One Union Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Posted November 14, 2011

What’s going on with the One Union process?

• We’re happy to share information about our discussions to create one union for AFTRA and SAG members. And, we’re happy to share that the process is in high-gear and we’re working productively toward detailed proposals for the SAG and AFTRA boards to review in January.
• You might want to hear more specifics, but it’s important to remember that uniting AFTRA and SAG is a large job that requires careful thought and preparation, and a comprehensive approach to many inter-related details. Members of both unions have made it clear that they want us to develop the best plan for merging SAG and AFTRA – one that retains the best aspects of each union, while creating a successor union that is even more effective in taking on the challenges of the future. Designing a plan that fully considers the interests and concerns of all members takes time. We’re making very good progress, but we haven’t yet reached detailed conclusions we can share. It’s very important that we honor the process and do this right. We have attempted to merge twice in the past and members have made it clear that we must not fail this time. Thankfully, we’ve learned some valuable lessons from the past attempts and we are using them to make sure the process works and produces the best result possible. That’s how we will develop a plan for a successor union that meets the needs of all our members.

AFTRA and SAG leaders understand that creating one union is a top priority because it will make us stronger.

• One union will increase our bargaining leverage. SAG and AFTRA members (of all categories) largely work for the same employers – the handful of multinational corporations that control the entertainment and media industries. The employers divide our work in several areas, making it more difficult for the unions to negotiate from a position of maximum strength. This also leaves us vulnerable to the dangerous possibility of competitive negotiations. Forming a single union ensures that we cannot be divided in our work or negotiations, and that our employers have just one place to get the skilled union talent they need.
• One union will improve our ability to organize. The presence of non-union work is growing in both large and small markets, especially in the areas of commercials, industrials, interactive games, new media, cable news and local and national radio and television broadcasting.
• One union puts us in the best position to fight the spread of non-union work. By focusing our resources and implementing a unified strategy, we can work more effectively to turn non-union work into union jobs for members.
• One union will help protect health and pension/retirement benefits. One union will increase our bargaining strength, and bargaining strength determines the amount our employers pay to fund the benefit plans members rely on. Also, better organizing results would put more work under union contracts, increasing total plan contributions. For these reasons, one union puts us in the best position to maintain or improve benefit levels. Forming one union is also a necessary first step in determining how AFTRA H&R and SAG P&H Trustees might work together to create a single plan – one toward which ALL your covered earnings could be directed, helping you qualify for crucial benefits.
• One union can better protect our future. The entertainment and media industries are changing rapidly – our work is being created, distributed and consumed in ways that weren’t imaginable when SAG and AFTRA were founded. Forming one union now gives us an invaluable opportunity to build an organization that not only retains our best capabilities, but also gives us the greatest capacity to take on the challenges of the future. A comprehensive, unified strategy is required to respond powerfully to industry-driven changes. One union is the best way to achieve that.

The AFTRA and SAG Presidents’ Forum for One Union was created last fall to facilitate focused discussions between the elected leaders of the two unions with diverse groups of members.

• The goal of the Presidents’ Forum was to establish a common vision for a merged successor union representing actors, singers, dancers, stunt performers, recording artists and broadcasters working in the entertainment and news media industries.
• The Presidents’ Forum was designed to be a place where leaders could hear from working members, enabling us to work together to build a shared vision.
• Starting in January 2011, the Presidents’ Forum conducted a nationwide Listening Tour in locations across the country to hear from members about their interests, concerns, and expectations for the future. The responses made it clear that members overwhelmingly want to see SAG and AFTRA form one union.

Since January, there have been more than 20 Listening Tour meetings. These meetings will continue throughout the member education and outreach process and ratification period next year.

• The Listening Tour spoke with members throughout the country who work under all of our contracts. A wide range of important questions were discussed, including:
  • How is members’ work changing?
  • How might members better equip themselves for the future, and how could a merged successor union help?
  • How would a successor union better serve members in all categories?

