Actors on the Street: Should AFTRA members vote yes or no on the Primetime Contract?

"I can't recall a time when one union undermined the work of another the way the national SAG leadership is undermining AFTRA. I've just received a post card from Ed Asner encouraging a no vote. He also coincidentally campaigned against merger several years ago, which would have guaranteed us power at the table. AFTRA has created a functional contract that its members can be proud of and that management can work with. At the end of the day, isn't it all about work? That's why I and every New York SAG and AFTRA actor I know is voting yes, yes, yes!
-- Sara Krieger
New York

"Actors owe their livelihood to SAG residuals. When AFTRA has negotiate d contracts on its own, residuals are the first thing to go. Just look at AFTRA basic-cable shows. In the proposed AFTRA deal, there are practically no residuals for new media. Even if you are the star of a series made for the Internet, for example, you will not receive residuals no matter how many times the episodes are rerun. Vote no; otherwise AFTRA leaders will also take over the upcoming Commercials, Interactive, Basic Cable, and Animation negotiations. Under AFTRA jurisdiction, on-camera actors face a bleak future."
-- Loren Lester
Los Angeles

"Before the AMPTP began its negotiations with AFTRA, the 'Allen twins' claimed to be hours away from a deal. As of today, they have negotiated unsuccessfully for over two months. Where is their contract? How could AFTRA's successful deal 'distract' SAG's experienced, diligent, and focused negotiators? Hello, Bush and Cheney!"
-- Frank Simms
New York

"The people defending this contract don't work under this contract. Any fool knows that 10 years from now, all TV will be streamed through the Internet and will qualify as new media. That means no more residuals. This is what the AMPTP has wanted for the last 10 years…. AFTRA, stop accusing SAG, defending the AMPTP, and go back to the table and get us what we deserve."
-- Mickey Maxwell
Los Angeles

"In a global economic crunch, one had best tailor one's expectations. Not tucked in so tight that a bad deal looks good; just tucked in enough to know a good deal and be grateful for it. But no, SAG decided to divide the unions and to scuttle a bargained contract by AFTRA. And they thought they would appear stronger at the table? They do not see this as union busting? Well, I do. You can slap lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig, and the lipstick is not on the AFTRA contract; it is on the SAG leadership."
-- Joyce Reehling
Southern Pines, N.C.

"I voted no on the AFTRA deal, and I recommend [others] do the same. It is simple: We are members of both unions, we are actors, we are family. If we give at all now -- with the limited opportunities we have -- we will never recover. In the toughest times, we need to be strong, not weak. More important, my support for the unions, my support for the producers, my support for the profession is nothing in comparison to my support for each other. If we use our power and our vote, we have a future. Do nothing, and nothing will happen."
-- Barry Ratcliffe

"I have studied the issues, and conclude that the AFTRA contract brings us real gains and is realistically the best we are going to do in the current environment. It is important that all actors understand that it is not the Screen Actors Guild that opposes ratification of the AFTRA contract, but rather a small minority manipulating events behind the scenes in the Hollywood boardroom…. Vote yes. It is the only thing that makes sense for all of us."
-- Beau Weaver
Toluca Lake, Calif.

"I will vote no on the AFTRA contract and pray that a rejection of this flawed contract will lead to a mass defection of actors from AFTRA and result in a single, stronger union that will fight for a living wage for working actors. If it is true that Tom Hanks is urging a yes vote on the AFTRA contract, then it is clear which hat he prefers wearing, and he will no longer benefit from my patronage at the box office."
-- Christopher Boyer
Los Angeles