Unite For Strenght — Like, duh!

When SAG and AFTRA didn’t merge in early 2000 I knew it was the beginning of the end. The leadership that blocked the merger at SAG is the reason I’m not involved in SAG politics and really don’t have much hope for SAG in the future. In other words, pension when I turn 65, I wouldn’t bet on it.

But recently, a wonderful phrase has come down the pipeline thanks to a few friends passing on some information (Shauna Markey and Bob Bergen). UNITE FOR STRENGTH.

Yes my friends, there are actual SAG and AFTRA members out there, current administration aside, that believe the best possible chance our unions have of being able to negotiate anything with the globalized multinational corporations that now control studios and networks is to MERGE. Isn’t “strength in numbers” a basic principle of a union? Like, duh…OF COURSE IT IS! If we had merged in early 2000 we would now be negotiating for new media residuals and enjoying the DVD residual increases we would have received in 2003!

Here is a fun article that pretty much proves my point:

Screen Actors Guild group offers slate for board
By Ryan Nakashima, The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 08/06/2008 09:38:59 PM PDT

The group of Hollywood actors that controls the Screen Actors Guild unveiled a slate of 33 board candidates Tuesday, two weeks after an opposition group claimed union leaders caused the current stalemate in contract talks with the major studios.

Membership First is running a slate of incumbents that includes JoBeth Williams, Joe Bologna and Scott Wilson, and newcomers such as Keith Carradine and Joely Fisher.

About one-third of the 71 members of SAG’s national board are up for re-election, including 11 seats allocated to Hollywood actors that are now controlled by Membership First. Five seats will come from the New York branch while seven come from around the country. Votes are due Sept. 18.

Alternate seats also are available.

Observers have said the election will act as a referendum on the current leadership’s handling of talks with the studios and could be used as leverage by either side depending on the outcome.

The Membership First group currently controls 39 of the 71 seats, said Anne-Marie Johnson, a spokeswoman for the group.

The Membership First group would need to lose four seats to the opposition before its control of the guild could be jeopardized, she said.

Johnson added, however, that the guild’s negotiating panel would not be changed until 2011 at the earliest.

“Regardless of the outcome of the election, the negotiating committee stays as is until 2011. So it really doesn’t matter what happens,” she said.

Voting positions for president, currently held by Alan Rosenberg, and secretary treasurer, held by Connie Stevens, are not up for grabs until 2009. Executive Director Doug Allen, who is spearheading the negotiations, is in an appointed position.

Talks with the studios ended after the sides last met July 16. A key sticking point has been how to handle made-for-Internet productions.

Actors are working under a contract covering movies and prime-time shows that expired June 30. The producers have called on SAG to accept their final offer, which they said was worth $250 million in additional compensation over three years, a figure the guild disputes.

The opposition group, Unite For Strength, announced its 31-candidate slate two weeks ago, aiming to unify SAG and a smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Unite For Strength, led by actor Ned Vaughn (GREAT GUY! Family man, great actor, voice talent and I’ve read with him many times and enjoyed great conversation), has accused Membership First of stoking a feud with AFTRA that led the two sides to negotiate separately with the studios for the first time in nearly three decades.

Last month, AFTRA members ratified a new three-year deal with the producers, following the template set by directors and accepted by writers after their four-month strike that ended in February.

If the Unite For Strength slate wins several seats, it could form a majority voting bloc with the New York and regional branches and potentially call for Allen to step aside as lead negotiator, paving the way for a quick contract agreement.

———–

That last paragragh is the key paragraph and shows the potential shift in power if we all get together and vote out these morons in office now. The candidates are below so please pay attention this time when you get one of those voting ballots. Your vote can actually do something to change our union for the better!