Objecting To IMDB Publishing Actors’ Ages, Creating Probable Actor-Hiring Limitations: SAG And AFTRA Send Letter To IMDB
Los Angeles (Oct. 27, 2011) — An actor’s actual age is irrelevant to casting. What matters is the age range that an actor can portray. For the entire history of professional acting, this has been true but that reality has been upended by the development of IMDb as an industry standard used in casting offices across America. IMDb publishes the actual dates of birth of thousands of actors without their consent, most of them not celebrities but rank-and-file actors whose names are unknown to the general public. When their actual ages then become known to casting personnel, the 10+ year age range that many of them can portray suddenly shrinks and so do their opportunities to work. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild strongly believe that businesses like IMDb have a moral and legal obligation not to facilitate age discrimination in employment. Entertainment industry employers who would never directly ask a potential employee’s age routinely access that information through IMDb and its professional subscription site IMDbPro. IMDb has the power to remove the temptation for employers to engage in age discrimination by accessing this information.
We are disappointed that IMDb has rejected the efforts of AFTRA, Screen Actors Guild and other entertainment industry unions and workers to work together to reach a solution to this problem. It is time for IMDb to step up and take responsibility for the harm it has caused, and to take appropriate measures to protect entertainment industry workers, including actors, from losing jobs for the enhancement of IMDb’s financial statements.”
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SAG Establishes A Task Committee. Aah-kay. Then, ‘In January’?
[Again, Another Merger Announcement]
This message went out to the actor members of the Screen Actors Guild. The last message was from last January. Ken Howard talks about next January. I don’t know why this all feels like a snail’s pace, but I guess it’s some kind of protocol? Not that I don’t believe they mean they will get to it, I just wonder when they really will…They aren’t busy working on acting, not that busy…
Seems a lot of press releases about ‘planning to merge’. A lot of taking credit, and giving quotes, to the press about the ‘planning to merge’. They are grabbing lots of PR, individually and as actors; every time they make themselves more and more familiar to the public, and to the industry.
SAG NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY ESTABLISHES MERGER TASK FORCE; ADOPTS SUCCESSOR UNION MISSION STATEMENT
April 30, 2011, 6:20pm
Nice New Artwork
Guild Task Force to work directly with AFTRA counterparts to develop formal merger plan for approval by National Boards in January 2012.
Los Angeles, (April 30, 2011) – The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors today unanimously approved the creation of a Merger Task Force to work with their AFTRA counterparts in developing a formal plan to unite SAG and AFTRA members in one union.
The Board’s resolution instructed the newly-formed Merger Task Force “to meet with representatives of AFTRA as soon as practicable, but no later than June 2011, to initiate the development of a plan to create a successor union formed from the best elements of both SAG and AFTRA.” The full text of the resolution appears below.
Led by Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard, the Merger Task Force members were selected from among those who served on the Guild’s SAG-AFTRA Relations Task Force.
The National Board’s creation of the Merger Task Force elicited enthusiastic support from the Guild’s top officers.
SAG National President Ken Howard said, “The message from SAG and AFTRA members across the country has been clear – they want this done as soon as possible. If our boards approve the merger plan in January, our members will make the final decision through a referendum vote less than a year from now. I’m proud that we’ve taken a major step today, and I’m extremely grateful for the unanimous support of the SAG National Board. I also want to thank AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon, whose remarkable leadership has been essential in bringing us to this point.”
Screen Actors Guild National Secretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino said, “As treasurer, and as a member of both unions, I could not be more heartened. Not only will creation of one union increase our bargaining leverage, it will allow us to pool our resources to give members the protection they need by actively enforcing contracts and organizing new work.”
Screen Actors Guild 1st Vice President and Hollywood Division Chair Ned Vaughn said, “The entertainment industry is undergoing a transformation, and the only way for middle-class performers to remain strong is to have one union fighting for them with a unified strategy. I’m excited to be a part of making that happen.”
Screen Actors Guild 2nd Vice President and New York Division President Mike Hodge said, “The labor movement is under attack in this country. As performers, we have to fight back harder than ever before, and joining together in one union is the strongest way forward.”
Screen Actors Guild 3rd Vice President and Regional Branch Division Chair David Hartley-Margolin said, “Today’s action is a crucial step toward creating a new national union for media workers – one that will embody many of the tenets members across the country have been embracing for decades, both philosophically and in practice. We are finally seeing a light at the end of a long, long tunnel.”
In addition to establishing the Merger Task Force, the Board also adopted a draft mission statement for the successor union. The full text of the mission statement appears below.
The Merger Task Force was also authorized to engage advisors and create sub-workgroups in consultation with the SAG national executive director and other staff.
The recommendation and mission statement grew out of the work of the joint SAG and AFTRA Presidents’ Forum for One Union that has been meeting regularly since October. The Presidents’ Forum has held a series of member listening tour meetings across the country and, in early April, released a public statement reporting significant progress toward the goal of uniting SAG and AFTRA.
The statement also reported that Presidents’ Forum participants had unanimously approved both the draft mission statement and draft resolutions for consideration by the unions’ respective National Boards of Directors. At its meeting on May 14, 2011, the AFTRA National Board of Directors will take up a corresponding recommendation to establish a 13-member committee to work in concert with SAG’s Merger Task Force in developing a formal merger plan by January 2012.
Today was the first day of the SAG National Board of Directors regularly scheduled, two-day plenary at SAG headquarters in Los Angeles. The Board meeting will continue through Sunday.
Text of the National Board’s Merger Task Force Resolution
“The National Board hereby establishes a Merger Task Force to be comprised of thirteen members. The members shall be President Howard and twelve individuals as recommended by the President from among the members of the SAG/AFTRA Relations Task Force. The remaining members and alternates of the SAG/AFTRA Relations Task Force shall serve as alternates to the Merger Task Force, but will attend meetings only upon the request of an absent member of the task force or as designated by the chair if such a request is not timely made.
The Merger Task Force is hereby instructed to meet with representatives of AFTRA as soon as practicable, but no later than June 2011, to initiate the development of a plan to create a successor union formed from the best elements of both SAG and AFTRA. The Merger Task Force, in consultation with the National Executive Director and other staff, may engage any advisors and create any sub-workgroups it deems necessary to accomplish this goal. The Merger Task Force is further authorized to populate any sub-workgroups with members of the task force, alternates to the task force, other elected officials, or from the general membership of the union.
