Posted by
AuVox on Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:33:04 PM
I'm a proud member of both AFTRA and the Screen Actors' Guild, the two performers unions whose hard work and tenacity have inspired solidarity among its members for years. That is not to say they're without their problems. SAG in particular has been controlled by hardline radicals for some years. A recent election has begun to pull us back toward sanity.
Perhaps no industry in the country is more in need of unions. Actors by nature are generally emotional, creative creatures, not given to left-brain analytical business decisions. That's one reason why so many of us have agents and business managers. We also operate individually as we go about our daily professional lives, to audition, record, or perform. Thus, we're all subject to being "culled from the herd" at any given time--and eaten.
"Management" as defined in show biz is basically the massive studio and media conglomerates that produce the TV shows, movies, and many other projects that we depend on for our livelihood. They're huge.
So: "Massively huge, powerful, wealthy international media conglomerate" vs. "ingenue/model/waitress". Who's got the advantage?
The studios make so much more from the actors' than vice versa, that the symbiosis is less like "Sharks and Remoras", and more like "Sharks and whatever tiny little water dwellers that hang around for Remoras' scraps". The only possible way for performers to hold the line against being taken advantage of is through strong union representation. (And, because unity equals strength, merging SAG and AFTRA will be critical--sooner rather than later--but that's an issue for another time.)
All that being said, the recent notices from both unions that I should "support and fight for Card Check", the Democrats' and unions' attempt to fundamentally change the American way, and eliminate the secret ballot from the unionizing process, goes against every fiber of my being as an American.
First of all, the performers' unions never have any trouble getting people to join; getting your SAG card is one of the rights-of-passage in Hollywood. Secondly, the process eliminates the security an individual feels to vote his conscience--being approached by a couple of "union representatives" is also an example of "culling the herd".
I've always been against "Government Support for the Arts" under the assumption that if you need the government to support your art...maybe your art just isn't very good. I feel the same way about card check: if you can't convince someone to vote to join your union while in the privacy of the voting booth, you need to do a better job of persuading peoples' hearts and minds.
Card Check is un-American. And wrong.