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AFTRA, IATSE Working to Rebuild Middle Class |
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In the midst of an economic downturn, two entertainment unions reaffirmed their commitments to rebuild the middle class by organizing and fighting for their members’ hard-earned benefits.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told delegates to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) convention, which ended over the weekend, that now is the time to focus on organizing. He quoted economist John Maynard Keynes, who wrote in a 1938 letter to then-President Franklin Roosevelt that, to achieve a real recovery—a lasting recovery—the federal government had to invest in employment, production and purchasing power.
And that meant building the labor movement.
He didn’t mince any words about it: “I regard the growth of collective bargaining rights as essential.”
Passing the Employee Free Choice Act is a major part of the effort to rebuild the middle class through collective bargaining, Trumka said.
[Corporations can] only prosper when there’s a growing middle class. The fastest, surest, most effective way to grow the middle class [is] through collective bargaining. That’s why the Employee Free Choice Act is as much an economic recovery bill as it is labor law reform.
Roberta Reardon, who was re-elected as AFTRA president, echoed Trumka’s message:
We must organize across the country, in large locals and smaller locals, and across a wide range of budget levels. We understand it is a critical focus to organize not just at the high end, but also in areas where budgets are tighter, [and] to dedicate ourselves to educating and organizing, member-by-member and local-by-local. We are investing in our future.
AFTRA members work as actors, journalists, singers, dancers, announcers, hosts, comedians, disc jockeys and other performers across the media industries, including TV, radio, cable, sound recordings, music videos, commercials, audio books, non-broadcast industrials, interactive games, the Internet and other digital media.
In other business, the convention unanimously passed a resolution urging the government to strengthen protections against intellectual property theft on the Internet.
The use of new technology was also on the agenda for delegates to the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) convention late last month. IATSE members are employed in the stagecraft, motion picture and television production and trade show industries.
Throughout the weeklong meeting, IATSE President Matthew Loeb stressed that the major issues facing the entertainment industry union are digital piracy and the importance of health care reform.
Loeb, who was re-elected as the union’s president, sent a message to employers that IATSE is unified behind the goal of defending what generations of workers have built—decent wages and benefits.
There are no divisions between the crafts and no divisions between the borders. We stand united for the betterment of our members. You take on one of us, you take on all of us.
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As a 31 year member, an officer of the NY local, and someone who was there, I was never more proud of a union’s accomplishments than those of AFTRA (now fully chartered) over the past two years. It is a long list and a remarkable achievement.
But I was more than proud in listening to President Reardon’s speech which laid out AFTRA’s future direction. I was reassured. We are turning a corner, positioning ourselves to be able to capture the opportunity of the new century. And at the same time, we are building our power to confront the challenges we are already facing. That expanded capacity and power serve the members, most of whom are “middle class”. So what the union has built over the last fifty years we now protect and improve by organizing outside the union and reorganizing inside the union.
As is often quoted: “None of us is as strong as all of us.” I hope all unions will invest in their future the way AFTRA is.