This afternoon I attended the Basic Cable Live Action Strike Authorization Caucus. It was encouraging......I think. The SAG President, Alan Rosenberg, and his team were very good about explaining exactly what we are up against. Let me tell you, we’re up against some of the biggest corporations in the world…..I guess. They’re big!! And they have big global interest.

In my opinion SAG has been behind the curve for far too long. The current leadership seems to honestly want to break the mold of what has gotten us in such a tough position. Breaking that mold may include a strike in the near future. I don't look forward to being on strike, but I think it's an important tool for the leadership to have at its disposal.

I really wish I would have seen more of my fellow performers in attendance. This stuff is so important to our futures in the business. If the opposition could get away without paying us any residuals at all I think they probably would. Many think just getting a couple of national commercials can take care of everything. As someone who has done a national or two or three I can tell you that is not the whole story. These figures are based on a very complicated formula and it’s very difficult to keep track of it. I have had at least two of my commercials that others have said they saw in Europe, yet I wasn’t paid any foreign use fees. Fortunately, my recent “IBM” spot did run in foreign markets and I was paid for it.

I’m not saying you have to be on the board of SAG or anything like that. I just think it’s really important to be informed about how we are compensated. I must say I left there with a better feeling than I have in the past. The commercial contract expires in October and I’ll be watching what happens like a hawk.