AFTRA Responds to Michael Bell's Letter on INteractive Negotiation.

Just got this from my pal Holter Graham.
It's AFTRA's response to the letter Michael Bell sent regarding the upcoming interactive negotiation.
I hope to ask him some more specific questions later.

The discourse is getting interesting...

September 1, 2008

To AFTRA Members,

We are writing you on this Labor Day holiday as we celebrate the contributions American workers have made to the strength and vibrancy of our nation. Regardless of category or type of employment, like all union workers, AFTRA members stand strong for the basic principles of organized labor -- freedom to organize and bargain collectively and the right to have fair wages, protections, and benefits in return for their labors and talent.

As we celebrate Labor Day, we look forward to AFTRA members' new challenges and opportunities in moving those principles forward in our day-to-day work. AFTRA members and staff are working on implementing details of the new Sound Recordings Code, and moving forward our legislative work on copyright protection for performers. AFTRA will soon roll out informational material and programs for members who work under the AFTRA Television Agreement to assist you in understanding your new contracts in primetime and non-primetime programming. AFTRA members at CBS and other broadcast companies are coming together to address the impact of HD radio and new technologies on their working lives. AFTRA members around the country will soon begin intense preparations for negotiation of our Television and Radio Commercials Contracts, which have been extended to March 31, 2009. More immediately, we are preparing to address the AFTRA Interactive Agreement.

With respect to the Interactive Agreement, yesterday afternoon, an elected officer of the Screen Actors Guild Hollywood Division circulated an email regarding the AFTRA Interactive Agreement to performers around the country, many of whom are AFTRA members. The insertion by an officer of another labor organization into AFTRA’s internal collective bargaining processes has again generated unnecessary confusion and the dissemination of inaccurate information. It is hoped that the facts outlined below, will address any confusion that email may have caused you.

• The AFTRA Interactive Agreement has been in existence for two decades since AFTRA members first organized the area of interactive gaming to ensure that they, and the working performers that came after them, had the protection of union rates and conditions. AFTRA was the first performers’ union to organize and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with Electronics Arts and since then AFTRA members have continued to expand union protections for performers working in this field. The Interactive Agreement is not now, nor has it ever been, a contract negotiated under the Phase One Agreement between AFTRA and SAG.

• The current AFTRA Interactive Agreement is set to expire on December 31, 2008. In June 2008, the AFTRA National Board authorized the appointment of an Interactive Steering Committee (ISC) to guide strategic approaches for negotiations of the Interactive Agreement in 2008. In authorizing this Committee, the National Board was keenly aware that the Commercials Contracts expire on October 29, 2008, (now extended to March 31, 2009), and wanted an authorized working group of performers invested in the Interactive field to actively monitor and ensure that progress towards reaching a timely successor Interactive Agreement was not overlooked during the intensive preparations necessary for the Commercials Contracts.

• The ISC was appointed from among working AFTRA members who have substantial employment under, and working knowledge of, the AFTRA Interactive Agreement. The ISC consists of working AFTRA performers from the three major centers of AFTRA’s Interactive employment: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. During the month of August, the ISC also met with groups of working members from these and other cities. Every one of these members has substantial work experience under the AFTRA Interactive Agreement, and is also a dual card holder.

• Members of the ISC and working groups have provided their talents on games such as Grand Theft Auto, Gears of War , Halo II & III, Final Fantasy, Trilogy III, Mercenaries, Metal Gear IV, Speed Racer, Godfather II, Batman, Unreal Tournament, Halo Wars, Spiderman III, Lord of the Rings, CSI 3, Kane and Lynch, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars Force Unleashed, to name just a few. We are deeply appreciative to these working AFTRA performers who are volunteering their time to participate in and guide our process, and for sharing their extensive experience and understanding of this field on behalf of their fellow performers.

