Actor Beware

Okay, my 2 cents on this whole SAG / AFTRA merger thing.
Let me start by saying that I have been disenfranchised with SAG since 2002 when we went on strike for a better commercial contract. What did we get for following, then President, Melissa Gilbert? Nothing... Actually we got less than nothing we got a weaker contract than the original and we got beat so badly that SAG lost a ton of respect.

No one has asked why didn't SAG strike for the new Theatrical contract after the Writer's strike. Oh, the SAG leaders will tell you that the Writer's strike put too many people out of work for too long and SAG couldn't do that to all those people... blah, blah, blah...
The real reason is that, A. The actors would have never supported a strike and B. The producers made it very clear, publicly, that there was "no way in hell" they would make the same kind of concessions for SAG as they did for the writers.

So much for the power of SAG.
I hate to be a negative, really. I always try to see the positive in everything... but let me quantify the level of dedication I have to my disgust of SAG. I haven't paid any dues to SAG since the 2002 disaster when subsequently, our dues went up... Needless to say I was more than a little suspicious of union management. I am hurt, deeply by the current state of what was once such an empowered and necessary union. Hell I was upset when they started the 3 voucher rule for extras. Of course that came from the absorption, (sorry, MERGER) of SEG... I could go on and on about the many disappointments I have concerning SAG but I wont. What I will do instead is post this email I received from a very dear friend of mine who is also a SAG member and is worried, as I am, for the future of our union. Personally, I think the days of needing a union to protect us as performers are long gone with the advent of State and Federal laws that protect work environments and as far as pay, any contract can be negotiated.

If you are a SAG and/or AFTRA member, PLEASE read this before casting your vote for a merger.

SAG / AFTRA MERGER

Here is some information I received you might consider helpful before voting on the new SAG/AFTRA Merger. No matter what side you fall on regarding this merger with AFTRA, you should know the honest facts before you vote. Below is the Minority Report that you will be getting in the mail with your ballot from SAG. This statement was vetted and approved by the SAG attorneys after several hours of hammering by David Casselman the plaintiff's (81 actors) attorney when he pressured the SAG leaders and attorneys to finally provide the truth about their merger plans. David B. Casselman Senior Partner Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Esensten, L.L.P. 5567 Reseda Blvd., Suite 330 Tarzana, CA 91356 Email: dcasselman@wccelaw.com Main: (818) 705-6800

