SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors Approves TV/Theatrical Negotiations
By: Courtnie Mele Apr. 13, 2014
The SAG-AFTRA National Board, meeting this weekend in a face-to-face plenary in Los Angeles, unanimously approved proposals for the upcoming TV/Theatrical - Exhibit A negotiations. As per custom and practice, the proposal package is confidential and will not be released.
SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard will chair the TV/Theatrical contracts negotiations and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White is the union's chief negotiator.
The approval of the package follows the meeting of the SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical Contracts Wages & Working Conditions Plenary Committee April 5, in which the committee approved the proposal negotiation package for presentation to the national board. Howard served as the national chair for the W&W committee.
The TV/Theatrical contracts wages and working conditions process began in January and gave members in every local in the country the opportunity to discuss the contracts and suggest potential provisions. W&W serves as a vital tool for union representatives and the committee to determine priorities when negotiating.
Negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) are scheduled to commence on May 5, 2014 at AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
National Executive Director David White provided a broad update on several operational matters including an update on residuals processing times. Through recent process and workflow improvements, SAG-AFTRA has slashed residuals processing times from over 90 days to under 30 days. White praised the work of Chief Information Officer Daniel Inukai, Chief Finance Officer Arianna Ozzanto, National Director of Finance & Strategy Barbara Tiomico, and Director of Residuals Processing Valery Kotik and their dedicated staff teams for their great work in improving the processing times.
"This is a terrific result and the board gave a rousing and appropriate ovation for our staff whose innovation has paid tremendous dividends for all members," SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White said. "We've substantially improved our performance in this area and we will continue to find ways to improve our process while focusing our attention on other operational challenges."
The increased processing speed comes at a time when average residuals check volume has grown significantly from 2.9 million checks in 2012 to 3.5 million checks in 2013.
Finance ReportSecretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino and CFO Ozzanto reported on the results of the 3rd quarter. Expenses are tracking to plan, while revenue is higher than anticipated. The union will close the fiscal year with a budget surplus. The surplus funds will be used to increase the union's financial reserves.
The fiscal year 2015 budget was approved without objection. The anticipated operating result for 2015 is also expected to yield a budget surplus.
Contracts ReportThe board also approved the proposal packages for the 2014 Television Animation Agreement, the Basic Cable Live Action agreement and Basic Cable Television Animation agreement. Per custom and practice, the proposals packages are confidential and will not be released. Howard will chair the Basic Cable Negotiating committee and White is chief negotiator.
In other Contracts Department business, the national board approved the negotiating committee and wages and working conditions process for the 2014 Interactive Contract Negotiations. The proposals are not released and a date for negotiations has not yet been set.
Legal Report
Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Duncan Crabtree-Ireland reported Executive Committee actions, including the approval of the committee for the Sound Recordings Code negotiations and the approval of the proposal package for the negotiations. Assistant National Executive Director of Sound Recordings Randy Himes is lead negotiator for the contract. The members of the committee are not released. Negotiations will commence in late April.
In other action, the National Board unanimously appointed Atlanta Local First Vice President Mike Pniewski as a trustee to the Screen Actors Guild-Producers Pension and Health Plans (SAG P&H) and reviewed and voted on routine governance and administrative matters.
The meeting concluded at 2:50 p.m. Sunday, April 13.
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents more than 165,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. With national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide, SAG-AFTRA members work together to secure the strongest protections for media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.
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