• The ISC has determined that it is in the best interests of working members to attempt to resolve a successor agreement sooner rather than later, and it would not be in the best interests of working performers to delay our work and possibly compromise timely implementation of any wage increases and improved conditions that are ultimately negotiated. To that end, it is in the best interests of performers to hold off-the-record conversations with representatives of the AFTRA signatory employers in early September to determine if a framework for reaching a successor agreement in a timely fashion is possible. Once we have had an opportunity to determine whether reaching an acceptable framework is possible (or not), meetings will be held for AFTRA members working under the AFTRA Interactive Agreement for their information and input. Those meetings have not yet been scheduled, but we anticipate they will be held in late September.

• The ISC members have also determined that, having successfully achieved more than 30% increases in base rates in our 2005 negotiations, establishing a structure for residual or “back-end” payments is one of the priorities that must be addressed in reaching a successor agreement in this 2008 cycle.

• We are all committed to executing a sober, thoughtful and strategic approach to reaching a strong successor agreement for working performers. As such, AFTRA will not engage in any discussions in the press, on blogs, or viral e-mails nor allow the AFTRA Interactive Agreement, or any other contract, to be used for political purposes. Official notices of informational meetings where AFTRA members can receive accurate complete information and provide their input will be sent to interested members later this month.

We were also pleased to learn that during recent discussions with FIA’s English-speaking unions, our sisters and brothers in Canada, Great Britain, and Australia are also committed to coordinating efforts in the future to raise conditions for performers worldwide.

We wish you all a safe and happy Labor Day as we celebrate the achievements and contributions of AFTRA members and the proud traditions of American Labor which enrich our society.

In Solidarity,

Roberta Reardon
Nation al President

Denny Delk
National Vice President
National Chair, Interactive Steering Committee

Five Questions for AFTRA National VP Holter Graham about the AFTRA - AMPTP Negotiations

I had a chance to send some emails back and forth with Holter Graham about the current AFTRA - AMPTP contract. Some really interesting stuff, from someone who was in the room on the negotiations.

Before I get into the actual questions, I'd just like to thank Holter for taking the time in providing some very thoughtful answers to the questions I've asked. I've personally been hard on AFTRA in the past (even though radio has been VERY good to me), and regardless of where you might sit on the current situation, I think a call for perspective and reasonableness (in discourse) is something we should all agree on. So, my faithful readers, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!

1. What was the mood of the negotiations? Any fall out from the WGA strike?

The mood in the negotiations was predominantly businesslike, with some very hairy moments caused by both interior and exterior factors. For example, when the issue of Clip Consent exploded in all of our faces, there were multiple moments where AFTRA and the AMPTP were very far apart, and multiple moments when either side could have walked away. But AFTRA stuck strong, and the AMPTP backed down and we retained Consent and built a system by which we can make money and protect ourselves moving forward.

At the same time there was always a looming sense that AFTRA was in the room to actually get a deal done that would keep people working, whereas SAG had already started their bluster and scapegoating, so the AMPTP knew that they probably only had one chance to discuss the issues at hand with mature adults, so that added a sense of urgency on both sides.

The WGA strike did not effect us directly, but indirectly the huge financial losses in both sides (labor and management) and the items that the WGA had already taken off the table before they even struck--DVD Residual increases, for example, were abandoned early--served to shape the framework from which we negotiated.

2. What should we be looking forward to in this new contract?

The short list for the new contract is: Money and Protection. There are raises across the board--the entire package is represented as about a 4% increase in total AMPTP spending, which is about a quarter more than unions usually get from one negotiation to the next ( the average overall bump is 3%). There are raises in minimums--more than 10% over the three years--major-role provisions, schedule and money break amounts, as well as a structure for New Media payments and residuals that did not exist until now.

Until now we have been working free-form in New Media, but AFTRA got jurisdiction, which was not guaranteed until now. And while the AMPTP can make certain low-budget experimental New Media programs without guaranteed jurisdiction, AFTRA created such a wide and all-encompassing category of "covered performer" that it will be very difficult for the AMPTP to make much of anything without full union coverage.