SAG ACTORS...HAVE YOU STUDIED THE IMPACT OF THIS MERGER? IF NOT, HERE ARE CRITICAL FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW: PENSION & HEALTH SAG relies upon a “Feasibility Review.” While it concluded that a merger would be legal, no one ever doubted Mergers are legal. What about our benefits? SAG did not request any actuarial study regarding whether a merger would be financially safe. Why? They know, like the AFTRA Trustees, that “the merger of pension and health funds as large and divergent as the AFTRA and SAG plans raises complex and unique financial, legal and benefit issues which can only be addressed through a comprehensive analysis performed by the funds.” Despite the express statements in Appendix I to the SAG Constitution, and Board Resolutions, no study was conducted to assess the financial impact of a merger of Pension or Health Plans. Are your benefits safe? The SAG and AFTRA P&H&R Plans are extremely different. Consider merging these factors: • SAG pension accrual rate: 2% of earnings: AFTRA: less than 1% of earnings. • SAG early retirement penalty: 3% per year. AFTRA: DOUBLE: 6% per year. • SAG Plan 2 annual premium (family of four): $1,620: AFTRA Individual Plan annual premium (family of 4): $17,260 The merger plan does not even attempt to reconcile these and other differences. Experts addressing the financial impact issues are convinced SAG members will likely suffer diminished future benefits. Highly respected pension and health experts Brucker & Morra have concluded: “Until a full and formal ERISA Impact Report of how to address and quantify these problems is completed, no one, not even pension experts, can intelligently evaluate or quantify the probable negative impact on the members’ pension and health benefits. The union merger is so inextricably interconnected with the plan merger that members cannot be asked to evaluate and vote on the Union Merger until issues relating to the Plan Merger have been resolved and concrete proposals formulated so the members can make informed choices.” The issue has always been the impact on SAG member benefits, when merged with lower AFTRA benefits. If the merger of unions is approved, SAG members will never have any right to vote to protect their benefits by preventing merger of the Pension or Health Plans. If you vote to merge the unions, you are removing a major hurdle to later merger of those plans. Once the unions are merged, individual members will have no vote and no recourse regarding a merger of Pension and Health Plans. SPLIT EARNINGS The merger Plan does not even address, much less solve our split earnings issues. Rather, it will codify the problem. If merger is approved, the stated plan is to CONTINUE to split your earnings, just like during the last 12 months. If the proposed merger is approved, without signatures from 15% of the approximately 158,000 members, you will have no further right to vote on this issue either. NEW DUES STRUCTURE - If merger is approved, over 70,000 SAG-only members' base dues will increase from $116 to $198. BROADCASTERS - Preferential Treatment Broadcasters in the merged union can still work NON-UNION on basic cable networks (ESPN, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, FOX NEWS, etc.), with drastically discounted dues compared to actors. Broadcaster work dues from $0 to $100,000 will be the same as actors at 1.575%. Broadcaster work dues from $100,000 to $250,000 can be drastically discounted to .274% (and capped at $250,000) with maximum dues of $2,184. Actors, however, will pay 1.575% on ALL earnings up to $500,000, with maximum dues almost 400% higher: $8,073. BACKGROUND ACTORS - THREE VOUCHER SYSTEM The much maligned and poorly regulated Three Voucher entry requirement for SAG will continue. Merging unions does not guarantee more Background jobs. It can only result in more competition for the same covered jobs. BLOATED BUREAUCRACY There is no plan to streamline or eliminate duplicated services post merger. The new union will keep all 635 SAG and AFTRA employees. Nor is there a plan to equalize the existing SAG staff (3.5%) and SAG member (2%) pension accrual rates. CONVENTION Convention will be the highest governing body in the merged union - higher than the Board of Directors. Convention will have the authority to MERGE with more unions, set policy, control the Constitution, without giving the membership any direct vote on such matters. 8 out of 10 National officers will be CHOSEN at Convention; not by direct member vote. The ELECTED President will be able to delegate authority to the Executive VP, also chosen by the Convention, not directly by members. ELECTED LEADERS MAY RECEIVE PAY The SAG Constitution prohibits paying elected officers and board members. The new union Constitution opens the door for payments, currently not permitted. MAJORITY NO LONGER RULES Hollywood represents the majority of SAG members, and the majority of revenue. If merged, when Hollywood has a majority, it must secure an additional 5% from other Locals, regardless of its majority vote. Traditionally, seats on negotiating committees were based on Division/Local earnings. That would no longer be true. The President can simply choose members with National Board approval. Those earning the majority of revenue on specific contracts will no longer be guaranteed majority say on those negotiating committees. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION The unions have not exchanged actor contract details. We have no idea how-what-when-why AFTRA gives away residuals in made-for-basic cable shows or other concessions to management. AGENTS If merged, the Board, without a member vote, can alone decide whether agents can own or be owned by production entities. The SAG membership rejected the last agent agreement because of this potential conflict of interest. NEGOTIATING STRENGTH SAG and AFTRA have been negotiating jointly since 1981. How has that benefited SAG members? AFTRA has routinely undercut SAG interests. A merger of actors is all that is necessary. This merger merely handcuffs SAG. CONCLUSION The current merger plan solves almost nothing and adds too many inherent problems. Vote NO and demand that our union leaders conduct the necessary due diligence to create an agreement which will not harm actors. In Solidarity: Scott Bakula Joe d’Angerio Elliott Gould Valerie Harper Ed Harris Anne-Marie Johnson David Jolliffe Martin Sheen P.S. You may consider forwarding to everyone on your list and ask them to forward, tweet and facebook it as well. SAG has over 100,000 emails and addresses to reach our members. We just have the network...but we can go viral and get the truth out to many members if you forward.