Organizing
The Basic Premise of Organizing
The basic premise of organizing is that many voices saying the same thing are more powerful than one voice. Member-to-member communication and cooperation are key to successful organizing.
Actors are facing many new challenges that threaten their ability to make a living doing what we love. Although many actors love their work so much they might do it for free, the fact is that when producers are making money from an actor’s performance that actor deserves to be paid their fair share…it’s only right. Actors must organize and exercise solidarity to achieve the goals of increasing SAG productions and creating more work for all SAG members.
Take Action
Ready, and...ACTION!!!
Membership participation is the key to successful organizing. A powerful union comes from an activated membership. There are many ways to get involved at Screen Actors Guild, from joining MOVE (Member Organizing Volunteer Efforts) to participating in SAG trainings, membership meetings, and caucuses. Even with your busy schedule, there are opportunities for every member to help.
To help organize check out MOVE (Member Organizing Volunteer Efforts)
Background
In 1937, Hollywood studios signed a contract with the Screen Actors Guild to curb the exploitation of actors. This exploitive treatment included no enforced turnaround and no required meal breaks. Actors were often forced to sign seven year contracts with studios that regulated even their personal lives: who they could marry, what their morals should be and what political affiliations they should hold. The Guild contract ended these practices, and for the first time gave actors a sense of empowerment.
Taking on New Challenges
Such an amazing accomplishment would not have not been possible if a group of actors had not risked their careers to form Screen Actors Guild. The concerns facing actors in 1937 are very different than the ones facing us today in 2007. In the past, actors worked to end restrictive studio contracts, in the present, we must organize to secure our future in the midst of the digital revolution. Though we have gained a significant amount of power over the last 75 years that allows SAG to negotiate more effectively, some things never change: actors must still fight to build union solidarity and win contracts that protect their rights.
One thing that has not changed since 1937 is the need to increase the amount of signatory productions. Union power is collective power and is directly proportional to the percentage of the workforce the union represents. This is called “union density.” Increasing union density in the entertainment industry will, in turn, create more jobs for Guild members. Our goal is to increase the amount of Guild covered work and to empower our membership to act as one united voice in our upcoming 2008 contract negotiations. Today, we must organize to cover the increasing amount of new media work being created in the changing entertainment industry.
Not Your Traditional Labor Union
Over the last 30 years, many unions have experienced a drop in membership due to a shift in the labor market. New technologies have altered production and allowed companies to outsource or eliminate manufacturing jobs, while new jobs are created in the service sector. This shift has required traditional labor unions to embrace these changes and adjust their strategies to capture new work and maintain clout in an evolving labor market.
The entertainment industry is experiencing a shift as well. Many productions are being outsourced (also called “runaway production”). Over the past decade advancements in technologies have opened a floodgate of new forms of entertainment delivered over new electronic devices. Cell phones, iPods and the Internet hold more promise for actors with developing careers today than the traditional media around which our contracts were born. SAG members, from celebrities to the rank and file, are performing for a wide variety of mediums on all types of screens.
Opportunity Abounds
Opportunity abounds. But, this boom in new technologies has also given rise to many non-union productions bolstered by industry claims that new media is not covered by SAG contracts. Rest assured that whatever the screen, big or small, SAG contracts are there to protect the interests of professional actors.
Union power is collective power; if a union controls only a small percentage of the workforce, that union cannot be strong. It is each member’s right and responsibility make sure that their work is union-covered, for every performance, in every medium, on every screen.
When a non-union workforce is created, unions lose their clout within the industry. With an activated and educated membership acting in solidarity, SAG members can increase the amount of union-covered work in areas such as new media, Spanish language, and commercials.
