Today I attended the SAG Mid-Year Membership Meeting. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in – the place was packed. I was so happy to see more people turn out and take an interest in union issues. Every dollar we get is hard fought – trust me the opposition is in business to keep as much of the profit as possible. They do a pretty good job of it too. We have to have more informed voters, because our futures in the business depend on it. Again, I am a huge fan of SAG president Alan Rosenberg and his team. They are directly making a difference in my future as a performer.
As I’ve said before, I have great frustrations with some elements of dealing with SAG. Actually it’s probably more about the specific individuals I deal with on some of the claims I’ve had. But there is good news. Drum roll please…we have a new Basic Cable Live Action contract! This is for shows like “The Shield” and “Monk”; live action shows that are produced for basic cable. This is really important news for several reasons.
· the residuals for the first re-run increases from 12 to 17 percent of the performer's minimum.
· the bottom end increasing from 1 to 1.5 percent of the minimum for the 13th and each subsequent run.
· payments for the first, second, third and fourth re-runs will be paid in one lump sum when the first re-run airs-meaning a larger check for actors; even if they never air.
· retroactive to January 1, 2006.
Again, this is great news mainly because it’s a “term deal” that will expire on June 30th 2008 at which point it will be up for renegotiation. Before, there was no deal to expire so us actors kept getting…………you know what I mean. It’s especially timely for me since I recently worked on “Monk”. Even though the contract was finalized just 10 days ago and I worked on “Monk” 6 weeks ago I will get the benefits of the new contract because it’s retroactive to January 1, 2006. So there are a lot of performers, like myself, who will see the benefits immediately. Thank you Alan, Anne-Marie and so many other volunteers at the Guild that work so hard for us. It is appreciated.
As I’ve said before, I have great frustrations with some elements of dealing with SAG. Actually it’s probably more about the specific individuals I deal with on some of the claims I’ve had. But there is good news. Drum roll please…we have a new Basic Cable Live Action contract! This is for shows like “The Shield” and “Monk”; live action shows that are produced for basic cable. This is really important news for several reasons.
· the residuals for the first re-run increases from 12 to 17 percent of the performer's minimum.
· the bottom end increasing from 1 to 1.5 percent of the minimum for the 13th and each subsequent run.
· payments for the first, second, third and fourth re-runs will be paid in one lump sum when the first re-run airs-meaning a larger check for actors; even if they never air.
· retroactive to January 1, 2006.
Again, this is great news mainly because it’s a “term deal” that will expire on June 30th 2008 at which point it will be up for renegotiation. Before, there was no deal to expire so us actors kept getting…………you know what I mean. It’s especially timely for me since I recently worked on “Monk”. Even though the contract was finalized just 10 days ago and I worked on “Monk” 6 weeks ago I will get the benefits of the new contract because it’s retroactive to January 1, 2006. So there are a lot of performers, like myself, who will see the benefits immediately. Thank you Alan, Anne-Marie and so many other volunteers at the Guild that work so hard for us. It is appreciated.
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