3. What's AFTRA's vision for emmergent technologies/new media/video games?

I addressed some of the massive gains we got in New Media in the question above. Video Games/Interactive are a separate contract, one that we at AFTRA are already preparing to negotiate in the fall--I will more than likely be on that committee as I have a a pretty good list of interactive VO and Motion-Capture work. Obviously trying for back-end payments like other areas of our work is paramount, but we have to realize that changing to any form of residual or back-end will be an enormous shift in how we get paid, one that will almost certainly costs the game companies a lot more money. And the unions do not actually have a huge percentage of the work in interactive yet, so our strategy will be to utilize as much leverage as we can while not overplaying our hand and getting locked out of a very lucrative, growing market. For instance, 8 of the top 10 video game grossers last year were made with union talent, but union talent worked on less than 30% of the total games made. So what that means is: we clearly bring a lot of value to a game, but we are not infiltrated into every corner of the industry yet. It is a tenuous position, but AFTRA, at least, understands what is at stake and what our members deserve, and we will fight for that as hard as we can. I know I will.

4. Where do we go from here? What's the next step for this guild?

AFTRA has no problem at all with the 'where do we go from here?' question: through all of this foolish backstabbing and misinformation and inter-union strife of the past years, AFTRA as kept its eye on the ball. When AFTRA suspended Phase One to negotiate with the AMPTP solo, it was because we knew that negotiating alone would be our best bet to get a string deal for or performers, one that would set the template for a storing contract for all union performers in this country. It has been painted a lot of ways, most of them false, but in fact AFTRA has been guided 24/7 by the tenets of what is best for the members.

The proof of that is this strong contract, as well as the fact that my other union never even really tried negotiating with the AMPTP: AFTRA could see that the SAG LA group in power was again going to spend time and money on posturing and not working and so we went out and got a great deal that hopefully will be ratified.

In terms of the future, I would recommend that your readers take a good long look at how things have been going lately in our industry and in the Screen Actor's Guild, my parent union. Every bump in the road, every internecine battle, every confusing campaign of disinformation that pits member against member, has come from ONE source: a small, scared, but effective group of LA actors who call themselves Membership First--which is hard for me to even type without getting mad. They are significantly more worried about holding onto their power base in the Guild than they are about caring for those of us in the union.

They use a lot of rhetoric and say things like "we will stand firm for you!" And they do stand firm, but they are standing firm on ridiculous and outlandish views of the industry and our place in it. They get a lot of votes because they promise the whole world. And then they invariably fail--have been failing for years--and usually blame someone else. Look to the White House for another example of this kind of politics. They are the reason merger failed, they are the reason we struck commercials in 2000 without a real plan for victory, and they have been quoted as saying that the commercials strike failed because it did NOT LAST LONG ENOUGH. Thats who's running our Guild.

There are elections in the fall. I hope your readers will try and educate themselves and then vote for candidates for the SAG LA board who are pragmatic, effective, and dedicated to bettering and protecting the livelihoods of members here in the real world. I will provide you with a list of those I am impressed by when that election grows near, so stay tuned.

5. What are some of your personal concerns/feelings on the current SAG "Vote No" campaign?

I think the above answer painted a pretty clear image of how I feel about the SAG Vote No campaign. I Voted YES three weeks ago, because that is the only choice for all our members--a strong contract on one hand, or a union tampering with a different union to cover the fact that it is inept on the other. It is sad, i hate it, and merger would have fixed everything, but that's the way it is. Vote YES, vote Membership First out, and then we can all spend a lot more time making sure we are good at our jobs so that we can pay our bills. And I want to thank your readers for taking the time to listen to me, and for having the intelligence to want as much information as they can get on the issues that effect their lives.

Holter Graham, Baltimore native, current AFTRA NY president and National Vice President. First seen on screen in 1985's Maximum Overdrive [WOOT! - Ed.], has been a SAG member for near 20 years, and AFTRA member for 13. Working in all fields of the industry, he's currently the voice of HBO for Genre (HBO-produced) content, as well as ads, audiobooks, narrations, and dozens of other gigs at any given moment. No 'day job' since graduating from Skidmore in 1994 a full time working actor!

Well there goes Phase One, AFTRA votes to go it alone...

