I want to thank Scott Bakula for standing up for SAG actors who are AGAINST this awful new MERGER plan with AFTRA. Congratulations to these union members... Scott Bakula, Ed Harris, Joe d’Angerio, Anne-Marie Johnson, Elliott Gould, David Jolliffe, Valerie Harper, and Martin Sheen for leading the brave fight AGAINST MERGER. I am with you and will VOTE NO... In Solidarity! Sincerely, Dell Yount Screen Actors Guild SAG ACTORS… HAVE YOU STUDIED THE IMPACT OF THIS MERGER? IF NOT, HERE ARE CRITICAL FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW: (Limited to the words allotted to us) PENSION & HEALTH SAG relies upon a “Feasibility Review.” While it concluded that a merger would be legal, no one ever doubted Mergers are legal. What about our benefits? SAG did not request any actuarial study regarding whether a merger would be financially safe. Why? They know, like the AFTRA Trustees, that “the merger of pension and health funds as large and divergent as the AFTRA and SAG plans raises complex and unique financial, legal and benefit issues which can only be addressed through a comprehensive analysis performed by the funds.” Despite the express statements in Appendix I to the SAG Constitution, and Board Resolutions, no study was conducted to assess the financial impact of a merger of Pension or Health Plans. Are your benefits safe? The SAG and AFTRA P&H&R Plans are extremely different. Consider merging these factors: • SAG pension accrual rate: 2% of earnings: AFTRA: less than 1% of earnings. • SAG early retirement penalty: 3% per year. AFTRA: DOUBLE: 6% per year. • SAG Plan 2 annual premium (family of four): $1,620: AFTRA Individual Plan annual premium (family of 4): $17,260 The merger plan does not even attempt to reconcile these and other differences. Experts addressing the financial impact issues are convinced SAG members will likely suffer diminished future benefits. Highly respected pension and health experts Brucker & Morra have concluded: “Until a full and formal ERISA Impact Report of how to address and quantify these problems is completed, no one, not even pension experts, can intelligently evaluate or quantify the probable negative impact on the members’ pension and health benefits. The union merger is so inextricably interconnected with the plan merger that members cannot be asked to evaluate and vote on the Union Merger until issues relating to the Plan Merger have been resolved and concrete proposals formulated so the members can make informed choices.” The issue has always been the impact on SAG member benefits, when merged with lower AFTRA benefits. If the merger of unions is approved, SAG members will never have any right to vote to protect their benefits by preventing merger of the Pension or Health Plans. If you vote to merge the unions, you are removing a major hurdle to later merger of those plans. Once the unions are merged, individual members will have no vote and no recourse regarding a merger of Pension and Health Plans. SPLIT EARNINGS The merger Plan does not even address, much less solve our split earnings issues. Rather, it will codify the problem. If merger is approved, the stated plan is to CONTINUE to split your earnings, just like during the last 12 months. If the proposed merger is approved, without signatures from 15% of the approximately 158,000 members, you will have no further right to vote on this issue either. NEW DUES STRUCTURE If merger is approved, over 70,000 SAG-only members' base dues will increase from $116 to $198. BROADCASTERS - Preferential Treatment Broadcasters in the merged union can still work NON-UNION on basic cable networks (ESPN, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, FOX NEWS, etc.), with drastically discounted dues compared to actors. Broadcaster work dues from $0 to $100,000 will be the same as actors at 1.575%. Broadcaster work dues from $100,000 to $250,000 can be drastically discounted to .274% (and capped at $250,000) with maximum dues of $2,184. Actors, however, will pay 1.575% on ALL earnings up to $500,000, with maximum dues almost 400% higher: $8,073. BACKGROUND ACTORS - THREE VOUCHER SYSTEM The much maligned and poorly regulated Three Voucher entry requirement for SAG will continue. Merging unions does not guarantee more Background jobs. It can only result in more competition for the same covered jobs. BLOATED BUREAUCRACY There is no plan to streamline or eliminate duplicated services post merger. The new union will keep all 635 SAG and AFTRA employees. Nor is there a plan to equalize the existing SAG staff (3.5%) and SAG member (2%) pension accrual rates. CONVENTION Convention will be the highest governing body in the merged union - higher than the Board of Directors. Convention will have the authority to MERGE with more unions, set policy, control the Constitution, without giving the membership any direct vote on such matters. 