Professional Documents
Culture Documents
New Union
New Union
Spring 2010
work and raising the wages and working the realities of production budgets and our broadcast journalist members voted for it It’s now a little more than a year since
conditions in the economics of the various intertwined are going to march right down the twice. “Merger” AFTRA and SAG jointly bargained our Union power starts with organizing,
our contracts. sectors of the media industry, we must corporate hallway to confront actors failed because Commercials contracts together under the continues with strong bargaining and, when
No union can be also ensure we are in a position to prevent working in entertainment. Whether it both unions Ron Morgan, National AFL-CIO-facilitated “no raiding” protocol. In the timing is right, it includes exploring
successful at one employers from degrading our hard-won be salary reductions and added work put it to a Second Vice President the last three months, we have taken steps the creation of a new national union that
22 without being wages and working conditions by shifting responsibilities facing broadcasters, vote without to jointly bargain the Exhibit A (Primetime serves those missions. It culminates in a 23
successful at the production away from organized markets declining quotes and reduced work first addressing a number of critical Television) contract together with SAG, working world that is all union, all the time,
AFTRA Magazine
AFTRA Magazine
other. or shifting modes of production away from opportunities for actors or record labels’ questions about our mission and also under the protocol. This is all good for all media professionals all around the
Consider the union workers. imposition of “360 deals” on recording strategy and because we allowed news, for it reflects a new spirit of respect country—in large and small markets alike.
reality in which artists, anyone who thinks that we don’t secondary micro-issues to distract us and cooperation between our two unions. This is our vision and this is our goal.
we work: few Roberta Reardon, If a union only represents one small piece all share the same basic core concerns from the primary macro-goal of We shouldn’t minimize its importance, nor
of our major National President of a large conglomerate’s operations and interests doesn’t understand what building union members’ long-term should we exaggerate it. Like “merger,” joint In solidarity,
employers are and revenue centers—be it only scripted 21st century media is all about. AFTRA collective power. bargaining is not an end in itself; rather,
Roberta Reardon
in only one business or produce only programming or only recorded music or members learned this lesson more than it is a means to an end. This is a time for
National President
one form of content; few of our members only local broadcasting—workers will have 10 years ago when our recording artist We will not let history repeat itself. We hope that our unions will continue to work
forge an entire career doing only one much less leverage at the negotiating members faced the “new” model of digital cannot commit hundreds of thousands together respectfully and productively, as Bob Edwards
kind of work in only one medium; and our table. Unless we cover as wide a swath of distribution of music: the Napster and of your dues dollars along with the we figure out the “nuts and bolts” of sitting National First Vice President
work increasingly takes us beyond the the media landscape as our employers do, iTunes phenomena. In short order, the limited time and resources of the together at the bargaining table, as well Ron Morgan
geographic boundaries of Hollywood and they will always have the upper hand. issues we began confronting in sound AFTRA staff—to say nothing of the as the principles of partnership that must National Second Vice President
New York City. recordings in the late 1990s migrated to countless hours contributed by your underlie our joint efforts.
all-volunteer leadership team—unless Matthew Kimbrough
A NEW VISION FOR A NEW UNION scripted entertainment programming in
National Treasurer
Our union’s first priority is to negotiate Above all, the new union must reflect film and television. This is the way our the unions’ leaders share a clear mutual Our unions should continue to work
strong contracts for all its members the nature of our world today. It is time world works, and a union that ignores understanding of precisely what we together in the joint negotiations, Lainie Cooke
throughout the nation. Second, in order to stop using the catchphrase “merger,” these realities is in peril. are trying to achieve. Do we share a committee work, legislative public policy National Recording Secretary
to effectively enhance its power at the which carries baggage and assumptions view of the core mission and goals of a initiatives and other activities. Through
bargaining table, our union must reflect the from past efforts and failures that are no What does this mean for us as union new union? How must it be structured shared research, we should study our
current realities of the industries in which longer relevant. This isn’t 1960, 1998 or members? Among other things, it in order to succeed? We must get it industries together to identify trends,