Well there you have it.
Hollywood Reporter is reporting (it's what they do) that AFTRA will be negotiating contracts on its own from now on.
i agree with comments that this move doesn't seem to be for the benefit of the actors involved with both guilds, but political.
SAG has been making A LOT of noise of late, but recently been backing off, even pulling plans to institute bloc voting and pressuring AFTRA for a more accurately representative split at the bargaining table.
With upcoming contract renegotiations, it leads me to think AFTRA is making a play for AFTRA contracts to be the preferred contracts. Why wouldn't actors want a unified front at the negotiating table? Much like previous contracts (video games for example) I think we'll see a guild ready to expend as much energy negotiating with producers as it will be expending in undercutting rival guilds.

Could we be witnessing the beginning of buy out contracts? This would worry me as both guilds are notorious for setting ridiculous minimums for scale. Combine that with losing residuals, and I just have to wonder how much further we can de-value performance...

Story @ Hollywood Reporter

SAG Watchdog: Aftra Killing Residuals?

someaudioguy some audio guy AFTRA, SAG, Negotiations, Contracts, Phase One, Rogue

Is AFTRA doing away with actor's residuals?

Sent in from my friend David, SagWatchDog.com is posting contracts, which prove that AFTRA will be cutting residuals from up coming negotiations with studios.

If you don�t believe AFTRA�s current leadership doesn�t want you see these contracts, let me exhibit a letter and contract that AFTRA sent me after considerable pressure on my part.

It is the �It�s a Laugh Productions, Inc.� agreement between Disney and AFTRA leadership. As, you read it, remember it sacrifices actors livelihood to a company that reported annual revenue of THIRTY FIVE BILLION DOLLARS--a significant amount that Disney credited, in the press, to such highly successful AFTRA cable shows like Hannah Montana and others.

You�ll notice the use of intimidation in the letter to persuade me to NOT reveal the contracts content to you. Sorry, guys, it ain�t gonna work on the Ol� Dog.

You can read the rest of the post, and see copies of these contracts here.

some audio guy someaudioguy aftra voice over voice acting guild actors contracts business commercials residuals

Nick Kroll and Seth Macfarlane bring you "The Negotiating Table"

This is prolly NSFW...
Seth Macfarlane and Nick Kroll give us the inside scoop on the AMPTP/WGA negotiations.



Written by Seth Macfarlane; Directed by Bryan Carmel and Brendan Colthurst; Produced by Kat Foster and Nick Kroll; Edited by Bryan Carmel; Featuring Josh Radnor, Kat Foster, Nick Kroll, John Viener, Seth MacFarlane, and Erik Weiner (woot! I've worked with Erik!).

You know, there's a part of me that's REALLY going to miss the higher quality content being produced online when the strike is over.

S.A.G. to Dump AFTRA, says "It's not Me, It's You"...

Well, I can't say I'm that surprised.
Daily Variety (amongst EVERY other trade publication and news channel) is covering the probable end to Phase 1.

I'm really not trying to pick sides here, but when one guild has twice the members (more than twice when you factor out dual card members), and out earns the other guild by a factor of NINE to ONE, it only makes sense that at some point it'll start to flex some muscle.

As I've written before, I think having the two guilds fighting over the same space only serves to neuter the contracts that come out. The video game contract is a perfect example. Both guilds completely underestimated the potential earnings for video games, and now we're stuck with voice over contracts that actors will never be able to make a living off of. The producers will NEVER renegotiate this contract, as why would they pay more for the same service.
This is also a HUGE disservice to the 40,000 dual card holders that have to work twice as hard to keep up pension and benefits.

The radical in me says it's time for one union, but the realist in me says it's time for a hard-line stance. It's time the members stood up and fought for clear and decided boundaries on what the two guilds are allowed to negotiate.
Having both guilds negotiating 50-50 on everything has only benefited production so far, to the detriment of the 150,000 actors involved.

This is a huge deal for people working in VO. I would highly recommend reading up on Phase 1.
@ Daily Variety

Tensions between SAG and AFTRA heating up again?

Just sent in to me from a friend.
It looks like SAG and AFTRA will be feuding again.
A concerned group of SAG actors have posted a petition to the Screen Actors Guild Board, and it has collected almost 400 signatures since December 2nd.