Why was there a Presidents’ Forum and Listening Tour at all? Why not just send out one of the previous merger plans?

• The Presidents’ Forum and the Listening Tour were important first steps that allowed members of AFTRA and SAG to meet and talk one-on-one with union leadership about this specific topic.
• Our unions have experienced significant changes since 2003, when we last tried to combine. Our industries have changed dramatically as well. It was important to assess our current situation and the state of the industry together – along with our members – to establish a common vision for a new union.
• President Howard and President Reardon wanted to hear first-hand from as many AFTRA and SAG members as possible before setting about the task of designing a merger plan. That way, rank-and-file member input will be – and has been – a key ingredient in the design, providing valuable guidance to leaders and members of the G1 about the clearly expressed needs of the membership.

Once the SAG Merger Task Force and the AFTRA New Union Committee develop a plan and the AFTRA and SAG National Boards have approved it, you’ll have a chance to vote on it.

So where do things stand now and how did we get here?

• In September 2009, Ken Howard was elected Screen Actors Guild President after running a campaign focused directly on the need to unite SAG and AFTRA. In subsequent elections in both unions, pro-merger candidates were overwhelmingly elected to the national board and other leadership positions across the country.
• In April 2010, AFTRA’s top elected leaders published an open letter in AFTRA Magazine about their commitment to creating one media and entertainment union for all performers, recording artists and broadcast professionals.
• On July, 21, 2010, President Reardon reported to the AFTRA Administrative Committee that she had discussed with Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard the creation of a “Presidents’ Forum” to facilitate focused and informal discussions between leaders of the two unions to establish a common vision for a single, new national union.
• On July 24, 2010, the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution directing President Howard to appoint members from the Guild’s SAG/AFTRA Relations Task Force to establish The Presidents’ Forum for One Union, which would enable joint leadership discussions aimed at developing a process to unite AFTRA and SAG.
• On Oct. 21, 2010, during ongoing SAG TV/Theatrical and AFTRA Exhibit A Contract negotiations, the first meeting of the Presidents’ Forum for One Union was convened in Los Angeles. The Presidents’ Forum Listening Tour, designed to seek input from AFTRA and SAG members across the country, was discussed.
• On November 18, 2010, the first “beta” test for a Listening Tour meeting format was conducted in New York City. The Presidents were able to speak directly with members about the benefits of a potential merger. The members were able to hear directly from the Presidents how the unions might approach preparation for a merger effort.
• On Jan. 22, 2011, the AFTRA National Board of Directors overwhelmingly passed a resolution formally authorizing AFTRA leadership to continue working with Screen Actors Guild in the Presidents’ Forum for One Union and its Listening Tour, and approved initial expenditures related to the Presidents’ Forum.
• On January 23, 2011, the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution providing additional funding to the SAG/AFTRA Relations Task Force to continue developing a process to unite SAG and AFTRA.
• On April 3, 2011, the Presidents’ Forum for One Union unanimously recommended a draft mission statement for The Successor Union. Forum participants also conducted a comprehensive review of member input from the previous months’ nationwide Listening Tour meetings and drafted proposed resolutions for consideration by the unions’ respective National Boards.
• On April 30, 2011, the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors unanimously passed a motion to create the SAG Merger Task Force and adopt The Successor Union Mission Statement. The resolution and mission statement are available on the SAG website at www.sag.org/one-union-communications.
  • The resolution also instructs the SAG Merger Task Force “to meet with representatives of AFTRA as soon as practicable, but no later than June 2011, to initiate the development of a plan to create a successor union formed from the best elements of both SAG and AFTRA.” The full text of the resolution is available at www.sag.org/oneunion.
  • The SAG Merger Task Force is chaired by President Ken Howard and includes 13 members and 16 alternates (29 members total) representing a broad range of Screen Actors Guild members from across the country.
