Abstract
Research on a famous labor union, The Screen Actors Guild- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, was examined in depth to provide more understanding and knowledge. Topics covered in this research include SAG-AFTRA’s history, current demographics, targeted industries, current issues, and the union’s prominent strikes, negotiations, and bargaining attempts. Together, this research provided information on the acting and entertainment’s long journey to correct and improve labor related issues. Keywords: labor, union, acting, media,
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Introduction
With its mystique and glamour, it’s no surprise that the Screen Actors Guild is one of the most recognized unions in the history of the labor movement. They bill themselves as “The Most Distinguished Performer’s Union in the World” and in 2012, they made headlines by announcing their merger with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Ken Howard, co-president of SAG-AFTA, said the two unions merged in order to combine “the best elements of both unions and position [SAG-AFTRA] well to thrive in the changing 21st century media landscape” (Howard, 2012). The merger means that this fascinating union now collectively bargains on behalf of “more than 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcasters, journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other media professionals” (Screen Actor’s Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists [SAG-AFTRA], Membership, 2013). Notable members include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson and many other A-list actors (Moraski, 2012).
SAG-AFTRA is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and values inclusion of all races, religions, genders, disabilities, sexual orientations, etc. The union’s mission is to ensure the “best wages, working conditions, and health and pension benefits; preserving and expanding members’ work opportunities; vigorously enforcing our contracts; and protecting members against unauthorized use of their work” (SAG-AFTRA, 2013). Analyzing the union’s history, demographics, targeted industries, current issues, and prominent strikes provides the foundation for understanding how SAG-AFTRA became one of the most unique and glamorous unions in the history of the labor movement.
The History of SAG-AFTRA
According to SAG-AFTRA (2013), SAG was created to support protection for movie, television actors, and background performers from all around the world. For the first time, actors were empowered to exert influence on their public and personal lives (SAG, 2013).
Prindle’s (1988) study stated that actors were unsatisfied with their working conditions before SAG existed and felt as if the amount of income they acquired through their career was not equivalent to the amount of labor they had contributed. Actors were expected to sign contracts without having benefits such as restrictions on work hours, minimum break periods, required meal breaks, and their contracts were repeatedly renewed at the studio’s discretion. Despite the fact that labor organizations had a bad reputation, these conditions caused actors to become stressed and exhausted to where they could no longer handle management’s demands on their own. Actors searched for solutions to deal with this major problem, later creating SAG. (p.3).
The collaboration that led to the formation of SAG was the main concern that came from the Masquers Club, formed by actors in Hollywood who were not pleased by the grueling working hours in the Hollywood studios (SAG, 2013). Similar associations were The Dominos and The Hollywood Cricket Club. Another major influence in the formation process of the union was the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which was known to determine the
Academy of the Screen Actors Guild gives an award for the best actor and actress in a motion picture. We have recorded the name and age of each since 1996. The data for males and females is given below (the sample size, n =17). The sum of their age is also given. a. By hand, in the table below, construct a Stem and Leaf plot for each group to compare the distributions. You should use the same scale on both graphs to make a better comparison. Stem and Leaf Plot of Actors Winning Academy…
look and personality that is expected of someone with her surroundings and cosseted home life. Portman’s acting was critically acclaimed and made her deserving of her first Academy Award for Best Actress, and her first Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role award in the…
Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor and director. Although primarily a supporting player, Hoffman was known as a versatile performer who brought depth and humanity to all of his roles. He was prolific in both film and theater from the early 1990s until his death at age 46, after which the New York Times declared him "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation".[1] Raised in Fairport, New York Hoffman studied acting at…
his youth. Motion Picture Career Ronald Wilson Reagan went to eureka college were he went into drama and student government. After he graduated he got a job as a radio sportscaster which was over the Chicago cubs. Ronald Wilson Reagan was an actor for Warner bros.; he was in over fifty movies. Some may know some of these titles-“Love Is on the Air”, “Hollywood Hotel”, “Swing Your Lady”, “Brother Rat”, “Dark Victory”, “Hells Kitchen”, “Angels Wash Their Faces”, “Angels With Dirty Faces”, “Secret…
when he thinks about his parents’ marriage and how things didn’t work out with them because his dad preferred men and also wanted to be a woman. Ultimately they get married at the end of Season Seven and they adopt twins in Season Ten. Joey is an actor on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” and he is very airheaded and he is also a ladies’ man. Joey gets killed of the soap opera he stars in because he told a reporter he writes his own work. Joey then has a few acting gigs that flop and eventually…
including the Academy Award-winning projects Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and The Changeling. He's also known as a big supporter of the Republican Party, and made headlines when he spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2012.Actor, director and producer Clint Eastwood was born Clinton Eastwood Jr. on May 31, 1930, to Clinton Sr. and Ruth Eastwood. He has one older sister, Jean. After traveling and looking for work throughout California during the Depression, the family settled…
wings, with Mohr's on-screen friend describing the food as so fiery he felt like he was "sucking on a blowtorch." The pain couldn't have been that bad; both men ate all the chicken. This second integration didn't quite back the wallop of the first, but it was still worth a cool $373,588, according to iTVX. At a time when TV viewing is down, ad skipping via DVRs is up, and ad clutter is rampant, these scenarios are what some call the future of brand marketing on the first screen. Rather than just…
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended a high school close by and continued his education at Eureka College. He studied economics and sociology, played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Screen tests in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades he appeared in 53 films (“The White House” Online’). On January 26, 1940, he got married to Jane Wyman they divorced in 1948, having two children named Maureen Elizabeth…
UNESCO’s pilot project, on an experimental basis on September 15, 1959 (Television and Development of Women, Kumari, 206, p. 20). The first television sitcoms and TV shows featured mostly men, with women making appearances as being either a supporting actor, or just making a guest appearance. Hollywood has been known as the “man’s world” and it seemed that way with men mostly gained the leading roles in sitcoms. In early television women were made to be “submissive” characters which turned into wholesome…
UK Release: June 7 2013 Running Time: 88 mins / Cert: TBC UK Press Contacts: STUDIOCANAL Asa Martin Asa.Martin@studiocanal.co.uk Neil Bhatt neil.bhatt@studiocanal.co.uk T : +44 (0)207 534 2700 www.studiocanal.co.uk 50 Marshall Street London W1F 9BQ FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT EXORCISM 42% of Americans believe in possession by the devil. The Archbishop of Calcutta ordered an exorcism performed on Mother Theresa before she died. The Catholic Church has at least 10…