Message from the 1st Vice President

Hello Fellow SAG-AFTRANs,

You don't need me to tell you that these are grim times for union actors. So let's talk instead about what the local board is doing to help get us back to work.

We're continuing to work on an experimental new Web tool for Twin Cities producers. It's basically a user-friendly, union rates calculator (for commercials and corporate/educational jobs) that  helps producers get a ballpark estimate to see how much it would cost them to hire union actors. It will be fast, simple and concise, and we're hoping that it will allow producers to see for themselves — in a very easy way — that hiring us is not nearly as expensive as they feared.

We're also in the process of doing outreach to local corporate/educational and non-broadcast employers to find out if there are impediments that keep them from hiring us under this contract, and if so, if there are ways we can address their concerns.

We are interested in creating a Twin Cities Local agreement for TV and radio commercials that are “made-in and played-in” (commonly referred to as a “local code”). This would allow local producers to use us for locally made spots that air just in the Twin Cities Local’s jurisdiction at special rates and terms, in order to capture more local commercials work under union contract.

It's hard to give a solid date for when these things might happen, but know that we're working our little thespian butts off to make it happen ASAP. We need to get back behind the mics and in front of the cameras now, not a year from now. So know that we're fighting back and fighting hard. Hang in there, don't open a vein and don't  jump the union ship for God's sake! We'll keep you posted as things progress. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, don't hesitate to let us know; we're all in this together!

Yours in solidarity,
Peter Moore
1st Vice President

This item was originally featured in the February 2014 local newsletter.