, if SAG goes on strike against producers, they can’t avoid a work stoppage by going over to another union…well, yeah, maybe they could if you were still president, but, but you ain’t!

SAG’s national board must convene an emergency meeting to officially reconsider and retract the motion to send out strike authorization ballots.

You see, according to Her Highness, you over a hundred twenty thousand SAG members, why should you have the right to have a voice in what your union does, better you should let a group of producer/actors, air heads, and “go-along-to-get-alongs” make that decision for you.

It must remove the members of the contract negotiating committee who have been unable to make a deal, starting with chief negotiator Doug Allen. The guild would be in much better hands with SAG senior advisor John McGuire leading the charge. McGuire has been part of more negotiations than anyone on the staff, and just as important, he has a deep understanding of the U.S. labor movement and the broader context for these negotiations.

Duh, again. John McGurie was part of the negotiations. Hey, like I said let’s not muddy her agenda with facts.

At the very time our county has chosen a philosophic peacemaker over an impatient warrior, SAG is on the opposite course. Rosenberg lacks the qualities — thoughtfulness, probity and, frankly, strength — needed in a union leader at this difficult hour.

Yeah, let’s put our negotiations into the hands of a philosophic peacemaker who wants to go into a war with no weapons. (And, hey, General Pacifist, you obviously weren’t listening to our new president elect. He made it clear, he won’t rollover if our country is threatened. If I remember, the pacifist candidate didn’t do all that well. )

Now is not the time for a strike. And yet Rosenberg is leading our union to the edge of that cliff. Members need to reflect on the path he is recommending; is it one of negotiation, patience and discipline? A true desire for peace and for the greater good?

This poor thing hasn’t got a clue! Of course we all remember President Roosevelt’s words after Pear Harbor, “My fellow Amercians now is a time for negotiations, patience and discipline for the greater good.”

I’ve been a member of this guild for more than 30 years, and I have never seen it so torn. Truly, I hope the guild survives this challenging time. I can only think that we will, but we must each be willing to take a hard look at our leadership and, if made to chose, vote no on the strike authorization. We cannot do it. Not now. Not in these times. But if we avoid the disaster of an ill-timed strike, we can, and will, live to fight another day.

Thank God, this gal was not a commanding voice back in the Great Depression when our guild was formed, or we wouldn’t have a guild.

Melissa Gilbert was SAG president from 2001 to 2005.

Yikes, Eddy, did you have to remind us?

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A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief

I just learned that due to pressure, the LA Times allowed SAG’s former President Ed Asner an op-ed piece in the LA Times. I will post it as soon as I can.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief

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Eileen Henry, Former 2nd National Vice President, Screen Actors Guild, Former NY President, Screen Actors Guild Current Trustee, Screen Actors Guild Pension and Health Plan speaks out about NO campaigns.

Oh, ah, well, in case you didn’t know it, Ms. Henry is, not only, one of the leaders of the current Vote NO Campaign on the strike authorization, but, in fact, she is against having a strike authorization referendum! Yep, she don’t even want to let members have a voice in the matter.

Hmmm.can you spell hypocrite?

A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief

One thing I have found out about Ms. Henry and her USAN/AFTRA/AMPTP First group, they really have no moral compass which they follow, instead, they are guided by talking points that have nothing to do with morality, truth,or fact but, rather, are determined by expediency to further their particular agenda at the time.

A.L. Miller SW Editor & Chief