”FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“October 2008
Dear SAG Members,
We worked long and hard through press releases and demonstrations of dissatisfaction with SAG leadership to achieve our latest contract agreement with the AMPTP and we hope you’ll be pleased.
For most actors that work in TV, half of your income is usually residuals. It’s also common knowledge that ALL production will be “internet production”. We’re happy to announce we have eliminated residuals by accepting a no-residual-for-made-for-New-Media deal.
As evidenced by the DVD deal “revisit” that has never happened, we are sure that residuals will NEVER RETURN. In one fell swoop we have destroyed all the gains for which that the actors before us fought so hard. To further illustrate this, please take out your 2007 tax returns and look at your gross income. Now cut that in half. Now imagine living on that.
The other item we’re quite pleased with is the fact that we’ve given the studios and networks permission to amass a huge pool of non-union talent. This has occurred because we have allowed non-union production for shows under $15,000 a minute.
We also gained a 3% cost-of-living increase in Old Media which may not matter in about a year as all those entertainment corporations are folding in on themselves and/or will be doing “made-for-new-media” exclusively and/or there will be an explosion of independent production distributed on the internet anyway.
We’ll give you details on the elimination of Force Majeure and Clip Consent at a later date. Basically you will sometimes be held without pay if you are under contract when something like an earthquake or a strike from another union shuts down production, but you don’t mind, do you?! Look at you! At least you’re working, right?!
Regarding no-consent-for-clip-usage, you’re more than OK if the corporation that owns the show you did 10 years ago let’s the fans cut footage of you together with monkeys cleaning their “private parts”, right? Man, what if it goes viral! Think of the exposure!!!
An additional point to make about the residual “deal” we got, the elimination of these payments will also eventually destroy the pension & health funds for all the union crew members for whom we were so anxious to “get back to work”. As you know money earmarked for residuals for union crew members is not paid directly TO the crew members, but instead actually funds their P&H. Isn’t that neat?!
We hope you’re excited as we are to get back to work and will be happy with your greatly-reduced income and your greatly-increased difficulty finding union jobs.
Sincerely, The SAG NY Board
P.S. Don’t forget us in the next election and rest assured that we are furiously working to find a way to merge with the broadcasters’ organization that has been undercutting your potential income for years. We know you’ll be pleased with that.
As always, if you have any questions, please contact the chair of the NY Board’s “Press Release Committee”.
I hope everyone saw this email from the Guild this weekend. (Text of the press release below after my email).
It has been said that the current leadership is ruled by ego and interested only in saber-rattling and bullying in order to get its way.
The resolution that came out of the S.A.G. National Board room this weekend was one that was voted up unanimously. Read the rest of this entry » »
SAG Actors,
Given that in labor history any significant gains almost always require a strike to achieve, is there something at stake in this SAG contract negotiation that you would walk out for: That you believe means the difference between being able to make a living as an actor being unable to?
** If not getting jurisdiction down to dollar zero (meaning that every AMPTP production no matter how low the budget would have to be done union) meant giving away a place for our signatory employers to do non-union work, would you strike for that? (Note: Many feel that this would be akin to making the same mistakes we made decades ago in cable in VHS/DVD Home video by allowing our employers to cultivate a non-union workspace.)
** If we don’t get any increase in DVD and break the strangle-hold that has existed for more than two decades when projections are that home video/DVD will remain at the present income levels well into if not through the next contract (many are projecting at least the next 6 years), meaning more than 10 billion dollars lost, would you strike over that?
** Are you a background actor? Would you be willing to strike if SAG got no more than the 1 covered actor increase that AFTRA got without even excluding stand-ins?
** If we don’t get adequate protection for actors who are then forced to give away consent for clips at the time they are hired when they are the most vulnerable and the studios continue to sell those clips (the returns are already in the hundreds of millions of dollars for companies like YouTube as our employers purchase channels and provide clips and content (see for yourself: GooTube)) would you be willing to strike over that?
** Would you strike if you made your living primarily in commercials and the studios were forcing you to endorse, for example, Coke on an episode of The Office and that endorsement FOR NO MONEY disqualified you from doing a commercial for any competing soft drink or years possibly as that clip was sold to MySpace and went viral? What if Product placement continues to become more popular and the series regulars do all the endorsing and commercial opportunities diminish even more significantly than they already have for your typical commercial actor?
** Do you do a lot of driving to jobs? Would you be willing to strike over an increase in the mileage reimbursement in this time of $4-$5/gallon gasoline when the federal rate is 58 cents and we have been making 30 cents for decades?
** Is there legitimately ANYTHING you would strike over? Let me know.
** Is there legitimately NOTHING you would strike over? Let me know.
Thank you for your responses. Your input is important to me and I will convey your thoughts to the negotiating committee.
In solidarity.
Anthony De Santis