• On May 14, 2011, the AFTRA National Board overwhelmingly passed a resolution approving the appointment of the AFTRA New Union Committee to work with the SAG Merger Task Force in developing a plan to unite AFTRA and SAG as a single successor union representing professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists. This resolution is available on the AFTRA website at www.aftra.com/OneUnion.htm.
  • The resolution also instructs the AFTRA New Union Committee to begin meeting with SAG no later than June 30, 2011 to develop a merger agreement, a constitution and a dues structure for presentation to the AFTRA National Board by the end of January 2012.
  • The AFTRA New Union Committee is chaired by AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon and consists of 13 committee members and 16 alternates (29 members total) who represent each major category of AFTRA’s diverse membership, as well as Local members outside of Los Angeles and New York.
• During the weekend of June 17-19, AFTRA and SAG convened the first formal face-to-face discussions between the SAG Merger Task Force and the AFTRA New Union Committee at the AFL-CIO’s National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.
  • The two groups, comprised of members including actors, performers, recording artists and broadcast professionals, met together as the AFTRA and SAG Group for One Union (G1) to facilitate the creation of a successor union to represent all of the members of SAG and AFTRA. No firm or final decisions were made about details of a merger agreement, a constitution or a dues structure.
  • The G1 established a series of workgroups to discuss six key areas that rank-and-file members identified as important during the AFTRA and SAG Presidents’ Forum for One Union nationwide Listening Tour. The six workgroups are:
    • Governance & Structure
    • Finance & Dues
    • Collective Bargaining
    • Pension, Health & Retirement
    • Operations & Staff
    • Member Education & Outreach
  • In a joint statement, Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard and AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon praised the unions’ inaugural meeting saying: “We applaud the members and staff of our two unions for their incredible solidarity and vision during this intense and substantive weekend. We know the members of the successor union will be well served by their diligent and hard work during the months to come.”
  • On Friday, June 17, AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka, joined by Department of Professional Employees President Paul Almeida, welcomed the members and staff of AFTRA and SAG to the National Labor College. Trumka addressed the group and praised the unions’ leaderships for their commitment to solidarity and their work on the effort to unite SAG and AFTRA saying, “I encourage you to keep an open mind and base your decision not on any preconceived notions but on this measure alone: What is best for our members, our unions and our future. That’s the big picture we must all keep our eyes on. Whatever your decision the 12 million members of the AFL-CIO will support you.”
  • The weekend’s meetings were facilitated by Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations Professor Susan J. Schurman, and noted labor consultant Peter S. DiCicco.
• Following the initial meeting of the Group for One Union in June, the six G1 workgroups began a series of meetings to develop recommendations to be considered by the full Group for One Union. The workgroup meetings will continue for the duration of the process.
• On Aug. 27-29 – the weekend that Hurricane Irene struck the East Coast and New York City – the AFTRA and SAG Group for One Union members met by video and teleconference for the second round of G1 talks and received reports back from each of the six G1 workgroups on achievements to date.
• On Oct. 14-18, the G1 met in Los Angeles and received status reports from its six workgroups. The workgroups will continue meeting to develop recommendations for consideration by the full G1. These recommendations will form the basis of the merger agreement, constitution and dues structure that each union’s National Board has required for review by January 2012. All members of SAG and AFTRA will be provided full details before voting.

For more details about P&H/H&R refer to the P&H/H&R frequently asked questions.
To stay informed about the effort to unite AFTRA and SAG members in a single successor union, or to follow and to learn about ongoing developments with upcoming contract negotiations, organizing efforts and other issues important to you:

AFTRA members should please visit the AFTRA website at www.AFTRA.com, “like” the AFTRA Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/AFTRAFanPage or follow AFTRA on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aftra.

SAG members should please visit the Screen Actors Guild website at www.SAG.org, “like” the SAG Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/ScreenActorsGuild or follow SAG on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ScreenActors.

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