Deadline SAG AFTRA

Marianna Edwards has left her position as manager of the SAG Producers Pension & Health Plan, Deadline has confirmed. “Marianna Edwards is no longer working here,” a SAG P&H Human Resources official said today. In fact, she hasn’t been working there for at least two weeks. Edwards resigned in late October after 27 years at SAG. Her departure came around the same time the SAG-AFTRA National Board received an uninformative Pension, Health & Retirement Report from the trustees of the still separate SAG Producers Pension and Health Plan and the AFTRA Health and Retirement Plan. In July, the National Board of the now merged union passed a motion urging the trustees of the plans to unify and to immediately implement a reciprocity agreement between the two plans.

Related:
Controversial Bruce Dow Exiting (Or Exited) As SAG P&H Plan CEO
SAG P&H Plan Rocked By Lawsuit: Targets CEO Bruce Dow
Feds Probing SAG P&H Embezzlements/Cover-Ups Allegations

The first SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local membership meeting since the unions’ merger is Monday, December 3 at Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City. Registration begins at 6:30 PM for a 7 PM start, and all members in good standing are … Read More »

TODAY: SAG-AFTRA National Board Consolidates To 25 Locals; Financial Update Kept Secret; Both Pension & Health Plans To Merge

The … Read More »

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 28, 2012) – The National Board of Directors of SAG-AFTRA met in a scheduled two-day plenary this weekend at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Los Angeles.

With the merger approved and the process of integrating operations of

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LOS ANGELES (October 18, 2012) — SAG-AFTRA announced that it has negotiated a contract specifically designed for SAG-AFTRA members and franchised talent agents nationwide. These products are being made available in order to assist those seeking additional insurance or for members who do not currently qualify for either the SAG-Producers Health Plan or AFTRA Health Plan.

In conjunction with Marsh U.S. Consumer, a broker and administrator of affinity insurance and membership programs, SAG-AFTRA has launched a new user-friendly “Health Mart” website that empowers members and franchised agents to access a multitude of competitive health care options with major insurers. SAG-AFTRA’s agreement with Marsh, which operates a U.S.-only call support center, provides insurance opportunities in many areas, including health, Medicare supplement, dental, home, auto, life and long-term care.

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The National Board of Directors of SAG-AFTRA met today via videoconference in the first day of a regularly scheduled two-day plenary. It agreed to cancel early bargaining of the Commercials Contracts. The National Board also ended the SAG Interactive Media Agreement and soon will put into effect the AFTRA agreement. It also approved an industry-wide music video pact. Here are the relevant portions of today’s announcement:

– The National Board unanimously approved an agreement with the Joint Policy Committee, which bargains the Commercials Contracts on behalf of employers, to pursue a “Clearinghouse Project” designed to address some of the data challenges encountered during the Gross Ratings Point (“GRP”) Pilot Project conducted pursuant to the 2009 Commercials Contracts. This agreement results in the mutually agreed upon cancellation of an October early bargaining period regarding GRP that the parties had agreed to during the 2009 negotiations.

In light of the additional preparation time made available by the cancellation of early bargaining, the National Board approved a revised schedule for the Commercials Contracts wages and working conditions process. The process will begin with educational meetings to be held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago beginning August 7th. Formal W&W meetings will be scheduled to begin after September 10th. The start date of formal negotiations for successor agreements to the 2009 Commercials Contracts has not yet been set.

– The National Board also unanimously approved terminating the legacy SAG Interactive Media Agreement via 60-day notice to producers who had been using the expired contract. Those producers will be invited to transition to the active legacy AFTRA agreement.

– The National Board unanimously approved the first industry-wide music video agreement negotiated with representatives of the major record labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, EMI Music and The Walt Disney Co. and most of their subsidiary labels.

Assistant National Executive Director of Sound Recordings, Randall Himes, joined by National Director of Sound Recordings Stephanie Taub; Western Region Organizing Director, Steve Sidawi; music video negotiating committee members SAG-AFTRA National Board member and dancer Sharon Ferguson (worked with music video artists including Prince and No Doubt); and dancers Aimee Winston (Kylie Minogue), Ava Bernstine (Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears), Danielle Towne, (Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas), and Cassidy Noblett (Lady Gaga, Katy Perry), presented the board with the tentative agreement representing the first-ever industry-wide contract with the major record labels covering dancers and other performers on music videos.

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The new SAG-AFTRA national union sent out a special notice to its members today about working on music videos “and its fght for safe, fair working conditions and health care for SAG-AFTRA dancers and performers who appear in them”. The notice is an advisory to members of action which the SAG-AFTRA National Board may take at its upcoming meeting on May 19th and 20th, which may include a ‘Do Not Work Notice’:

For many years, dancers who work music videos have been provided a contract to provide them with minimum pay and benefits if they are hired to work in a music video.

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