SAG President Joins AFL-CIO Executive Council
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The AFL-CIO Executive Council today welcomed a new member, Ken Howard, president of the Screen Actors (SAG). Howard, who was elected to lead the actor’s union in September 2009, replaces former SAG President Alan Rosenberg.
Convening for a one-day meeting in Washington, D.C., the council heard from Ron Bloom, senior counselor to President Obama for manufacturing policy and a former staff member at the United Steelworkers (USW). The council and union leaders have repeatedly called on the Obama administration to quickly enact a national industrial policy to foster and sustain growth in the nation’s manufacturing industries. Increasing our manufacturing capacity is critical as the world prepares to move toward a green economy.
Pollster Celinda Lake also shared the results of polling on the economy and the political implications of a protracted jobs crisis.
22,000 L.A. Workers Win Pact with City that Saves Jobs—and More Bargaining News
Some 22,000 Los Angeles workers win pact with city that prevents layoffs—and more bargaining news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
Multiple, City of Los Angeles: The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a pact with the Los Angeles Coalition of City Unions, a group made up of AFL-CIO and Change to Win unions and representing 22,000 city workers. The agreement avoids layoffs and furloughs and will save the city more than $77 million by offering an early retirement plan, reducing the number of hours worked and postponing pay raises until after 2011. A deal with the Los Angeles Police Protective League/IUPA also was approved Friday and will save the city $63 million.
Screen Actors to Honor Betty White
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Although best known for her role as Rose Nylund on the 1980s “Golden Girls” TV series and as Sue Ann Nivens on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Betty White has for six decades been a beloved comedienne, pioneering television producer, host, author and animal rights advocate.
Often called “America’s Sweetheart,” White has won six Emmys, including the first and only Daytime Emmy for Best Game Show Host for a woman. In 1952, she became a Hollywood pioneer when she and two colleagues formed their own production company, creating the nationally televised comedy series “Life with Elizabeth.” The series made White one of only a few women with creative control before and behind the camera in television’s early years.
Now, her colleagues and co-workers plan to honor her with the Screen Actors (SAG) Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. White will receive the award at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards—the nation’s largest and only-nationally televised all-union awards show—which premieres live on TNT and TBS Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m. MT. SAG represents nearly 120,000 actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos.
SAG, NATCA and WGAE Elect Top Officers
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The Screen Actors (SAG) and National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) elected new leadership teams recently and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) re-elected their top officers.
Actor Ken Howard was elected as SAG’s president in a mail ballot, with results announced yesterday. Amy Aquino was elected secretary-treasurer. Howard and Aquino succeed Alan Rosenberg and Connie Stevens, respectively, and begin their two-year terms immediately.
Howard pledged to strengthen the union’s bargaining power:
“I campaigned on the promise that I’d do everything in my power to strengthen our position at the bargaining table by building a greater unity with [American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] AFTRA and the other entertainment unions, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. Despite the sharp differences that those of us active in Guild affairs sometimes have over strategy and tactics, we need to continually remind ourselves that we’re all on the same team, fighting for the same thing—and by pulling together, we’ll only grow stronger.”
NATCA chose Paul Rinaldi, an 18-year veteran air traffic controller from the control tower at Washington Dulles Airport, as president in a runoff election. Rinaldi, who has served as NATCA’s executive vice president since 2006, will take office on Oct. 17 to begin his three-year term. He will succeed Patrick Forrey.
The runoff election was held because no candidate won the required 50 percent-plus one majority in the first balloting, which was announced on July 31. NATCA Executive Vice President Patricia Gilbert won a clear majority and took office Sept. 1.
Rinaldi said he plans to make sure the nation’s air traffic controllers have a voice in the workplace:
Throughout my career, I’ve made it my mission to further the goals of this union and I’m not stopping now. We’ve had a difficult last three years, but we’ve persevered. I look forward to ensuring that our members always have a voice and, just as important, that the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] always listens.
Four Honored for Promoting Diversity in Entertainment Industry
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Committees of Actors’ Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors (SAG) will honor four performing artists who have made important contributions to increasing diversity in their professions. The 2009 Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Awards will be presented in Los Angeles on June 29.
The awards celebrate individuals and organizations that take an active stand for diversity within the industry. This year’s theme, “Storytellers,” commends individuals who, by sharing their own stories, have encouraged cross-cultural understanding and enabled others to express their dreams and creativity.
The 2009 honorees are:
- Actor George Takei for his long-standing history of activism for artists of every race and creed, including his work with the Arts in Transit program that creates opportunity for artists within the public sector;
- Victoria Ann Lewis, writer, actor and teacher who established the Other Voices Project, which cultivates and produces writers and performers with disabilities;
- Cheryl Burke, a dancer who encourages children of all ethnicities to express themselves through movement;
- Charlie Hill, a Native American stand-up comedian and storyteller who uses humor to share elements unique to Native American culture and those we all share.
SAG Members Approve TV, Theatrical Contracts
Members of the Screen Actors (SAG) voted overwhelmingly yesterday to approve new two-year basic agreements covering film and digital TV programs, motion pictures and new media productions.
Negotiations between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) began more than a year ago. The two sides reached tentative agreements on April 16. The contracts were approved by a mail ballot. In February, the SAG national board overwhelmingly rejected what was then called the AMPTP’s last, best and final offer, but negotiations continued.
SAG, AFTRA Members Ratify Commercials Pact
In a nationwide mail ballot completed yesterday, members of the Screen Actors (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) overwhelmingly approved new three-year contracts with the advertising industry. The new agreements cover performers working in commercials made for and reused on TV, radio, the Internet and new media.
The unions estimate the contract will raise members’ earnings by more than $108 million over the three-year agreement. The deal also establishes a first-ever payment structure in commercials for the Internet and new media. The new payment structure goes into effect in the third year of the contract.
Artists for Employee Free Choice
Yesterday, 47 top performers from Broadway and Hollywood launched Artists for Workers Choice, an exciting new campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act, sharing their support for this crucial working families’ legislation in a new video.
As one of the actors in the video, Jerry Stiller (also known as Seinfeld’s “Frank Costanza”) says the freedom to bargain for a better life is critical to an economy that works for everyone.
I’ve belonged to three unions in my life and every one gave me the freedom to bargain with my co-workers for decent hours, benefits, and safe conditions. If all workers don’t have the freedom to form unions, I don’t see how we can fix our economy.
The Stars Align for Employee Free Choice Act
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From the big screen to the Broadway stage, a stellar lineup of stars is joining the fight for working families.
Amy Brenneman, Nancy Giles, Esai Morales and Mike Farrell are among 47 performing artists who have taped a new video in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Brenneman, one of the television actors appearing in the video, says the freedom to form a union gives working families the economic security they need:
“People associate actors with fame and glory. The truth is for a long time my union contract was the reason I could support my family. That’s why I support the Employee Free Choice Act. Because each worker, regardless of their field, deserves the freedom to bargain for a contract, for a better life.”
Released today, the video and list of performing artists and their bios are available at the new website, Artists for Workers’ Choice (artists4workerschoice.org).
These artists—including Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winners and nominees—together with veteran writers and technicians, have created a clear, impassioned explanation of why America’s workers need the Employee Free Choice Act to restore balance in the workplace and have the bargaining power they need to rebuild a strong middle class.
Workers at American Airlines Protest CEO Bonuses, and More Bargaining News
Workers at American Airlines protest massive stock bonuses for top execs—and more updates from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 900 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
WORK STOPPAGES AND JOB ACTIONS
TWU, American Airlines: Thousands of mechanics and ground workers at American Airlines, represented by the Transport Workers (TWU), protested outside the carrier’s Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters in reaction to the stock bonuses for top executives and managers that were paid out on April 16.
