My union service has increased every year. I’ve been getting more and more involved. Even during this pandemic and being isolated, I’ve been finding new ways to be involved. Doing this has been so important to me for many reasons. Right now, it’s important because it gives me a sense of service and purpose. And no matter what the world situation is like, it’s important to be involved because I feel like all members of the union need to be educated on union issues. There are so many things out there that are either confusing or half-truths, and I want people to know exactly what is going on.
And right now, there is something urgent that I have been trying to educated members on. We are voting on our new TV/Theatrical contract. And I am highly encouraging members to vote yes!
There are so many reasons why I think members should vote yes. I do recommend checking out this website on some of the amazing things we gain with this contract. And the biggest thing is that this contract is a $318 million dollar gain over our current contract! That is huge and it is historic! I think for so many members, this alone is a great reason to vote yes. But there are many others.
For the west coast, we have increased the jobs for background performers. I know that some people are upset that the increase is by 1 performer and not more, but the negotiating committee worked hard to get that. They would have loved to have gotten more, but it was a fight to get the 1 spot that they did.
We are also getting a huge increase in our residuals for streaming. The increase will be 26%! I have heard some people upset that broadcast syndicated residuals did not get the same increase and that when those deals are expired that they might be decreased. But there is a reason for that. In 2019, there were about 50 shows in broadcast syndication. In 2020, there were only 17 left. And that number is going to continue to decrease while streaming increases. So it is more important to get the increases in streaming where most shows are headed.
And one of the most important things we gained in this new contract is stronger protections for nudity and simulated sex on set. There are so many things within this category that we got. For auditions, they can no longer require you to submit nude photos for consideration. You must be able to see every person who is able to see your audition. So someone can’t be watching over Skype and you cannot see their face. On set, they are no required to get you a way to cover up between takes so you don’t have to sit there exposed while they work on setting up the next shot. And if you are working a background job that has nudity or simulated sex and you are not comfortable with the work, you can say so and they are still required to pay you for the day even if you go home. That’s just the start of what we got!
To me, it’s an easy choice to vote yes. I understand that this contract isn’t perfect and there are some things that I wish we had gotten, but it’s still an amazing contract. And if we vote no, there is no guarantee we will have something close to what we have. We will have to start for the beginning to try to get all these gains again, and the world is different now compared to a few months ago when this was negotiated. While some people see voting now as a move of strength that we should have a stronger contract, this contract was fought hard to get and the other side is not guaranteed to agree to anything. I am very happy with this contract and I hope that it is approved by the membership.
If you are a SAG-AFTRA member, please make sure you vote by the 22nd! Your vote is important and it matters! And if you have questions about this contract, please contact me. I want everyone who votes to know what they are voting on and I am happy to help explain what I can and get you connected to someone who can explain what I can’t.
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The End Of The SAG-AFTRA Elections (or Being An Observer)
My First Official SAG-AFTRA Duty (or Learning What’s In Store)