The concern:

To the financial detriment of actors, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is undercutting Screen Actors Guild contracts by offering inferior wages and benefits in jurisdictions that traditionally belong to Screen Actors Guild.

The petition:

Protecting Actors

Resolution to Screen Actors Guild Board of Directors

WHEREAS a steep price has been paid by actors who came before us to acquire residuals and the Pension & Health benefits that have become the lifeblood of actors, and a steep price is being paid now by the writers to prevent free exhibition days and to gain a fair compensation in the continued exploitation of creative work;

And WHEREAS our Phase One collective bargaining partner, AFTRA, is giving away what the writers are currently on strike to secure, (AFTRA gave away simultaneous internet streaming, 10-20 play days on cable in the first year, multiple plays per day, no residuals on any of these plays and thus no pension and health benefits);

And WHEREAS, by federally authorized elections, these shows are not AFTRA’s jurisdiction but are Screen Actors Guild’s and have been raided from S.A.G. where residuals and Pension & Health benefits would have been paid;

And WHEREAS in 2002, without a membership referendum, the AFTRA National Board gave the Association of Talent Agents (ATA) financial interest in exchange for $500,000; the same package that was rejected by a vote of the S.A.G. membership;

And WHEREAS we have such fundamental differences with regard to residuals, Pension & Health benefits, the proper place of agents in their representation of actors, and the participation of members in decisions critical to their welfare;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Screen Actors Guild take every measure available to enforce its jurisdiction up to and including taking a vote of actors to determine who they want to represent them in collective bargaining agreements in all aspects of their work.

I don't want to pick sides here, but I will say that I find it unpleasant to have two guilds divided over the same space. SAG and AFTRA share some forty thousand members, and any time a contract is up, they spend more energy trying to undercut each other than working out a fair deal with production. As long as this bargaining position is maintained, actors will never have true "collective" bargaining, and the contracts negotiated will continue to work towards the actor's detriment. Either there needs to be a clearer division between who gets what, or the two guilds need to merge.

This is of course easier said than done...

Read the rest of the petition here.

Thanks David!

Internet Income Big Issue as Hostile Hollywood Labor Talks Begin, Are We Looking at a Strike?

Hollywood Today has a long and well written article on the impending WGA negotiation, and it's impacts on "New Media". I see these being instrumental to the future of the entertainment industry, especially as the people that actually create this content seem to get hosed on every new platform that emerges (Cable, Home Video, etc).
Now some people think that October is going to be the hot month, but I think it's more likely that serious action wont be taken until actors contracts are up in June 2008.

"With the threat of a strike looming, tense talks kick off today between movie and TV producers and unionized script writers over . While aimed at a contract expiring in October, some insiders believe that ultimately the acrimonious battle over digital compensation could push a final agreement to June 2008, when actor’s contracts are up as well.

That could set the stage for an epic labor showdown in Tinseltown pitting corporate owned, bottom-line oriented management — facing a rapidly changing marketplace – against creative talent (writers and actors) who feel short changed seeing their work pop up on broadband, digital, online, wireless and in other new media markets."

While I do believe something NEEDS to happen here, I'm just not convinced that a strike will accomplish anything. One thing I've learned using these here intarwebs, is there's a lot of user generated (NON UNION) entertainment to consume. Just like the last big strike left us in this reality show hell, I think production will find ways to produce content, and will be able to wait the unions out (thereby "winning" the right to shove another crappy contract down everyone's collective throats).

It's just really frustrating, as there's so much more money to be made out there, and production and unions just seem more interested in "winning"...

Anywho, read on. It is a great write up on what got us to this point and what the potential out comes could be.


read more | digg story

SAG, ATA talk possible franchise agreement

Sounds like talks between SAG and the ATA are still pretty confrontational. This is upsetting. After Cable, Home Video, DVD, Interactive, CD-ROM games, and now with "new media" looming on the horizon, this is NOT the time for the Unions/Guilds to be scrapping.

We need to be able to stand united, to show production that our various crafts can not be de-valued.


SAG, ATA talk possible franchise agreement