ACTRA strike!

[Spatula]

Did you guys know [URL="http://www.cbc.ca/cp/media/070108/X01089AU.html]ACTRA is on strike[/URL] in Canada right now (like 8 provinces or something) because they want to get paid for media that goes on the internet? It's crazy.

A lot of the bigger productions just signed deals to avoid the strike, so really, it's the little guys like us who get hurt by these union-type deals. I know background (extra) actors gets paid something like $19/hour plus triple over time if they're in ACTRA, while I would make a measly $9 and time and a half doing the same job. And considering most of the ACTRA actors I know just bought their way in through commercials (acting?) that offered credits over pay, it just feels like a scam. And now the little indie productions shooting with union actors are screwed.

Actra is saying they want more royalties from online and new media, but at the same time trying to get a 7% increase in salaries each year (from like, 5%)! As what some could call a "starving actor", I am appalled at the greediness of the union. These people are supposed to protect the interests of actors, but really, it just limits the actor's ability to work. A friend of mine was in one of our movies, and he's an ACTRA apprentice. After we shot, he told me he was worried because he didn't know how ACTRA was going to accept being in a non-union short. He "got away with it" because he wasn't a full-fledged member, but it shows how ACTRA went from Big Brother in the helping sense, to the Orwellian.

What are your guy's thoughts on these unions (SAG, ACTRA)?
Hoe much money do actors need? Why strike when it only really affects small productions (since the big ones just make deals)? How long can a filmmaker avoid the unions?

 

[oakstreetphotovideo]

Warning: unabashed union bashing follows, proceed with caution

Unions amass power and wealth for the sake of the union and it's executives; not for the sake of the union members. In my opinion, and experience, unions do little to help their members, in these modern times. They may have been a necessary force 100 years ago, but they've lived beyond their purpose. Now they exist to collect dues and throw their weight around. Artificially inflated wages do not help anyone. The free market must be the driving force. Economics 101 teaches us that wage and price controls distort and damage the metrics of the marketplace.

Furthermore, the unions use harassment and intimidation to force non-union operations to fail, or cope with increased costs. I've seen examples of overt harassment here, in Wilmington NC.

Now that the unions are established, they've rewritten the rules to protect themselves. You must obey the union rules, or pay penalties to the union. The mimimum budget for a SAG movie is around a million dollars, because of the union wages, union required benefits, etc.

(my numbers are based on what I've been told by directors and producers; I have no first hand experience with budgeting a SAG movie - I have, however, witnessed illegal acts of vandalism and harassment by union thugs)

 

[Loud Orange Cat]

The one thing that bothers me about acting unions is the term "new media" which is an overly-broad term the unions can define as "new revenue" whenever anyone conceives of a new transmission method.

Hey, I just thought of one: Let's wire up the brain directly to a USB port. <slap!>

 

[Spatula]

Hey, I just thought of one: Let's wire up the brain directly to a USB port. <slap!>

We're living in an age where thanks to the internet and tv, we don't have to leave the house to spend money, or be advertised at. Soon enough we'll be paying each time we see a show, or music video. That's pretty much how it is, except the union is going to drive costs so far up, the consumers will be the one's suffering when pay-to-play gets implemented. Unions only cater to big business partners- when it comes to the little guy, be it their own lowly members, or indie productions that want union actors, you always get screwed.

If they ever invent technology that plugs into the brain, I'd stay away from it. Otherwise, they'll be able to drain your bank account through direct access to your mainframe. Reboot!