Friday, March 30, 2012

A HISTORIC MOMENT: SAG AND AFTRA MERGE, BECOME ONE UNION

TODAY, MARCH 30th, 2012, The Screen Actors Guild and The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have merged, and became one union.  SAG members voted 82% in favor, and AFTRA members voted 86% in favor.



The Membership of both unions have voted; have spoken. As a proud member of the unions I am very happy and very proud of my union brothers and sisters for bringing this about.. Not since the brave souls who founded SAG in 1933 has there been a more important event than this merger of the two unions. And today, with this historic occasion, we must remember that nothing will have changed. And everything will have changed.


Nothing will have changed, as we will continue to work on Monday (or the next) morning under existing contracts.


Everything will have changed, as we will have Co-Presidents at the helm, leading a single board of combined board members.


And this is where the real change will begin, during this year-and-a-half before the next elections. During that time many operational details will be finessed; some hammered, out. We will also be focusing on upcoming contracts negotiations. And in that time the trustees of the P&H Plans will consider, investigate, and affect the combination of the Plans...this is the hard work ahead; a thousand issues; a million details. Although meticulous groundwork has been laid, this is only the beginning of a journey.

Today we are SAG-AFTRA in name. On Monday we go to work.

Stay involved.

-Mark Redfield
Member
SAG-AFTRA 

 

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