RAT Fw: Fwd: a great letter

[jonoh1@juno.com]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: editor@actor.org (Actor.Org: Editor)
To: k9slife@pacbell.net
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 09:05:05 -0700
Subject: Fwd: a great letter
Message-ID: <4.3.1.2.20000423090257.00cc2b20@actor.org>


>From: PokerYoda@aol.com
>Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2000 15:24:55 EDT
>Subject: a great letter
>To: Editor@actor.org
>X-Mailer: AOL for Macintosh sub 142
>
>Gordon, this letter was forwarded to me and articulates our situation
and
>postions as well as anything I have written or read. Can you help me in
>getting this out to as many people as possible. Not merely actors, but
>anyone. Thanks. Matt
>
>From: Liz Zazzi [mailto:zazzi@earthlink.net]
>
>Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2000 9:28 PM
>
>Subject: Star Ledger Article
>
>
>
>I read with great disgust a column about the strike in today's NJ Star
>
>Ledger. The reporter, who writes about TV, glibly said it will be "great
>
>because all it will mean is no more new commercials (citing the
Budweiser
>
>Whassup as one)." After I cleared the blood out of my eyes, I wrote him
the
>
>following email. I realize we will never win in the court of public
opinion,
>
>but people like this guy are the last thing we need! Please feel free to

>pass it on
>
>to whomever you think will like reading it.
>
>
>Dear Mr. Sepinwall:
>
>
>In your story, NO WORDS FROM OUR SPONSORS, you present a rather
uninformed
>
>set of facts. Permit me to give you the actors' version.
>
>
>The commercial contract "residual" system you describe was developed by
the
>
>the Screen Actors Guild with full cooperation by the producers of
television
>
>commercials many years ago. It is renewed, as are all union contracts,
upon
>
>expiration, and updated, to reflect market conditions and cost of
living.
>
>When the cable portion of the contract was originally created, cable was
in
>
>its infancy. No one, not the union, not the producers, expected cable to
>
>explode as it has, and segment viewership so dramatically. Not even the
last
>
>episode of SEINFELD could surpass the numbers garnered by the last
episode
>
>of MASH. Why? Cable. More choices. Instead of recognizing that cable has
cut
>
>into network television's "share", and establish parity in pay,
producers of
>
>television commercials are seeking to roll back network payments,
abolish
>
>residuals and try to create a buyout situation. I am unable for legal
>
>reasons to tell you what they have offered as a buyout, but suffice it
to
>
>say that for the privilege of running a commercial an unlimited amount
of
>
>times in a given year, that figure would roughly pay the equivalent of
your
>
>PSE&G bill if your thermostat was set to a conservative 68 degrees in
>
>winter. In exchange, the actor is forbidden to appear in another
commercial
>
>selling a similar product for that same time period. It has been
documented
>
>that cable commercials have run as frequently as 5000 times in a 13 week
>
>period. And for this exposure, we surrender exclusivity.
>
>
>The current commercial actor's salary represents less than 2% of the
total
>
>budget on a commercial.
>
>
>Most actors employed in the commercial contract currently earn less than
>
>$5000 per year. They supplement that income, if they are lucky, doing
>
>theatre. Less fortunate actors temp, wait tables, drive taxis, or
bartend.
>
>If you are lucky enough to earn more than $5000, you are ridiculed by
people
>
>who believe you are earning "easy money." They think you work for a day
and
>
>"rake in the residuals." I like to think those residuals compensate me
for
>
>the hours I spend every single day, auditioning for the jobs I don't
get.
>
>Imagine a life of sometimes five "job interviews" per day, constant
>
>rejection and one or two lucky jobs per month. We are not celebrities.
We
>
>are your friends and neighbors. Our health coverage is dependant upon
our
>
>reaching a certain earnings plateau. The current producers' proposal
ensures
>
>few will reach it.
>
>
>Screen Actors Guild has simply sought a living wage. A wage which
recognizes
>
>that cable and network television have blurred any lines of distinction.
The
>
>Internet, the medium which enables me to rush you this letter, is a
brand
>
>new and explosive concept in advertising, and one which the producers
>
>refused to address. As I write this, there are websites which allow you
to
>
>view my face and voice selling a product 24 hours a day, and I am not
>
>compensated at all.
>
>
>Screen Actors Guild never wanted a strike. We were left no alternative
when
>
>the producers proposed slashing our current wages, and making no move to
>
>address cable and the internet.
>
>
>I am heartsick that a man in your position, a writer whom I presume is a
>
>union member, could so glibly welcome a strike. It looks very much like
the
>
>producers are seeking to break the union. So your pronouncement that
there
>
>would be no more new commercials is grossly incorrect. The producers are
>
>actively recruiting "scabs" and have been for the past several weeks.
They
>
>are trying to hire non-union talent and go forward. That will put me and
>
>thousands of my union brothers and sisters not only on the picket line,
but
>
>on the unemployment line. I will not be able to pay my bills, or put
food on
>
>my table.
>
>
>When UPS went on strike, I proudly cheered them on and recognized the
>
>solidarity I felt being a union member. It would have been nice to read
>
>similar words from you, a member of the media.
>
>
>"Whassup!!!!!?" Whose side are you on?
>
>
>Look for me on the picket line. And if your union ever decides to go on
>
>strike, rest assured, I'll support you. I know better.
>
>
>Liz Zazzi, Glen Ridge, NJ, and proud member of Screen Actors Guild,
American
>
>Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Actors Equity
Association


in Solidarity,
Gordon Drake
Editor@actor.org
http://www.actor.org
http://www.pro-union.org

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