The Merger Task Force shall work with the AFTRA New Union Committee to prepare a merger agreement, constitution and dues policy in order to submit these documents to the Unions’ respective National Boards for approval in January 2012.
In furtherance of the above-mentioned actions, the Mission Statement attached hereto is adopted as the guiding document of this process.”
Approved unanimously
Text of The Successor Union Mission Statement
“The successor union (the successor union is used herein as a placeholder only) brings together two great American labor unions: Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Both were formed in the turmoil of the 1930s, with rich histories of fighting for and securing the strongest protections for media artists. Our members united to form the successor union in order to preserve those hard-won rights and to continue the struggle to extend and expand those protections into the 21st century and beyond.
We are actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, dj’s, news writers, news directors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals. Our work is seen and heard in theaters, on television and radio, sound recordings, the internet, games, mobile devices, home video: you see us and hear us on all media distribution platforms. We are the faces and the voices that entertain and inform America and the world.
The successor union is committed to organizing all work done under our jurisdictions; negotiating the best wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits; preserving and expanding members’ work opportunities; vigorously enforcing our contracts; and protecting members against unauthorized use of their work.
A proud member of the AFL-CIO, the successor union partners with our fellow unions in the U.S. and internationally to seek the strongest protections for media artists throughout the world. We work with governments at the international, federal, state, and local levels to expand protections for American media professionals both at home and abroad.
It is a core value of the successor union that our strength is in our diversity. We are committed to the broadest employment and involvement of our members, regardless of gender, race, age, religious beliefs, disability, nationality, and sexual orientation or identification. The successor union strives to educate and engage members so that they may be full participants in the workings of their union. We are proud to be a model of inclusion, democratic organization and governance.“
AFTRA Press Release About Furthering Efforts With SAG To Combine Unions
January 22, 2010
AFTRA National Board Approves Resolution to Facilitate Creation of One New Successor Union
LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK (Jan. 22, 2011) – The National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA, AFL-CIO) met today by videoconference plenary in Los Angeles and New York and overwhelmingly passed a resolution formally authorizing AFTRA leadership to continue working with Screen Actors Guild in the Presidents’ Forum for One Union and its “Listening Tour” between now and the Board’s next regular meeting on May 14. Today’s vote marks the first time the AFTRA National Board has officially acted on the Presidents’ Forum.
The resolution also instructs the AFTRA members of the Presidents’ Forum to continue the “Listening Tour” in the major AFTRA Locals – which include Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington/Baltimore – and in as many of the other Locals as possible between now and the next Board meeting. It also directs the Presidents’ Forum members and AFTRA’s National Strategy Cabinet – a committee of members representing professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists and tasked with making strategic recommendations to the President – to present their findings to the Board at its meeting on May 14 and make recommendations about next steps in the process, including whether or not to create a committee to engage in formal discussions with SAG to bring the unions’ memberships together into a new, successor union for the 21st century.
The full text of the resolution reads:
Resolution to Facilitate Creation of One New Successor Union
Whereas, the overwhelming majority of AFTRA’s past and present elected leadership and AFTRA’s general membership have long supported the concept of combining AFTRA and the Screen Actors Guild into a new successor union; and
Whereas, in both 1998 and in 2003, AFTRA’s Local and National elected leadership and AFTRA’s general membership successfully delivered a resounding “yes” vote in separate referenda on the question of combining AFTRA and SAG into a new successor union; and
Whereas, AFTRA’s current elected leadership is encouraged by the renewed interest expressed by SAG’s current leadership in bringing AFTRA and SAG together into a new successor union; and
Whereas, past attempts to bring AFTRA and SAG together, including those in 1998 and 2003, were predicated on 20th century viewpoints and the 20th century world of work of the unions’ memberships; and
Whereas, the work done during those past attempts, while laudable and appropriate for their times, is no longer relevant to 21st century technology, 21st century employment patterns and the media and entertainment industries of the 21st century; and
Whereas, the Presidents’ Forum for One Union, established informally in 2010, has begun a process of meeting with representative and diverse focus groups of members to hear directly about the issues, concerns, challenges, opportunities, points of view and working realities of 21st century members in order to understand and identify the vision, strategy and goals that a 21st century union should pursue; and
Whereas, this “Listening Tour” process is a visionary improvement over past processes, and acknowledges that defining the strategies and goals relevant to members in the 21st century is a mandatory first step before any concrete plans to build a structure for a new successor union are developed;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The National Board of AFTRA applauds and endorses the work of the Presidents’ Forum to engage in this “Listening Tour” process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Board of AFTRA authorizes and directs the AFTRA appointees of the Presidents Forum to continue this “Listening Tour” process with their counterparts from SAG, between now and the next scheduled meeting of the AFTRA National Board; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Board of AFTRA further directs that the continuation of this process must include a “Listening Tour” session in every Major Local of AFTRA, and as many of AFTRA’s Field Locals as scheduling practicalities permit, prior to the next meeting of the AFTRA National Board; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AFTRA appointees to the Presidents’ Forum are directed to report their findings and recommendations to the AFTRA Strategy Cabinet; with the further direction that the AFTRA Strategy Cabinet shall make a recommendation to the AFTRA National Board based on input from the AFTRA appointees to the Presidents’ Forum, at the Board’s next regular meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that at the next regular meeting of the AFTRA National Board, the findings and recommendations from the Presidents’ Forum and the AFTRA Strategy Cabinet shall include their conclusions and recommendations on whether, and in what form, the AFTRA National Board should establish a committee to engage in formal discussions with a corresponding authorized committee of SAG, if any, to bring AFTRA and SAG together as a new, successor union for the 21st century.
Actors Unions Pres’s Speak On This Contract:: Related Contracts Of Other Unions Coming Up
Note, from Dana:
I believe that the first quotes, the ones from SAG President Ken Howard, and AFTRA’s Reardon; are really snow jobs. I really want to just accept them, and be happy; I really do! But there is no good cause to, really and truly.
