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AFTRA FLASH
Your Voice - in Music, Entertainment and News & Information
- Your Union
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July 2004
In this issue
Please click
on the following links to take you to the news...
AFTRA NEWS
LOCAL NOTES
MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
INDECENCY UPDATE
SOUND RECORDING NEWS
TAKE ACTION: OVERTIME
WE REMEMBER
CONGRATULATIONS...
In an effort to ensure that AFTRA is funded and staffed to meet the
challenges it faces, the National Board, meeting in New York July
9 & 10, approved a number of reorganization measures intended
to create a leaner, more efficient organization. The steps taken include
modifying the size of the National Board from 123 to 75, reducing
the number of board meetings by one annually, closing the San Diego
and one of the two Texas offices (to be determined) and instituting
a regionalized structure to serve them, temporarily cutting expenses
in the areas of staff benefits and convention delegates. The board
also endorsed the preliminary recommendation to move AFTRA’s
National headquarters from Manhattan to Los Angeles and instructed
the National Executive Director and the union’s Finance Committee
to present a report and analysis covering the financial, strategic
and organizational implications of that proposed relocation to the
2005 National Board Summer plenary and to the 2005 Convention. Finally,
in an effort to maximize the human resources of the organization and
eliminate artificial barriers, the National Board voted to create
a single National staff structure covering employees working in each
of the Locals throughout the country.
The 2nd Annual AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Awards (AMEEs)
were presented to NPR’s Bob Edwards and The Today
Show’s Willard Scott for their dedication and contribution
to broadcasting and AFTRA. Bob Edwards hosted Morning Edition,
the most listened to program on public radio, for 25 years. Willard
Scott, the The Today Show's preeminent weather reporter and
centenarian birthday announcer, has been a broadcaster for over 50
years. The awards were presented July 10 at the National Plenary in
New York.
AFTRA recently joined the national Don’t Count Us Out
coalition to assert its commitment to fair and accurate TV and radio
ratings methodologies. Because the interests of AFTRA members are directly
impacted by ratings, it is essential that data collection be conducted
in a manner that correctly reflects all viewers and listeners, especially
in recording the viewing and listening habits of Latinos, African-Americans
and others who appear to be under-reported in Nielsen Media Research’s
new Local People Meter (LPM) ratings system. For more information, please
go to Don’t
Count Us Out (www.dontcountusout.com/).
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AFTRA LA's Legislative and Public Affairs Task Force sponsored a very
successful educational forum on June 23 discussing the national's
health care crisis. John Connolly moderated the program
and discussed the continuing impact of this crisis on AFTRA members.
In discussing long term solutions, panelists urged support for California
Senate Bill 921, authored by State Senator Sheila Kuehl, a long-time
AFTRA member, which would create a universal health care system in
the state. Also discussed was California Senate Bill 2, signed into
law by former California Governor Gray Davis. SB2 requires medium
and large sized California employers to provide affordable health
insurance for eligible workers. Opponents of this important new law
have placed a referendum on the November 2004 ballot requiring California
voters to decide now on whether or not the legislation should be implemented.
AFTRA is actively working to support this proposition to assure SB
2 remains in place. For more information on volunteering for LA's
"Affordable Health Care for All" campaign, please call Leslie
Simon at (323) 634-8118 or lsimon@aftra.com.
WFSB-TV Channel 3 in Hartford, CT was charged with unlawful interference,
discrimination and refusal to bargain. The Complaint cites more than
a dozen instances of illegal conduct, including interrogating employees,
threatening an employee with loss of future earnings, withholding
raises and pay from employees, illegally imposing new contract terms
and conditions, informing employees that they were not covered by
the union contract and discouraging employees from joining the union.
The Government’s attorney is set to begin its prosecution of
WFSB-TV management at a trial on September 27, 2004 in Hartford. Check
the AFTRA website
(www.aftra.com)
for updates.
Ruling in AFTRA's favor, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
ruled that broadcasters at WGCI-FM and WGRB-AM must be included in
a single bargaining unit, as opposed to the two units sought by the
company. In early 2003, the broadcasters at WGCI-FM and WGCI-AM, now
known as WGRB-AM, approached AFTRA to represent them. In May 2004,
a significant majority of the broadcasters employed at WGCI-FM/WGRB-AM
signed union authorization cards. Clear Channel filed an objection
to the election, arguing that the two stations were separate, but
the NLRB clearly disagreed.
AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB against
Clear Channel, owners of Gospel Radio 1390 in Chicago, for firing
popular radio personality Karen Fletcher last week. The complaint
states that Fletcher was wrongfully terminated because of her support
for organizing efforts at the radio station and her firing was “intended
to discourage support for the union.”
To celebrate cooperation among AFTRA, producers, station managers,
legislators and friends; AFTRA Pittsburgh held the first Annual Awards
Night on June 14th. An Award was presented to AFTRA member and producer
of the PBS American Soundtrack Series, T.J. Lubinsky.
Also honored for his years of devoted and continuing service to AFTRA
was retired broadcaster, Alan Boal. Former local
board Secretary and National Board member, Susan Chapek
was recognized as she said her good-byes before moving to North Carolina.
,
AFTRA National President John Connolly is slated
to testify before the FCC Localism Task Force on July 21 in Monterey,
California. This event will take place on the heels of AFTRA's July
20 Washington D.C. release of a multi-union media worker's poll on
media consolidation and the corresponding demand for FCC hearings
around the country on this critical public policy issue. The media
worker's poll, letter to Chairman Powell and text of President Connolly's
testimony will be available at www.aftra.com.
