AFTRA’s divorce from SAG appears final as smaller union makes its move

By Brian Frederick

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 7/8/08 – - “Today’s vote reflects the ability of AFTRA members to recognize a solid contract when they see it,” said AFTRA president Roberta Reardon in a statement to members.

As anticipated (Hollywood Today 6/27) The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) ratified a new three-year primetime television agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) by a margin of 62.4%. The deal can be seen by some as AFTRA marking its independence from SAG, not to mention the $250 million wage increase offered by the AMPTP.

“Clearly this was not a typical ratification process, and it would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise,” Reardon reflected. She was referring to SAG’s hostility towards AFTRA during their independent negotiating process.

SAG — which controls more than 90 percent of actor business and major movies — was quick to point out that most union contracts generally pass with 90 percent of the vote. However, SAG failed to point out that half of AFTRA’s members also belong to SAG, assuring a considerable amount of AFTRA members would vote in solidarity with SAG’s leadership. Of AFTRA’s 78,000 members, 44,000 also belong to SAG. It could be interesting to see the breakdown of AFTRA votes but AFTRA is keeping that a secret for now. AFTRA states that giving out such information could place them at a disadvantage during the next contract talks in the three years. SAG vs. AFTRA, AFTRA vs. SAG, maybe that information will be leaked out in next three years.

Reardon along with the AFTRA board can rest for a day or two now that the votes are in. AFTRA’s 31 member negotiating committee unanimously “recommended” the contract for approval on May 28 the tentative agreement with the AMPTP. On June 7, the AFTRA National Board of Directors “overwhelmingly” approved the primetime television contract, which was officially ratified today. The contract is effective July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2011.

SAG leaders were hard pressed to get AFTRA’s members to vote down the tentative agreement partly because it (SAG) has failed on it’s own in acquiring a tentative agreement with the AMPTP.

Many might think that a joint effort by both unions could be beneficial when negotiating against the AMPTP but “SAG turned down a merger” with AFTRA, Ed Asner said last week in an interview on KPCC, Los Angeles. Since the “thanks but no thanks” offer for a merger, the two unions have accused each other of stealing members. In a surprise move that apparently caught SAG’s leaders off guard, AFTRA skipped the joint negotiating process they had shared with SAG for 30 years, went ahead with their own plans for independence, and signed a deal without SAG.

During the past month SAG held rallies, sent out emails, flyers, and wasted $150,000 of its guild member’s money, trying to get AFTRA’s 78,000 to vote down the agreement. Many SAG members might agree that its board could have spent that money and energy getting an agreement of its own instead of going after AFTRA.

Now that Goliath has been beaten down, it must decide how to proceed with the “final offer”, the AMPTP made. The deal is similar to AFTRA’s. Clearly, the SAG board was waiting to see what happened today. SAG’s leaders are expected to respond to the AMPTP on July 10.

AFTRA should feel good about itself for now but should focus not on gloating about its victory over SAG but work with SAG once they secure a deal of their own. Reardon made that suggestion in her written statement.

SAG is expected to reject the “final offer”, from the AMPTP – with conditions. Keep in mind that “final offers” are usually never final, especially in a slow economy. If the “final offer” from the AMPTP is similar to AFTRA’s and SAG is amiable to reviewing a contract similar to AFTRA’s, then it comes down to what variables either side is willing or unwilling to compromise on. As long as the agreement is in the same ballpark as the other guilds, DGA, WGA, and AFTRA, expect a tentative agreement soon. Of course, we are talking about SAG’s leadership.

SAG’s leaders on the other hand have much to learn. It failed to recognize the importance of AFTRA’s offer to merge and it showed little regard if any for AFTRA’s free and independent right to pursue a contract with the AMPTP. The behavior of SAG’s leaders to disrupt AFTRA’s right to represent its members during the past month has not only been unprecedented in the entertainment business but disgraceful.

Should SAG’s leaders give the AFTRA board and its members an apology for its behavior?

Hasn’t Hollywood been making movies in the past few years about bullies and what they do to society? Many can look up at the big bad corporate world, bullying the little guy but the little guy bullying the even littler guy and a union at that! You may wonder how a guild can blame corporate executives for being so “corporate” when it has done the exact same thing against a fellow union.

AFTRA members voted for a 10% increase in minimums over three years and improved health and retirement plans. The deal also creates a new residual structure for paid internet downloads.

Despite SAG’s hostility towards AFTRA, Reardon hinted “believe it or not” of a possible merger of performer’s unions, although she came short of specifically stating which union(s) she might be referring too.

“For the sake of our members, organized labor must be united, especially in a world of ever increasing corporate consolidation. Given this, AFTRA leadership is eager to focus on several important initiatives in the months to come. Building on the suggestion of our valued supporters, we will seek to organize a summit of top actors, performers and union leaders to engage in thoughtful constructive, discussion of how we can achieve unity among performers and ultimately, if feasible, a merger of the performer’s union,” Reardon said in a written statement.

The SAG-AFTRA divorce maybe final but getting married for a second time seems to be an option.