aftra has CHOSEN to be a predatory, hostile threat to the sag actor’s wages, residuals and pensions. THEY made that choice, not SAG. to - EVEN NOW! - AFTER AFTRA has shown their hand! - to be defending roberta reardon and her merry band of amptp butt gals (”aftra, fighting for the right to pay actors LESS!”) to portray sag’s righteous anger over that as “childish” is ignorant of the facts. the facts are the truth, and, as the man said, the truth will set you free!

stay tuned, observer and all who want mf and sag to disappear, and give the store to aftra - the cavalry is coming!

Want to make AFTRA disappear off the face of the Earth forever? Merge. It’s gone.

It seems to me that we are in worse shape now with contract competition, jurisdictional disputes and an outright union war, than we ever would have been with the hypothetical problems attributed to the last merger proposal.

Less than two percent away from passing. 1,200 votes. I think 1,200 either didn’t like the AIMA name, or didn’t understand that their existing pensions in a merged union were in no jeopardy at all, thanks to ERISA protections imposed on all multi-employer plans.

And what about the big boogie man that opponents harped away at: why won’t they tell us specifically what will happen to the pension plans in a merged union? It’s because it is going to be very expensive to figure that out, and that money is not going to be spent by the trustees until a merger is finalized. But it can and will be figured out.

If what you want is to not qualify for health insurance or pension credits because you have to split your income between two unions every year where you may not meet either one’s qualification threshold, by all means, keep Membership First in power. Oh, and any of you rabidly anti-AFTRA actors who is offered a series regular or recurring role or even a one day guest star on one of the increasingly many AFTRA series out there, especially when you haven’t worked, SAG or AFTRA in a while, I’d like to see you turn it down, you hypocrites. Because you wouldn’t.

Wake up, people. End this once and for all. The majority of voting members want this to happen, so figure out how to merge the damned unions. We all work for the same people. And right now, they’re out maneuvering, out thinking, and out classing us while we blame each other to death.

Jesus Christ, grow the fuck up and get it done.

As well they should be, Nikki! These SAG negotiators have hardly done anything to prove to the membership that they have handled these negotiations with any skill and I expect they will…and should…be swiftly booted out in the upcoming elections. It is definitely time for a change in the leadership of our guild!

so, nothing changes in the demands of mf. so what is the short term strategy that justifies meddling in the middle of a contract negotiation?

u4s says “we want what they want” (said AFTER the 68 to 0 vote btw) they just also want to “merge” with aftra and install qualified voting. that’s it. that’s the agenda.

merger with aftra would have to be subsequent to the contract, it would be a multi-month, “here we go again,” expensive, probably bitter debate, costing, if it approached gilbert’s cash outlay, over a million dollars of members dues money, all to try for the 17th time, after 17 “no” votes, dating back to 1939, to convince sag membership with a union that just broke their word to negotiate together with sag, (a fact. there’s no spin wiggle room there. AFTRA broke their word. NOT sag) as we had for 28 years, and went and made a substandard deal with the amptp.

that is what I would call a “declaration of intent,” the intent being, obviously, to compete with sag.

so, say sag GETS a fair deal, somehow, via a strike threat or an actual strike (the only way the amptp will give an inch, let’s be realistic), the producers then face a landscape of increasingly digital shoots, right?

so, what does sag do with this fair deal when the amptp starts signing more and more shows, primetime tv, with aftra, because aftra presents the cheaper deal? MUCH cheaper.

and, correct me if I’m wrong, but, if it’s digital, aftra is in the FILM game then as well, right? “shared jurisdiction=digital” so, how exactly does sag deal with this, whether it’s mf or u4s dominated board - with production going to aftra as fast as producers can sign the deal?

the only answer I see is to convince enough dual members that they have to decide not to work aftra contracts. how else?

after 6 months or a year, or 3 years of finding out what a shitty union aftra actually IS compared to SAG, and how much LESS money, residuals, p&h, overtime, workplace protections, etc., they get, will it THEN sink in to union actors minds, that aftra IS a hostile and predatory union out to compete, and win, if they can, with sag?

so, I guess what I’m asking is - would someone please make a coherent argument for why ANYONE would vote for u4s?

You really need to get your act together. Interviews like this, with Boorstin/Vaughn, aren’t helping anyone.

CNBC’s JULIA BOORSTIN: What is the organization’s big picture goal when it comes to this current de facto stoppage?