They appear to be giving great news, and the words even sound -so much- like good news, big advances, but they are actually not. Not at all. I may write about this soon. (I would if I thought anyone really gave a hoot. If you do care, send a comment or use the contact form above, and I will make an easy-reader explanation about how the facts have been “reframed” to appear as what you will read below. The facts themselves will change the whole perspective. The problem for me is not whether or not actors really want the detailed truth, because I understand how actors think and how much actors want to work. I also think there is only so much negative stuff an actor can take in, and the career is full of so much negative news, that some has to be left up to the experts. To those in charge.
THAT’S WHAT BUGS ME. That the people in charge, and on SAG’s side they are actors (!) really know that they are feeding the public, and all their actor members, a load of intentionally slanted partial truths to make it appear that progression was made for actors in this last deal. Not only is that not true, but they act as if they moved actors ahead, which they did not—and they take credit for advancing actors during these negotiations!
It’s freaky. And it’s effed up…(Frankly speaking, of course.)
There’s some other stuff happening too, if you haven’t been keeping up with the blog here, then you wouldn’t know about the
TV CASTING DIRECTORS DISPUTE, WORK STOPPAGE DURING PILOT SEASON
and there’s also an article that I posted on the blog, a few days ago, about SAG’s PR, so click on these capital lettered descriptions,to read.
The DGA is expected to approve its contract soon as well, but the WGA, with a May 1 expiration, has not yet set talks.
[re: SAG + AFTRA ratifying]
Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard said, “The success of the referendum is a huge boon for members in terms of pension and healthcare contributions.”AFTRA President Roberta Reardon also stressed the importance of the gain in P&H, remarking “This ratification is a win for union members and it is a critical victory for our health and retirement plans.”
Ballots were mailed to 137,437 members of AFTRA and SAG, of which 25.09 percent returned them, a fairly typical percentage.
The AMPTP issued a statement as well: “The ratification of the new contracts by SAG and AFTRA members is a vote of confidence in the agreements and in our mutual commitment to industry stability. “
Notably, the studio alliance also described the new agreements as “reflect[ing] the benefits of early negotiations.”
Intentionally or not, that highlights the industry’s unease surrounding the Writers Guild negotiations. That union’s contract expires May 1, but no talks have been scheduled yet.
That’s generating concern that the WGA may not schedule negotiations until March, and engage in a brinksmanship strategy in order to seek improvements in areas that SAG/AFTRA did not, such as certain new media and basic cable provisions. The WGA has identified both those areas as priorities, as well as pension and health improvements and workplace issues such as “a deteriorating pitching process.”
An ambitious “Pattern of Demands” – an outline of negotiating priorities – is currently out to WGA members for their approval. It’s due back by January 24.
Also in process is the DGA membership’s vote on their tentative contract. The return date for that ballot has not been announced, but is expected to be sometime this month. Approval is anticipated.
Best,
Dana
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♥
DIDN’T I SAY ‘”WHAT ABOUT RESIDUALS???”
The ballots are out to the actor guild members to vote on the new contracts, and the unions made such a big deal about how hunky-dory the deal went… as far agreement between SAG and AFTRA, on what all the actors should get…in other words, what terms should go into the latest actors agreement with the producers union.
It all seemed a lot too hunky-dory to me. Whenever any group, anywhere, seems most concerned to denote that everyone got along so well; I wonder what the group has to give up, in order to make everything so easy-going. If you prioritize peace and lack of conflict most of all, then you forsake stuff, to have it be so. (I mean, this is a union/guild situation, fighting for the obvious little guy.)
Here’s a significant peep that just occurred, from the side that deigns to disagree.
With significant cause.
And for those of you who are thinking that you don’t care, you just want to work as an actor and you’ll do it for free, you must know by now, after being at this blog after all this time…uh uh.
Think about yourself in the future, if you can. How you will feel about what you did or didn’t bother to vote on.
Think about that before you vote, all hunky-dory like.
And…Please share with your fellow actors. Thanks.
♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
EMPLOYEE AT SAG POSSIBLY EMBEZZLED $200,000 TO $250,000
Possible financial impropriety in SAG’s Residuals Estates and Trust Department has led to the discharge of two employees and an outside investigation that may result in a criminal referral.
In a statement today, SAG disclosed the involvement of one employee, a manager. Sources with knowledge of the matter tell The Hollywood Reporter that a second employee was also discharged, not for involvement in the possible crime but for failure to follow guild financial oversight procedures in the matter. The terminations took place in November.
The guild said it had “moved immediately to investigate and take appropriate action against the employee involved.” The source added that the employee had been placed initially on administrative leave, and subsequently terminated.
According to sources, the investigation is being conducted by forensic accountants…The probe is expected to be completed shortly.
The guild’s funds are protected by theft insurance according to SAG, and the statement emphasized that the coverage would provide “full reimbursement of such funds in the event of an actual loss.” The statement added that “members may rest assured that member funds are not at risk.”
The department involved, SAG’s Residuals Estates and Trust Department, is separate from the residuals processing department, and the money involved is part of the Unclaimed Residuals Fund. The estates and trust group deals with such matters as returned checks, unlocatable residuals recipients, and situations involving disputes as to who is entitled to residuals (such as competing claims by a deceased actor’s beneficiaries).
Sources said that the guild would look at opportunities to strengthen its controls in the Estates and Trust Department. According to sources, the guild’s auditors had previously been satisfied with the results of reviews.
Senior guild executives reported the matter to the union’s national board of directors in October, according to the statement.
Information provided by The Hollywood Reporter
SAG AND AFTRA JOINT BOARD RECOMMENDS RATIFICATION OF CONTRACTS
JOINT NATIONAL BOARD OF AFTRA AND SCREEN ACTORS GUILD APPROVES TENTATIVE TELEVISION AND MOTION PICTURE CONTRACTS AND RECOMMENDS RATIFICATION
Los Angeles (December 4, 2010) – The Joint National Board of Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists today overwhelmingly approved the tentative agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on November 7 – a deal which it is now recommending to the respective union memberships.
Eligible AFTRA and SAG members will vote on the proposed successor agreements to the Producer-Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic Agreement for feature motion pictures, scripted network primetime television and pay television programs; Exhibit A of the AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting, covering scripted network primetime and pay television programs; and the CW Supplement which applies to both unions.
