Saturday, July 25, 2009

SAG NATIONAL BOARD APPROVES AND RECOMMENDS NEW SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT TO BASIC CABLE LIVE ACTION AGREEMENT

SAG CONTRACT NEWS. BASIC CABLE LIVE ACTION. SAG'S PRESS RELEASE:
Los Angeles, CA (July 25, 2009) – The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors today voted an overwhelming 95 percent to 5 percent to recommend a successor agreement to the 2006 Basic Cable Live Action Agreement, which covers dramatic television motion pictures, excluding animated television motion pictures, produced for initial exhibition on a basic cable service.
The tentative agreement, which would expire concurrently with the TV/Theatrical agreement on June 30, 2011, includes:
• Effective annual increases comprised of 3.0% in year one and 3.5% in year two in wage increases and .5% in pension contributions upon ratification.
Other terms match the terms of the recently approved TV/Theatrical agreement.
The motion states:
The National Board recommends the Basic Cable Live Action Agreement in a referendum to the membership, with supportive information about the contract and the contract itself.
Approved 95% - 5%
In other actions the board:
Authorized the Interim National Executive Director to expand the joint bargaining agreement with AFTRA under which the Commercials Contracts were negotiated to include the Industrial & Educational Contract with the 2008 Industrial & Educational Contract Negotiating Committee to serve through the next round of bargaining of the Industrial & Educational Contract.
Approved unanimously
Opposed by a vote of 51.74 percent to 48.26 percent the closure of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Long Term Care Facility.
The Board received presentations from representatives of the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) and the Resident-family coalition Saving the Lives of Our Own.
After thorough discussion of both sides of the issue, the Board voted 51.74 percent to 48.26 percent to publicly oppose the closing of the MPTF’s Long Term Care facility.
“I think the extremely close vote is evidence of the difficult decision we wrestled with today,” said Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg.
“The MPTF’s significant financial and operational concerns were absolutely heard, but after hearing the presentations from both sides of the issue, our board voted to oppose the closing and did so to try and preserve the legacy of the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Long Term Care historic commitment, in honor of the screen actors who founded it – Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin,” Rosenberg added.
The full text of the motion follows:
It was moved and seconded to approve that the SAG National Board publicly state the Guild’s opposition to the closing of the Motion Picture and Television Fund Long Term Care Facility.
Approved 51.74% – 48.26%
Voted 70.49 percent to 29.51 percent to postpone the automatic increase of the initiation fee for 2009.
The move provides an economic incentive to new members across the country by approving a one-year remission in the standard increase to the new join fee.
“The automatic increase in initiation fees would have made the cost of joining SAG more difficult for actors across the country, particularly in this difficult economic period. This action recognizes the stark reality facing professional actors and helps to keep the possibility of membership within reach of those who wish to join,” said SAG Interim National Executive Director David White.
The Guild’s initiation fee increases are determined as a multiple of the principal day rate as determined by the Guild’s collective bargaining agreement.
The Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors met today at a previously scheduled videoconference plenary in Los Angeles and New York.