Mr. Vaughn,
Why didn’t you point out that this “work stoppage” is due to the AMPTP. You let her imply that it’s all SAG’s fault. You give up ‘leverage’ by whining about the weakness of the unions due to the SAG/AFTRA fiasco.

BOORSTIN: So is your organization ready to accept the AMPTP’s offer and get back to work?

Mr. Vaughn,
Instead of telling her, “No, the contract is not acceptable.” You go back to whining about the SAG/AFTRA situation.

BOORSTIN: Now the [AMPTP] has been incredibly vocal about how much SAG’s holdout is costing both SAG members and the industry as a whole. How is your group pushing to avoid these costs to everyone?

Mr. Vaughn,

Boorstin gives you the opportunity to nail her and the AMPTP on the FACT that SAG is still willing to work, but the studios have shut down production. Instead, you go back to snivelling about ‘leverage’.

BOORSTIN: So the studios are now talking about ramping up production to get back to business after Labor Day even if there is no contract. What does this do to the role of SAG? Will this help out AFTRA actors because they can get roles that SAG members are getting?

Mr. Vaughn,

Here, she hands you a hammer. You could nail her and the AMPTP/studios to the wall. She ADMITS that the studios are going “…to get back to business…”. She continues on about “…no contract.”

Instead of telling her that SAG has continued to offer to work under the old contract, has NOT called a strike and continues to want to negotiate, you go on to concede that your union is at the breaking point!

You are placing way too much emphasis on the SAG/AFTRA problem.

You want leverage, then you need to get the rest of the unions in America, not just Hollywood and all of the people who are your audience to get behind the efforts to resolve this mess.

AS for competition in the acting realm. Believe me, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who would be willing to take your job and eat your lunch, especially after this interview.

Times are tough all over and nobody is crying for Hollwyood.

I’m not a member of SAG/AFTRA or the WGA. Just a Teamster with a withdrawal card who’s been to more than one negotiation.

And I realize Sally Field who seems to head their list and website is fairly well known and takes Boniva and all. (are those low-production spots even UNION?) But their website that implies “we work an awful lot, you know who we are, and we know better” has to sell that “you know who we are” with pictures to help you connect the dots with all the work they’ve done. Or maybe it’s to get their headshots on the desk of every producer in town.

Whatever the case, I don’t take their work away from them. But I do take issue with their idea that they are the only ones working.

Because there are those of us who are UNION members who are also working and not trading on this idea that if you whine the loudest you’ll get the attention. We are not selfishly trying to divide our UNION to eliminate those who make less from those who make more. We are not trying to divide the UNION to gain favor with the AMPTP. We are in the fight of our lives with the AMPTP.

We are standing behind our leaders, not bedding down with the producers.

And while our list climbs to 6,000 to their 31, their contention is screaming “but we work!”

Many of us work, Norma Rae. Take your eyes off the mirror and look around the factory. Check out the letter of support for our current leaders at Sag.org which approaches 6,000 signatures. You’re either with us or against right now. Those are the two choices.

And while I don’t necessarily subscribe to this idea that if you work in the UNION the world will recognize you, I understand that this is your platform. As such, I submit the first 31 names, roughly, in alphabetical order on our list to compare to yours. Although I would say as exciting as these names might be it’s the 5,000 some below theirs that carry the weight. Sorry there are no headshots here:

Patricia Arquette
Rosanna Arquette
Ed Asner
Scott Bakula
Anita Barone
Bonnie Bartlett
Justine Bateman
David Berman
Susan Blakely
Eric Bogosian
Joe Bologna
Powers Boothe
Tom Bosley
Tom Bower
Josh Brolin
Keith Carradine
Dixie Carter
Seymour Cassel
Dave Clennon
George Coe
Keith Coogan
Beverly D’Angelo
Bill Daniels
Laura Dern
Michael Dorn
Anne Dudek
Frances Fisher
Joely Fisher
Kate Flannery
Jorja Fox
Willie Garson
Matthew Glave
Sharon Gless
Elliott Gould
Andy Griffith

Go to the SAG website. There are thousands more names figuratively holding up a little cardboard sign that says “UNION”.

I may be naive, but I sense nothing good coming from any this. Judging by the results of former lap dog Tom Short’s efforts to settle early, as usual, it seems that in honor of his last hurrah, the Spawn of Satan, aka Nick Counter, is hunkering down, pulling up the drawbridge and setting loose the alligators in the castle moat. To what end? Don’t all those overpaid studio execs sooner or later have to justify their existence and actually make movies?