Comments on: Membership First Starts AFTRA “Trojan” Campaign

By: Fred W

Fred W — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:34:48 +0000

David,

You are mistaken on the actual negotiation history.

After the collapse of Phase 1, SAG asked AFTRA if it could go first in the separate negotiations. AFTRA agreed.

Not having reached a settlement with the AMPTP in the alloted time, SAG asked AFTRA for an extension, saying, as I recall, that they were “hours away” from a settlement. AFTRA agreed again.

It was only after SAG failed to deliver a settlement and AFTRA’s own contract was close to running out that AFTRA started its own negotiations.

It’s pretty clear SAG had more than ample opportunity to put in their “two cents.” Given what actually happened in SAG during the negotiations, do you seriously think a “week or two” more would have made any difference? It took SAG nine more months, and a change of leadership to even restart serious negotiations.

By: david hillberg

david hillberg — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:49:33 +0000

It would be nice for both unions to fight for the best contract possible .AFTRA in my view could have waited for a week or two so SAG could have put their two cents in during the negotiations.

As for party lines and politics ,they can have them selves ,high school cliques and mentalities.

Unions like’ governments’ are to protect the workers ‘citizens’ from abuses, not cause them.

either SAG or AFTRA ect. as for inventing strategy it has been done long before any of us were born..

do not give me the credit. You can read about all the strategy you want..
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Admin. Comment – Perhaps you’re forgetting that AFTRA waited several months to allow SAG to negotiate first. The Allens failed to achieve a contract.

By: Stuart Creque

Stuart Creque — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:26:30 +0000

Well, of course! The best way to stop union political games is for one union’s radical faction to infiltrate the other union and try to get it to dismantle itself (by giving up jurisdiction over all TV). Why, there’s no AFTRA member alive that wouldn’t jump at that proposal.

I bet David Hillberg invented the strategy. No, wait — I remember! Matt Mulhern used to trot out this chestnut.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:28:34 +0000

You are dreaming, Tom, if you think that will happen. I have been to Town Hall meetings and board meetings and have seen firsthand the support that the membership has for MF ideals. Included in the list of candidates they support to go to the AFTRA convention are several independent people unaffiliated with Membership First in any way, such as Rico Bueno, John Cygan, Ian Abercrombie, and David Hillberg. They, like many others, realize that AFTRA comes up short in several ways when it comes to representing actors. MF and like-minded individuals do not want to destroy AFTRA, but rather ensure that actors are not the unwitting victims of union political games. The best way to guarantee this is for SAG to have jurisdiction over all television, and have AFTRA revert to AFRA. Not a merger that would be a disaster when it comes to trying to merge health plans. If this were put to a vote of SAG/AFTRA cardholders it would pass.

By: Tom Ligon

Tom Ligon — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:05:37 +0000

Membership First is the only entity that complained about members serving on both unions’ Boards.
No one else.
Now for them to come out with this “we only want to improve the union” horse twonkey
is hubris, mendacity, and hypocrisy rolled into one large toxic enchilada.
These Membership First candidates not only deserve to be kicked to the curb by AFTRA members
they should be permanently removed from SAG governance by SAG Hollywood members this Fall.

By: harry98

harry98 — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:44:57 +0000

dr. giggles,

then i guess we should ask gabrielle carteris how it is that she has the time to sit on both the SAG and AFTRA boards. which she does.
do you think we should ask her to pick one board or the other?

and michael,

i don’t believe very many dual card holders renounced their AFTRA membership.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:41:32 +0000

The thing I find ironic about all of these machinations by the MF crew, is that the party faithful who followed their dear leaders’ instructions about, oh, 8 months ago, all gave up their AFTRA cards, and now won’t be able to vote them in.

By: hinterlands

hinterlands — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:45:18 +0000

#11

Hmmmm, interesting that you should single out the B&B incident in you response.

OK, for the sake of argument, let’s take that out of the mix. After all it was only….. well, I started to say “the icing on the cake,” but more accurately it was “the cherry on top of the icing on the cake”

You seem to miss the point that AFTRA did not “go in early.” It’s a talking point that just doesn’t hold water.

By: Neil Hassman

Neil Hassman — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:37:11 +0000

Hey, Mike,

What is it that actors do for a living?

That’s right….lie, (though they get to call it acting and get ppaid for it).

Wake up, man.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:31:00 +0000

# 8

Oh c’mon.

You really believe SAG was trying to raid “the bold and the beautiful”? get real.. You are calling the actors on the show are liars.

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Admin. Comment – That’s right. Some of them lied after the fact. Shocking, isn’t it. (end sarcasm font)