Further details about the FCC hearing are available at www.fcc.gov/localism.
In two separate but equally important victories for the American public
and for diversity of opinion in the media, the Senate voted to rescind,
and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned
the Federal Communications Commission's relaxation of media ownership
rules. These actions by both the Senate and the Court confirm AFTRA’s
long-held public position: that the FCC reached its rules last June
in a rush to judgment driven by ideology and the industry's agenda,
and without the serious debate and discussion necessary to protect
the public interest.
Commissioner
Michael Copps has asked FCC Chairman Michael Powell for media ownership
hearings across the country to hear public opinion on the issue. As
of now, the FCC issued a notice inviting public comment on local broadcasting
issues in the age of consolidation. Comments will be due September
1. Stay tuned to AFTRA
for updates (www.aftra.com/legislative/media.htm/).
Rather than complain about problems caused by radio consolidation,
the AFTRA Seattle Local and AFTRA Sound Recordings Department, along
with Reclaim The Media and other industry organizations, drafted the
Seattle
Radio Statement (www.reclaimthemedia.org/seattlestatement)
to “fix” those problems, at the “Fixing Radio Forum”
in Seattle. The statement was presented to the FCC in Portland on
June 24, when Commissioners Copps and Adelstein convened a public
town meeting to solicit testimony on issues related to media consolidation
and local accountability. We hope that other communities around the
country replicate this exercise.
As a result of your letters and petitions, the Broadcast Decency Amendment
passed by the Senate did not include fine increases for individual performers.
This legislation, rightfully delayed as issues surrounding media consolidation
and freedom of expression were more fully considered, reinforces the
long-standing policy of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")
to hold broadcast licensees -- who control and profit from programming
decisions -- responsible for broadcast indecency violations. While legitimate
concerns still exist about the possible chilling effect that large broadcaster
fines may place upon free speech over the airwaves, the legislation
avoids the pitfall of fining individual performers, announcers, broadcasters
and sound recording artists. Now the fight moves to blocking
attempts by broadcast licensees to pass these fines on to individual
artists and broadcasters by way of language in letters of engagement
or personal services contracts.
To address the concern of the routine improper
accounting by record labels to artists, artist groups worked to support
California Assembly passage of SB 1034, a bill introduced by California
Senator Kevin Murray which would make the accurate accounting of royalties
earned pursuant to a recording contract a fiduciary duty. On June 8,
the California Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet
Media Committee held a hearing on this legislation. AFTRA President
John Connolly, along with former industry executive Walter Yetnikoff,
recording artists Jennifer Warnes, Joi Marshall and Kim Weston urged
a legislative remedy to the long-standing denial of artists' rights
resulting from abuses in accounting practices. The bill passed the Assembly
on June 24 and was signed into law by the Governor. AFTRA intends to
build on this initial success by implementing systems to assist artists
in accessing this new statutory right and finding and claiming every
penny that is due them. Go to AFTRA
Sound Recordings (www.aftra.com/member/recording.htm)
for updates.
Introduced June 22, the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of
2004 (S 2560) would confirm the liability of corporations that profit
by encouraging children, teenagers and others to commit illegal or
criminal acts of copyright infringement. The new law would permit
civil enforcement only against parties who would already face criminal
liability for intentional inducement. The law would also be technology
neutral - it targets behavior that already violates the law- not technology.
Once this becomes law, copyright owners will not be forced to sue
individual downloaders but will also have recourse against the inducing
companies. These companies make profits from the theft of AFTRA members'
works and mislead consumers, who often believe that their actions
are authorized because they purchased the software from the offending
companies.
While
there is still time - act now! A report by former Department of Labor
officials found that the proposed overtime rules, scheduled to take
effect August 23rd, will “harm working families and take overtime
pay from large numbers of workers.” AFTRA, along with other
labor unions, have fought to reverse the new overtime rules which
would allow employers to reclassify their employees as exempt- denying
them the right to overtime pay. To learn more and take action, go
to the AFTRA
Overtime (www.aftra.com/legislative/overtime.htm).
Marlon
Brando,
legendary actor and longtime AFTRA member, passed away July 1 at the
age of 80. Brando, who popularized method acting, influenced generations
of actors with his performances in such movies as A Streetcar
Named Desire, On The Waterfront, The Wild One,
The Godfather and Last Tango In Paris. Over the
course of his career, he was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two
-- for Waterfront and The Godfather. Brando also
became a champion for civil rights, especially for Native Americans.
Actress
Isabel Sanford, best known for her performance as
Weezie on The Jeffersons, passed away July 12 at the age
of 86. Sanford became the first black woman to receive an Emmy for
Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Jeffersons. Sanford
made her feature film debut in Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner,
and more recently lent her voice to The Simpsons.
Veteran
actor and AFTRA member, Jimmie F. Skaggs died July
6 at the age of 59. Skaggs appeared in such films as Catch Me
If You Can, Hollow Man, Lethal Weapon, Pink
Cadillac, Underworld, and Cutthroad Island,
as well as numerous roles on television and in the theatre. Part Choctaw,
Skaggs often portrayed Native American characters in film and television.
He was twice nominated for Best Supporting Actor by First Americans
in the Arts.
back to index
| to
the following AFTRA members honored at the 2004 BET Awards: |
| HALLE
BERRY |
DENZEL
WASHINGTON |
| |
USHER |
| BEYONCE |
JAY-Z |
| MISSY
ELLIOT |
KANYE
WEST |
| YOLANDA
ADAMS |
DANNY
GLOVER |
| ISLEY
BROTHERS |
LUDACRIS |
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