Many BTL and support people are in serious financial straights partially because of the economy in general but the WGA strike and the SAG stagnate negotiatiions on their contracts. They have abandoned their support for SAG and have no sympathy.

I have talked to many who have lost their homes, can’t pay their utilities and standard of living has disintegrated into poverty because of this stalemate. It’s disgusting to read the comments from people who support a no vote against the contract. They seem to be comfortable and believe they can withstand a strike for any length of time. They have blinders on not wanting to see the fallout from their inept negotiations, absurd leadership and selfish reasoning that is destroying SAG but the rest of the industry as whole.

SAG has the best contract of any of the unions, even in its present form and the proposed one from AMPTP. An authorization to strike and subsequent execution thereof, many predict SAG will be memory by the end of the year.

As days go by, more and more non SAG people are angered by this situtaion and will withdraw their support for SAG should any strike authorization be fronted.

SAG members should now realize that they need someone who is a professional CEO, one who is NOT an actor but a businessman. It is evident that every SAG president has been more emotional than business savvy which over the last 30 years that union keeps regressing and surrenders its basic philosphy and mission.

A many have said, TAKE THE BEATING. Vote YES for this contract. Create a dialogue with AFTRA and merge, that’s your only way of surving

Main changes if this contract is voted up;

1. Loss of Residuals –
At the day-player scale rate, every actor will lose
$2,000.00 for each day they work. They will also, lose
14.8% for pension & health($296.00) It will be replaced
with $22.77($3.33 for pension and health) for 6 months of
streaming on the net. Although this will be bad for each
actor on an individual level, can you imagine how fast our
pension and health fund will dry up? They are going to show
all re-runs on the internet. No more re-runs on TV. There
is a lot of room to negotiate between $2,000.00 and $22.77
and many of us feel that they can go back to the table and
do a better job!

2. Non-Union work in Original Made for New Media Productions -
Unless the budget is $25,000.00/minute or more(average thus
far is $2500.00), the producers will use 32 pages of our
contract full of exclusions and requirements to decide who
is a “Qualified Performer”. And then, they can produce with
only that one SAG cast member and the rest of the cast can
be all Non-Union yet they will want us to call it a SAG
Production! If voted up, this trend can easily spread to TV
and Film.

3. Clip Consent –
Since 1960, we have had Clip Consent. If a producer wants
to use one of your clips in a movie, tv show, documentary,
on the internet, etc., they must first get your permission,
and then negotiate a price for the use. If this contract is
voted up, the producers can use your clips ‘intact’ in any
project they choose(what if the project involves subject
matter that you are opposed to?). With the current state of
Computer Generated Images, they can also take you out of
context and have you doing things you would never have
consented to do in the first place. They will be able to do
all of this without your consent, and without paying you.

4. Product Integration –
We all know about Product Placement, but if this contract
passes, we will all become commercial spokespeople for the
particular products in the tv show or film. If the product
is Coke, and you are already a Pepsi spokesperson, make a
choice. You will lose either your Pepsi sponsorship, or that
roll. You will not be payed for the endorsement of the
product. You will not receive residuals when they use the
Clip Consent Clause and take your product endorsement out
of the project and use it separately as a commercial. And,
finally, the pool of regular separate commercials necessary
to sell products will become smaller because many of us will
be doing commercials and promoting products as part of our
artistic expression in a given scene in any given project.

5. Force Majeure -
Since 1937, this is what protects you once you have been
booked and you spend many hours learning your part and
getting into character, and also turning down other
lucrative work because you are already booked. If they
book you, and production is halted do to a strike, or an
act of God, or any other reason, they must pay you five
weeks at half your rate. As of right now, the producers
owe SAG Actors at least $60,000,000.00 and as much as
$400,000,000.00 for last years strike. If this contract
is voted up, the producers will have to pay only
$20,000,000.00 total, and, in the future, each member will have
to bargain individually for Force Majeure protection. The
obvious strength in numbers of the collective bargaining
of SAG will no longer provide Force Majeure protection.
If you are not an ‘A’ list actor, good luck!

Why are we being asked to give away protections we’ve had for years, only to fight or strike to get them back in two years? This is nonsense. I can almost understand waiting two years to fight for new things that we don’t yet have. But, when they include giving away protections which were hard fought for, and giving away the residuals of those who fought for them, I have to VOTE NO!

Please share this with any SAG mebers you know

Thank You

james

http://www.myspace.com/sagstars

Frank ‘Lumpy’ Bank and Ken ‘Eddie Haskell’ Osmond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rvx6THsmKA

Rob Schneider
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwluMUKLXdo

Ed Harris
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/video-ed-harris-explains-vote-no-position/

Martin Sheen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8_U0GSXPu0

Rhonda De Felice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLPhjeYvicg

Rico Bueno
Pt1 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jp8BUvZvw0
Pt2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMBhLES9Uhg
Pt3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6uTmfE6VUw

Ed Asner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcgZ4mfSZ4Y

Charles Shaughnessy, Rance Howard, Nancy Sinatra, Anne Ramsay and Esai Morales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXNJZhwFAQQ