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MUMBAI:
The Screen Actors Guild of America (Sag) has commenced dialogue
with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers
(AMPTP) over a new contract.
Sag
president Alan Rosenberg says, " We are facing the demise of middle class
actors. We now have to work more just to make what we earned a few years ago.
Favoured nations salaries for guest stars and featured actors are now the norm
and most actors can’t get the quotes (individual salary) that they could
a year ago. It’s a 'take it or leave it' world and many will have to leave
the business for other work if the downward trends continue.
"We
have to negotiate fair payments for all new media formats
to help us expand opportunities for middle class actors to
get more work, just as the employers are expanding their opportunities
to earn even more revenue. We simply can’t wait until
this boat has sailed. We need to be on the boat—and it’s
leaving now. The
future of professional acting depends on it.
"Screen
Actors Guild is fully prepared for bargaining. In fact, we
have been conducting extensive research and reaching out to
members for the last two years in anticipation of these important
talks."
Eosenberg
further says that Sag conducted Wages & Working conditions
meetings throughout the country during January and February
to define its priorities and develop proposals. The National
W&W Committee met for two days in late March and endorsed
the final proposal package, which was subsequently approved
by Sag's National Board of Directors last month.
Sag
had developed proposals jointly with Aftra under their Phase One joint bargaining
agreement. Then Aftra voted to break off from the joint efforts at the end of
last month. On
its part the AMPTP notes that the three labour agreements already reached -- with
the DGA, the WGA, and the Aftra Network Code -- provide the new framework for
our industry’s economic future.
In a statement it says, "We hope that our negotiations with Sag and Aftra
will bolster this new economic framework, enabling all of us to share equitably
in the success of new media and to respond with creativity and swiftness to market
changes. If our industry relies on this new framework, we can all avoid more harmful
and unnecessary strikes."
One
such strike happened with the WGA in November 2007 and lasted
for 100 days. Now AMPTP says that it is committed to creating
a genuine economic partnership with the talented men and women
who help create entertainment.
AMPTP says that it remains committed to ensuring that the
rewards of success are distributed fairly among all the industry’s
talent, so that all parties have appropriate and meaningful
stakes in the outcome of the work done.
AMPTP
also says that it will continue to work as hard as it can and to make the reasonable
compromises that are necessary -- to avoid any additional, needless work stoppages.
Sag
has on the new media front made a proposal on compensation,
working conditions and residuals the members should receive
when they work on programs made for new media. It says that
this proposal also recognizes the economics of producing for
various new media formats and enables the employers to compete
in this new space.
The
proposals contain what it says is an equitable and simple
answer to the question of how producers should pay residuals
when television programs and theatrical motion pictures are
exhibited on new media formats.
Sag
also propose what it calls a long overdue increase to the DVD/Home Video formula.
A number of Sag proposals are for improvements designed to benefit Major Role
actors (featured, guest stars, weekly players, etc.), whose ability to make a
living has been increasingly diminished by cost-cutting industry practices.
Sag
will also make proposals designed to rectify the historic
inequities faced by background actors, whose contributions
continue to be inadequately recognized in the contract.
Sag
will also propose increased employer contributions to provide funding for improved
benefits. Sag
is also addressing the trend of “forced endorsement” which has taken
product placement to the next level by requiring members to do uncompensated commercials
embedded in scripted content.
Sag is seeking improvements and protections for young performers,
stunt performers, performers with disabilities, dancers and
others.
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