The Board passed the motion to approve and send to the memberships a recommendation of a “yes” vote by 89.29 percent to 10.71 percent.
Ratification ballots will be mailed to all eligible AFTRA and SAG members in the coming days with an expected return date in mid-January. Due to the holidays, the time period for reviewing and returning ballots will be extended to five weeks (rather than the traditional three-week time period) in order to afford every member the opportunity to carefully review the terms of the proposed agreements before voting. Tabulation will occur immediately upon the conclusion of balloting.
Additionally, informational meetings for members will be scheduled in select cities across the country including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Florida, Washington, D. C.-Baltimore, San Francisco and Atlanta.
The current contracts expire on June 30, 2011. The new three-year agreement would be effective from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014.
Highlights of the tentative agreement include:
• The term of the agreement is 3 years, commencing July 1, 2011
• A 6% wage increase over the term of the agreement, with 2% in each of the three years, effective July 1, 2011, 2012 and 2013
• A 10% increase in the current rate of employer contributions paid to the Screen Actors Guild Pension & Health Plans and AFTRA Health & Retirement Funds, bringing the total contribution rate to 16.5% effective July 1, 2011. This represents the largest percentage increase and dollar value increase to the plans under these contracts in more than two decades
• Two additional background positions in theatrical and one additional background position in television in the Western Zones
• An expansion of major role provisions to apply to new pay television series commencing in their second season
• Expanded union coverage over made for new media productions
• Increases in the area of money and schedule breaks
• Improved contract language to increase equal employment opportunities for union performers
Additionally, the unions agreed to modifications to the travel provision that allow for business class (or first class when business class is unavailable) on all domestic flights of 1,000 miles or more and on all international flights, except for Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. Coach class travel is permitted on flights of less than 1,000 miles between a U.S. city and Vancouver, Canada or Toronto, Canada and flights between Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada. First class travel shall continue to be required if business class is not available and coach is not permissible.
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Screen Actors Guild National President Ken Howard said, “Our most important goal in this negotiation was to protect our members’ ability to have access to strong, reliable pension and health benefits. This contract achieves that by securing the largest increase in decades to our employer P&H/H&R contributions, and I’m extremely pleased that the joint boards of SAG and AFTRA have recommended it to our members for ratification. I’m also grateful to our joint negotiating committee, who worked so closely together to deliver this solid contract.”AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said, “AFTRA and SAG successfully achieved our primary objective of securing a significant increase in employer contributions to the H&R and P&H funds, as well as a breakthrough on the addition of Major Role minimum provisions to series made for pay television for the second season onward, among other improvements to the contracts. I commend the joint negotiating committee for their solidarity and hard work, and I am very pleased that the joint board recommends it for ratification by the members.”
Formal negotiations between the 26-member Joint Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA Negotiating Committee and the AMPTP began on Monday, September 27, in Los Angeles. Talks were preceded by wages and working conditions meetings held this past summer.
Screen Actors Guild Reaches Tentative Agreements for TV Animation, Cable Animation, Cable Live Action
“Successor Contracts to the Basic Cable Live Action, Basic Cable Animation and TV Animation Contracts”
From SAG Press Release November 11, 2010
Screen Actors Guild today announced that tentative agreements were reached on Wednesday, November 10, on new, three-year contracts covering basic cable live action, basic cable animation and television animation productions.
The current contracts expire on June 30, 2011, and the new three-year agreement will be effective from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014.
The provisions of the new agreements are similar to those achieved Nov. 7, on successor agreements to the Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic Agreement for theatrical motion picture and television production.
Highlights of the new, tentative agreements include:
• The term of each agreement is three years, commencing July 1, 2011
• Wage increases of 6% over the terms of the agreements with 2% in each of the three years, effective July 1, 2011, 2012 and 2013
• A 10% increase in the current rate of employer contributions paid to the Screen Actors Guild Pension & Health Plans bringing the total contribution rate to 16.5% effective July 1, 2011
Details of the new agreements will be submitted for approval to the National Board of Screen Actors Guild.
Formal negotiations on these contracts began on Monday, Nov. 8 at AMPTP headquarters in Los Angeles.
SAG + AFTRA Reach Tentative Agreement With Producers…
I say, okay, nice to reach an easy agreement, BUT…Where’s the mention of NEW MEDIA? Residuals…? (*Stage direction: Actor clears throat.*)
SAG’s Press Release:
LOS ANGELES (Nov. 7, 2010)—Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA, AFL-CIO) have reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on successor agreements to the Producers-Screen Actors Guild Codified Basic Agreement for feature motion pictures, scripted network primetime television and pay television programs, Exhibit A of the AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Network Television Broadcasting (covering scripted network primetime and pay television programs), and The CW Supplement.
The new three-year agreement is subject to approval by the Joint National Board of Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA, and ratification by the unions’ memberships. The current contracts expire on
June 30, 2011, and the new three-year agreement will be effective from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014.
Highlights of the new tentative agreement include:
· The term of the agreement is 3 years commencing July 1, 2011
· A 6% wage increase over the term of the agreement with 2% in each of the three years, effective July 1, 2011, 2012 and 2013
· A 10% increase in the current rate of employer contributions paid to the Screen Actors Guild Pension & Health Plans and AFTRA Health & Retirement Funds, bringing the total contribution rate to 16.5% effective July 1, 2011. This represents the largest dollar value increase to the plans, under these contracts, since the plans were founded and is the largest percentage increase to the plans in more than two decades
· Two additional background positions in theatrical and one additional background position in television in the Western Zones
· An expansion of major role provisions to apply to new pay television series commencing in their second season
· Expanded union coverage over made for new media productions
· Increases in the area of money and schedule breaks
· Improved contract language to increase equal employment opportunities for union performers.The unions also agreed to modifications in the travel provisions of the contracts.
Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard, said, “Strengthening the Pension and Health Plans was our top priority in these negotiations – making such a significant gain in that area was a vital achievement. Increased wages across the contract and the expansion of the major role premium into pay television will not only put more money in performers’ pockets, but will provide yet another boost to our P&H funds. I’m grateful to have worked closely with AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon and want to give special thanks to SAG Chief Negotiator David White and his bargaining team. All the staff and members of this joint committee, from both unions, deserve praise for their focus and dedication. We had to make some difficult decisions, but working together, we’ve reached a deal that will protect our essential pension and health benefits for years to come.”
AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon said, “I am extremely pleased we met our goal of increasing contributions to our retirement and pension plans, and that we successfully completed this negotiation now to protect the needs of performers early in the process. I applaud AFTRA Chief Negotiator Kim Roberts Hedgpeth, and I thank Screen Actors Guild Co-Chair President Howard for his strong and supportive leadership. Our joint negotiating committee worked together seamlessly and in solidarity, and I am very proud of their work.”
Details of the new agreement will be submitted for approval to the Joint National Board of Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA. Upon approval, the pact will be sent out for joint ratification by the unions’ memberships.
Representatives of the following organizations attended one or more of the negotiating sessions as observers: Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Brotherhood of Teamsters,(IBT), American Federation of Musicians (AFM), and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
Formal negotiations between the 26-member Joint Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA Negotiating Committee and the AMPTP began on Monday, Sept. 27, in Los Angeles. Talks were preceded by months of joint wages and working conditions meetings held this past summer.
Okay, then. Some very small steps ahead. Some very important stuff not mentioned. And some very filler-blah-blah-blah….
Please share… and please do care. In this union stuff is your acting future, your pay…and that future does come. Sooner than you may realize…
Amy Brenneman’s Leaving SAG Post: A Preplanned Chess Move?
From October 19, 2010 The Wrap by David Frankel
“Private Practice” Star Amy Brenneman quit her seat on the Screen Actors Guild’s national board on Monday to clear the way for Ned Vaughn, a SAG official told TheWrap.
Brenneman stepped down with one year remaining on her three-year term without explanation. Fellow Unite For Strength coalition member Vaughn was elected Monday as SAG’s first VP and Hollywood Division Board chief, replacing longtime incumbent Anne-Marie Johnson, a leader of the rival Membership First party.
SAG Election Results :: United For Strength Gains Control Thos Time
From SAG PR
Los Angeles (Oct. 18, 2010) – The Screen Actors Guild Hollywood Division Board of Directors and New York Division Board of Directors today elected the union’s 1st vice president and 2nd vice president.
The Hollywood Division Board elected Ned Vaughn to the position of 1st vice president of Screen Actors Guild. The 1st vice president also serves as chair of the Hollywood Division Board. The New York Division Board re-elected Division President Mike Hodge to the position of Screen Actors Guild 2nd vice president.
1st Vice President Ned Vaughn said, “I am honored to serve Screen Actors Guild as 1st vice president and privileged to represent the members here in Hollywood. Our recent board election made it clear: Hollywood members overwhelmingly want performers in one union, not divided in two. I’ll work hard to advance that goal and to make progress in every aspect of protecting our members.”
New York Division President and 2nd Vice President Mike Hodge said, “It is an incredible honor to serve New York Division members of Screen Actors Guild. I look forward to another year of productive service and to real progress on important initiatives like uniting all actors in one union.”
Vaughn is serving his first term on the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors and his second term as a member of the Hollywood Division Board of Directors. Vaughn is a career actor whose list of credits includes roles in major motion pictures including Apollo 13, The Hunt for Red October, Courage Under Fire and Frost/Nixon as well as guest star and recurring roles in hit television series such as 24, Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, The Mentalist, and the upcoming Harry’s Law among others.
Hodge is serving his first term as New York Division President and has been on the Screen Actors Guild Board of Directors for ten years. As a national director, he served as New York Division secretary and vice president. As a member of the New York Division Legislative Committee, he testified before the New York City Council in the successful effort to get city tax incentives and furthered lobbying efforts at the New York State Legislature. He has also been a part of the Guild Governance, Communications and Negotiations committees. Hodge’s acting has included guest-starring roles in television with recurring work on Law and Order and Fringe, as well as film, commercial and stage work, including four Broadway shows.
Beloved Actress Gloria Stuart From Titanic, Was A Founding Member Of SAG
September 27, 2010
Most of us are familiar with the acting of Gloria Stuart, because she played the ‘older Rose’ in Titanic. The entire story is narrated by Rose; through her character’s flashback, the story of the movie unfolds.
Actress Gloria Stuart, SAG Member #28
You may not know that when she was a young actor, Gloria Stuart had a significant, professional acting career, in Hollywood films. [Click here for Hollywood Actor Prep Remembering Actor And Activist, Gloria Stuart.]
“At the time, she wrote in her autobiography, “Actors worked unconscionable hours — especially females, because every morning our needs included a great deal of time in hairdressing and makeup. Meals were served at the convenience of the production staff. There was no allotment for travel time, no standard hours between work calls, no pay for overtime or double overtime — what we call golden time. And if an actor under contract refused a role the studio had chosen, he/she was suspended without pay — and the time was added on to the contract!”
“All of us were just exhausted by the long hours, and Melvyn Douglas leaned over to me in this theatrical way,” she recalled in a 1998 Los Angeles Times interview. “He whispered the word ‘union’ in my ear. And I thought, ‘Yes!’ “
Despite stiff studio resistance, the Screen Actors Guild was founded in 1933.
Discovering that she “took to politics like a duck to water,” Stuart helped form the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936, the same year she and writer Dorothy Parker helped organize the League to Support the Spanish War Orphans. She also became a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee and was on the executive board of the California State Democratic Committee.
SAG 2010 National Election Results
Los Angeles (September 23, 2010)—Screen Actors Guild today announced elections results for the Guild’s National Board of Directors. Twenty-seven (27) of the 69 National Board seats were open for election this year, representing Screen Actors Guild’s Hollywood, New York and Regional Branch Divisions. The newly elected National Board members will assume office on September 25. SAG’s Hollywood Division elected thirteen new National Board members; the New York Division elected five members; and nine National Board members were elected from the union’s Branches in Arizona, Chicago, Florida, Georgia, Houston, New Mexico, San Francisco, Seattle and Utah.
National Board members elected from the Hollywood Division (top 11 – three-year terms, next 2 – one-year terms): Ron Perlman, Jason George, Gabrielle Carteris, Jeff Garlin, Clyde Kusatsu, Marisol Nichols, Marcia Strassman, Jenny O’Hara, Dawnn Lewis, Clark Gregg, Michael O’Keefe, L. Scott Caldwell, and D. W. Moffett.