8 out of 10 National officers will be CHOSEN at Convention; not by direct member vote. The ELECTED President will be able to delegate authority to the Executive VP, also chosen by the Convention, not directly by members. ELECTED LEADERS MAY RECEIVE PAY The SAG Constitution prohibits paying elected officers and board members. The new union Constitution opens the door for payments, currently not permitted. MAJORITY NO LONGER RULES Hollywood represents the majority of SAG members, and the majority of revenue. If merged, when Hollywood has a majority, it must secure an additional 5% from other Locals, regardless of its majority vote. Traditionally, seats on negotiating committees were based on Division/Local earnings. That would no longer be true. The President can simply choose members with National Board approval. Those earning the majority of revenue on specific contracts will no longer be guaranteed majority say on those negotiating committees. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION The unions have not exchanged actor contract details. We have no idea how-what-when-why AFTRA gives away residuals in made-for-basic cable shows or other concessions to management. AGENTS If merged, the Board, without a member vote, can alone decide whether agents can own or be owned by production entities. The SAG membership rejected the last agent agreement because of this potential conflict of interest. NEGOTIATING STRENGTH SAG and AFTRA have been negotiating jointly since 1981. How has that benefited SAG members? AFTRA has routinely undercut SAG interests. A merger of actors is all that is necessary. This merger merely handcuffs SAG. CONCLUSION The current merger plan solves almost nothing and adds too many inherent problems. VOTE NO and demand that our union leaders conduct the necessary due diligence to create an agreement which will not harm actors. In Solidarity: Scott Bakula, Ed Harris, Joe d’Angerio, Anne-Marie Johnson, Elliott Gould, David Jolliffe, Valerie Harper, Martin Sheen.
Sorry, that didn't help. I was trying to get more of a cut and paste post out of Dell Yount. Why does he care if these groups merge? why did he feel it important to make a fairly spam post about it? Any idiot can google for the acronym. How about some conversation? Try googling "leading question" next time you get the chance.
Based on the health insurance issues alone... SAG members would have to be certifiably INSANE to vote to yes!
"O Captain! My Captain!" Scott and I worked together on STAR TREK: Enterprise. I have tremendous respect for him as an actor and I truly appreciate the fact that he is standing up and fighting against the proposed merger of SCREEN ACTORS GUILD with A.F.T.R.A. ...just wanted to confirm to Mr. Bakula's fans that he is indeed a man of integrity and good character and I am thankful for his passion and leadership, as we attempt to convince ALL ACTORS that this current proposal is simply a bad deal for professional SCREEN ACTORS GUILD actors. We stand upon the shoulders of all the actors who came before us... actors who have REJECTED merger with A.F.T.R.A. over and over again. Before deciding to burn down the barn, let's make sure it's best for the horses ...and actors. ~ Dell Yount
Still have no idea what AFTRA is. <goes off to the real googles> <reads OP> Okay. I don't see what the problem is, beyond why would actors go to AFTRA over SAG. What benefit do they gain? Makes no sense to me.
This is a MUST SEE "Vote NO" video... http://www.youtube.com/embed/474v_Ccr7UU The SCREEN ACTORS GUILD does not need, and should NOT merge with the business called A.F.T.R.A. ! Dell Yount Professional Character Actor SCREEN ACTORS GUILD
I'm not sure which way my wife will vote, she's a SAG member... but man, that video is sorta condescending... not really packed with info, just... anger masked by condescension.
This whole thread is a waste. I personally have no say what happens inside the SAG and I'm going to guess that most people here can't effect it either. This forum is for discussion and this thread is doing nothing to accomplish that. An actual attempt at argument or at least information given in a way that will make me want to read it is necessary. Unless that happens, this thread is essentially spam.
I'm a former union officer, and I can tell you, if I was in SAG I would be campaigning every free minute I had against the merger based just on the following: • SAG pension accrual rate: 2% of earnings: AFTRA: less than 1% of earnings. • SAG early retirement penalty: 3% per year. AFTRA: DOUBLE: 6% per year. • SAG Plan 2 annual premium (family of four): $1,620: AFTRA Individual Plan annual premium (family of 4): $17,260