UFS Co-Founder Ned Vaughn on the Election
Making its way around the e-mail chains:
It’s a simple fact that a majority of Membership First board members voted against joint bargaining with AFTRA for the TV/Film contract talks that start in September. Considering the negative effects of separate negotiations in the last round of talks, voting against joint negotiations this time is remarkable – and telling. It’s also a fact that as a group, Membership First has a long history of attacking AFTRA.
In light of those facts, Membership First is a poor choice for those who want actors in one union, since the best way to achieve that is to unite SAG and AFTRA. UFS has strengthened SAG’s relationship with AFTRA and taken real steps toward forming one union. Membership First has done exactly the opposite.
That said, I think your advice to look at MF’s positions is well taken, because I think it makes it even clearer that UFS is the group that will lead the way to a single union. Would it include AFTRA’s broadcasters and recording artists, who are the focus of so much concern from Membership First? Yes – but it would also be the ONLY union representing actors in film, television, radio, new media, and future delivery systems we haven’t dreamed of. That would obviously make actors stronger and would be a huge win for stunt performers, dancers, singers, voice artists, and every other type of performer whose work is now divided.
As for broadcasters and recording artists, I believe MF’s fears are misplaced. In a merged union, broadcasters and recording artists would represent less than 10% of the membership. How exactly are they supposed to dominate? Moreover, the previous merger plans called for actors, broadcasters, and recording artists to vote separately from one another on contracts or strikes. Yet Membership First continues to suggest that a tiny minority of “non-actors” could somehow take control over actors’ contracts. It just doesn’t hold water.
But for any career differences you or I may have from broadcasters or recording artists, we have one very important thing in common: we’re all employed by the same tightly aligned media conglomerates that control the entertainment industry. Those conglomerates focus on only one thing: the bottom line. They don’t care whether their profits come from traditional scripted shows – or from the news magazines, talk shows, and reality programs that increasingly fill their schedules. Doesn’t it make sense to align just as tightly on our side of the bargaining table?
The priority of Unite for Strength is making actors stronger; it’s why the group was formed in the first place. Protecting the future for actors is absolutely essential and one thing is crystal clear: we can’t do it if we’re divided in two unions. Actors are facing transformational changes in the way our work is created and consumed. Taking on these enormous challenges with competing strategies just won’t work. We must be unified and the best way to ensure that is for SAG and AFTRA to become a single union.
It seems nearly everyone recognizes that actors need to be in one union. Now it’s up to SAG members to decide who has the credibility – and more important, the track record – to make it happen. On both counts, I believe Unite for Strength is the right choice.
Ned Vaughn