The following were elected to serve as National Board alternates and to the Hollywood Division Board of Directors (all one-year terms). Sam Jaeger, Michael O’Neill, Bill Smitrovich, Ned Vaughn, Christine Lakin, Woody Schultz, Mimi Cozzens, Tara Radcliffe, Patrick Fabian, Donal Logue, Stacey Travis, Esai Morales, Ellen Crawford, Assaf Cohen, Mandy Steckelberg, Conrad E. Palmisano, Michelle Allsopp, Jon Huertas, Valerie Harper, Gilles Marini, Sarayu Rao, and Bertila Damas.
National Board members elected from the New York Division (all three-year terms): Nancy Giles, Richard Masur, Maureen Donnelly, Sue-Anne Morrow, and Mike Hodge.
The following were elected to serve as National Board alternates and to the New York Division Board of Directors (all one-year terms). Manny Alfaro, Justin Barrett, Marc Baron, Jay Potter, Kevin Scullin, John Rothman, Joe Narciso, Dave Bachman, and Andrew Dolan.
National Board members elected from the Regional Branch Division: Steven A. Fried (Arizona – three-year term), Todd Hissong (Chicago – three-year term), Nancy Duerr (Florida – three-year term), Debra Nelson (Georgia – three-year term), Robert Nelson (Houston – one-year term), Roy Costley (New Mexico – three-year term), Tom Chantler (San Francisco – three-year term), Abby Dylan (Seattle – three-year term) and Anne Sward (Utah – three-year term).
Ballots for all eligible SAG members in Hollywood and New York were mailed on August 24 with a September 23 return deadline and were tabulated today by the independent election company Integrity Voting Systems. A total of 12,211 ballots were tabulated in the Hollywood Division (representing 22.39% percent of ballots mailed in the Hollywood Division) and 4,445 ballots were tabulated in the New York Division (representing 19.66 percent of ballots mailed in the New York Division). The number of ballots returned in the Regional Branch elections varied by region.
SAG HEALTH CARE ELIGIBILITY :: EARNING BAR RAISED AGAIN
SAG Actors now need to make approx $30,000 in a calendar year to be eligible for Tier I Health Care.
And according to the mailing I received today:
- A yearly 3% increase in eligibility earnings should be expected
- Mental Health is no longer on the plan
- Nor is—>>> ADDICTION TREATMENT!
I guess that loss of Dr. Drew’s might just change a lot of things for a lot of actors. Ya think it will affect Celeb Rehab? Was SAG paying for those actors there, I wonder?
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SAG VP Anne-Marie Sends Dire Situation Letter On AFTRA:
[Posted at Hollywood Actor Prep on March 8, 2010]
Dear Hollywood Division Members:I wish I had positive and encouraging news to share with Hollywood SAG members, but I don’t. Seventy-nine pilots. Seventy-nine scripted dramatic programming pilots.
Seventy-nine work opportunities for which our members
could possibly work, earning pension credits and qualifying for the ever elusive health coverage.Unfortunately Screen Actors Guild has missed out on
all of those opportunities. Take a look at Variety’s article of February 9, “AFTRA the Deal of Choice,” written by Dave McNary. (Article posted below.)“Deal” being the operative word. Although according to our SAG jurisdiction mandated by our 4A’s charter and confirmed by the NLRB ruling, SAG has jurisdiction over ALL SHOWS except those DONE IN THE MANNER OF A LIVE BROADCAST!“ Despite this irrefutable fact, AFTRA with the help of the big agents (who bought them off with a HALF-A-MILLION DOLLARS)to let them sell out actors–and, then give these big agencies a deal. It’s a deal that let’s a select few super power agents, not only represent actors, but act as their employers.) It’s the kind of subservient leadership that encourages producers to unlawfully take their shows to AFTRA in an effort to weaken, if not destroy, he once great Screen Actors Guild.
Very sobering. And to add more insult to the injury, filming permits in L.A. have declined, significantly, once again. Work is everywhere but HERE. Productions are quickly gravitating to states that offer producer-friendly
discounts, with a growing and experienced work force. And more importantly, these productions are gravitating away from SAG coverage. Some consider these huge discounts/incentives a race to the bottom. Some also opine that the shift in union coverage could be the end of SAG in the area of primetime television. Whatever your opinion regarding the whys or the what fors, television work is leaving SAG at a dizzying pace.And will continue to do so, unless actors wake up, and demand that their SAG leadership enforces our jurisdiction instead of idly standing by as our union is destroyed.
My hope is that we, as a collective, find our way back on course, and fast. If this trend continues, thousands of SAG members will no longer earn enough for SAG health coverage or pension credit points, which will trickle down, negatively impacting our Pension and Health Plans. And as far as California’s tax incentives go, it’s a beginning (albeitlate to the party), but they don’t go far enough. Why weren’t commercial productions included?
Look, this is more than a trend. It is a scheme hatched between AFTRA and agents during the union/agents hassle to weaken the Screen Actor’s guild. And it was done in order to empower top agencies to control actors and the industry. And in the process, they allowed AFTRA, the broadcaster based union,and their staff leadership, to survive and take over shows that should be under SAG’s jurisdiction. This excerpt from a January 26 Message from then President John Connolly:
“It’s an acknowledgement of AFTRA’s readiness and resolve to organize the digital markets of the 21st century – proof positive that AFTRA is the future in media.”
It’s an acknowledgement of AFTRA’s readiness and resolve to organize the digital markets of the 21st century – proof positive that AFTRA is the future in media.
I can’t express strongly enough how dire this is. And I know I’m not talking in a vacuum. Not a day goes by that Idon’t have these conversations with fellow actors at auditions, on sets, on the streets and in the board room. Those who I’ve spoken to believe SAG needs to do more
to offer all of its Hollywood members a forum to hold a healthy dialogue regarding these key career/union issues. I agree. And as your 1st vice president, I’ll do my best to make that happen.Sincerely,
Anne-Marie Johnson
“By DAVE MCNARY [Variety]
AFTRA has clearly become the deal of choice this pilot season, as producers shun SAG — which once dominated primetime.
With the season starting to wind down and move toward casting, a total of 62 pilots shot on digital have signed with the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists thus far, according to the union’s internal tracking.
Conversely, insiders believe that only few pilots have inked deals with the Screen Actors Guild — even though minimum terms of primetime deals in the SAG and AFTRA master contracts don’t vary significantly.”
SAG ACTORS GET SCREENERS IN TIME TO VOTE FOR SAG AWARDS
These movies are being sent to all SAG actor members, in good standing:
AN EDUCATION
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
JULIE & JULIA
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR
Vote NO :: AFTRA Interactive Voice Contract
Letter from Steven Barr, Voiceover Actor
Two other letters regarding this can be found at this link at Hollywood Actor Prep.
Voice-over actors who attended the SAG and AFTRA Interactive caucuses were appalled to learn that BOTH unions had negotiated contracts and come to a final deal without the participation of Interactive actors.
Actors at the SAG caucus took their destiny back into their own hands and voted down the Interactive contract.
So now this isn’t a matter of “two unions being played off one another.” On the contrary – there is only ONE union in play here, and that union is AFTRA.
AND AFTRA IS YOU.
Forget what paid and elected AFTRA officials are telling you to do. This is up to YOU. It’s your future and your livelihood.
Thanks to the activism of your fellow working actors, BOTH unions have been forced to give you the vote on this contract (as you probably know, BOTH unions tried very hard to PREVENT that from happening.) BOTH unions have been forced to listen to their working membership, and BOTH unions have the opportunity – and maybe it will be the last as far as Interactive is concerned – to jointly negotiate a fair deal.
You can keep this historic movement alive by voting NO.
Union officials have already acknowledged that the limitations and the definitions of ‘atmospheric voices’ will be VERY DIFFICULT to enforce and that there are a lot of gray areas that need to be “worked out in practice.” That’s right. They’re saying “just vote yes and we’ll figure it all out later.”
There are enormous consequences if you vote YES. If you vote YES you will be doing more than simply ratifying a deeply-flawed contract – THIS is what you will be saying to our employers:
- AFTRA is ultimately going to say YES no matter how many times its membership says NO.
- Not all voice-over actors are created equally: some are principals and some are merely atmospheric – (this concept has been fought off in every other contract)
- It’s okay for paid staff members and producers to negotiate a deal without the participation of actors
- AFTRA can only be counted on to modify the demands of producers but will not advocate the demands of actors
- AFTRA is not interested in turning down a bad contract, so it is pointless for SAG to negotiate a good one
- You are willing to work for half of what you are presently earning on some games
- It’s okay to rip apart the voices of professional voice actors as long as you do it for only four hours and pay them one scale payment
Remember – these are the same employers AFTRA will have to face in future negotiations. You can forget about residuals. If our employers see how easy it is to get this contract past our voting membersip, they will NEVER negotiate with you for residuals.
A NO votes sends the negotiators for BOTH unions back to the negotiating table. If you’ve been to the caucuses at SAG or AFTRA you know that we are now a united work force. Talk about giving our negotiators LEVERAGE!
Your talent and your skill has enormous value. You’re already being paid much less than you deserve on the Interactive contract. Don’t let your unions get away with selling you to the lowest bidder.
Yes, David White Is No Longer Temporary At SAG
He is now: Permanent.
With no vetting. Uh oh.
Oct. 2009
Yes, Seymour Cassell Was Ousted From SAG Board
I do hope he will be back, with better behavior. He’s an unrelenting, and non-political, truth teller who can make blunt sense out of nonsense. Actors need him on the SAG board.
Cassell is no moderate voice. He passionately cares about actors. He will never let actors get ‘sold down the river’, and demands respect for acting. No nicey-nicey for Seymour. Every Board and any board, anywhere, needs a Seymour Cassell. Especially, SAG’s board and SAG actors.
Oct. 2009
Anne-Marie Johnson-SAG Veep, Once Again
[The Wrap:]
Two weeks after losing out to Ken Howard for the Screen Actors Guild’s national presidency, Anne-Marie Johnson has been re-elected by acclimation as first
vice president of the guild’s Hollywood division.
Johnson has served three prior terms in the post.
“For the union’s sake, I hope we find that we have more in common with regard to the future of the Screen Actors Guild than it may appear.”
• • • • • • • • • •
Ken Howard Wins SAG Presidency 2009
Directly From Screen Actors Guild Press Release:
Los Angeles (September 24, 2009)—Screen Actors Guild today announced results of elections for its top two elected positions. Ken Howard will serve as Screen Actors Guild president and Amy Aquino will serve as secretary-treasurer. Both will serve two-year terms beginning September 25.
Ballots were mailed to 99,485 paid-up SAG members on August 25, and 27,295 were tabulated today, for a return of 27.44 percent. Presidential candidates Ken Howard received 12,895 votes, with Anne-Marie Johnson coming in second with 8,906 votes, Seymour Cassel got 4,838 votes, and Asmar Muhammad received 402 votes.
“I’d like to be among the first to extend my heartfelt congratulations to our newly elected Screen Actors Guild national leadership. I look forward to working closely with our new president, Ken Howard, and new secretary-treasurer, Amy Aquino, as we focus on the wide range of critical issues facing our members in the coming year,” said SAG Interim National Executive Director David White. “I also extend my thanks, and the gratitude of SAG members and staff to Alan Rosenberg and Connie Stevens for their service and sacrifice on behalf of our union.”
“I am deeply honored to be chosen by the membership to lead the Screen Actors Guild,” said Ken Howard. “I campaigned on the promise that I’d do everything in my power to strengthen our position at the bargaining table by building a greater unity with AFTRA and the other entertainment unions, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Despite the sharp differences that those of us active in Guild affairs sometimes have over strategy and tactics, we need to continually remind ourselves that we’re all on the same team, fighting for the same thing — and by pulling together, we’ll only grow stronger.”
“I am truly honored that the members have entrusted me with this responsibility,” said Amy Aquino. “Progress has already been made toward strengthening SAG’s finances and I want to make sure it continues. Only by fortifying SAG in this way can we hope to ensure the protections that performers need in these challenging times.”
More on the 2009 Election Returns
can be found at the SAG website: http://www.sag.org
SAG News To Report; Some Important MPTF News Also
This page runs in reverse order, latest dates are at the top.
• • • • • • • • • • • •
The Two Candidates For SAG President ::: Statements
:::::Anne-Marie Johnson:::::
“It is indeed a great honor to be asked to run for president of the Screen Actors Guild. I’ve been serving this union as a national board member for 12 years and its 1st vp for three. I’ve dedicated thousands of hours working hard to improve the wages and working conditions for all SAG members and to ensure that our members needs are met. The Screen Actors Guild is a wonderful talent union and I’ve been proud to be a member for over 2 decades. The next few years will be extremely challenging. Tough decision will have to be made. My ultimate goal is to help lead this union in the right direction to ensure that the Screen Actors Guild remains the premiere talent union for all actors and that the well being of our current and future members are always considered first.”
:::::Ken Howard:::::
“This election offers members a stark choice between two leadership approaches – attempt to go it alone or unite for strength. From 2005 through 2008, SAG experienced the divisive, go-it-alone approach of Membership First. They went to war with AFTRA, sought to marginalize New York and the branches, and repeatedly alienated other entertainment unions. Under Membership First’s leadership, SAG failed to successfully negotiate a single contract in 2008, which cost our members tens of millions of dollars. To make matters worse, it caused producers to take most new television production to AFTRA, resulting in still more lost work and benefits for SAG members. With increasing consolidation of media companies and new technologies transforming our business, we will pay dearly if we’re not smart and strategic about our future. I’m running for president as a Unite for Strength candidate because I believe the only way actors will get our fair share of the pie is if we’re united both internally and with our labor partners. If SAG members elect me and my fellow Unite for Strength candidates, we’ll make a clean break with the divisive leadership approach of Membership First and focus on building maximum unity with AFTRA and other entertainment guilds to give us real power when we sit down to negotiate contracts.”
July 26, 2009
The SAG Latest Is That Alan Rosenberg will not be seeking reelection for President. Instead, Anne-Marie Johnson, who has been the SAG Vice President, will be running for President, for the Membership First faction.
How do I feel about that? Uh… Great? Yes.
Once again, I feel Alan Rosenberg has acted wisely, with the best interests of the membership as priority. Unselfishly.
No matter what, if Alan Rosenberg ran again, he’d have that tail of cans-and-string symbolically clanking behind whatever he did. He’s been branded by the press and some of the membership, and has been blamed for an all around bad situation, and even possibly for an impossible-to-endure profession.
Anne-Marie Johnson is going to be harder to throw mud at. Mark my words. Take that to the bank.
You’ll see what I mean, once you are more familiar with her. (If you aren’t already.)
She is a solidly strong candidate; bright, experienced, dignified, level-headed, and an actor, all the way.
It is going to help everyone to have all new candidates… even Unite For Strength. With all the drama over the contracts, and that ratification war cleared; we’ll now be able to hear some issues. I hope. Deeply and sincerely.
It sure would be nice to see some coverage of the issues, and a valid coverage of the candidates and their stances, in the press. But that would mean that some journalists have to do homework, and they didnt do it during the recent Contracts Ratification battle period.
I did see some changes. DaveMcNary of Variety has really stepped up coverage. I saw that start soon after the executive changes took place at Variety. He seems more fair in his reportage, as well as increasing the coverage. And, personally (I am smiling here), I kept writing all the journalists when I thought they showed bias: repeatedly referring to Alan R. and Membership First as “radical”, while labelling “Unite For Strength” as “moderate”.
I would write comments, repeatedly, that questioned the terms they used on the rerun-residual topic, and New Media: “What is so moderate about not getting paid? About working for free? Why do you call that ‘moderate’, and you term those who are unwilling to give up gains made in the past ‘radical’?”
I think they heard me. Or maybe they just became aware. You can see a real change in tone, and balance, in Dave McNary’s coverage now.
Nikki Finke, at Deadline Hollywood Daily has always given the SAG stuff: full, strong coverage, and kept an actor-presence, overall, in her industry blog. Hers is far and above the only industry rag to do so.
If an alien culture discovered almost any other Industry Rag, they might not even realize that actors are a part of The Business… Certainly, not an important part of it, to any degree. Maybe now, that there have been some journalistic shifts in traditional individual papers, and in the journalistic paradigms; and also now that the actors aren’t fighting those that provide major advertising dollars to the media sources, we may start to see some clearer, more fair, and more frequent coverage.
I am starting a new page, on Hollywood Actor Prep, in case that will be true. We’ll have plenty of room then, to cover it all.
Okay, here’s some excerpts from today, July 26, 2009.
To view full article, click on the name of the journal, that is a link.
From Variety–
Variety link to full article//www.
…Announcing Anne Marie Johnson’s SAG Presidential Run:
Anne-Marie Johnson is the official presidential candidate for the Membership First ticket, hoping to regain control of the Screen Actors Guild national board, as Alan Rosenberg opts to step aside.
“Fairly or unfairly, I’m a bit tainted in terms of getting elected again,” Rosenberg told Daily Variety at a fund-raising event Sunday at the home of national board members Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor. “For me, this is all about our team winning.”
Rosenberg, who said conditionally last month that he was running for a third two-year term, said he is stepping aside because Johnson has a better shot at winning after he’s been so strongly identified with the numerous bruising battles within SAG for the past four years. He had stridently opposed ratification of SAG’s feature-primetime deal but was unpersuasive as a surprisingly high 78% of members endorsed the pact.
Johnson will face Ken Howard and possibly Seymour Cassel for the presidency. Howard is heading the Unite for Strength ticket as the self-styled moderates seek to increase their narrow board majority, first achieved last fall when he and four others were elected.
In a brief speech at the fundraiser, Johnson stressed that she’s more experienced than Howard at a time when SAG faces multiple challenges on such fronts as prepping for the next round of contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, mandated to go from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15 next year.
“There’s no time for learning on the job,” she said. “I’ve been a member of six SAG negotiating committees, and Ken has spent one year on the national board.”
Johnson also reminded supporters that Membership First needs to present a united front for the elections, which will conclude Sept. 24. “We don’t have time for petty differences,” she added.
