Sunday, July 31, 2016
LA Actors Speak Out Against Union Actions
Footlights: Members of Los Angeles’ “Pro99” movement, including actors Frances Fisher and Alfred Molina, spoke out today about recent attacks leveled by Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional stage actors and stage managers, against its own Los Angeles members who are part of the movement. After ending talks to forestall a lawsuit brought by Los Angeles actors and producers against AEA. the union recently sent emails to its national membership that accused Pro99 of “misinformation and propaganda,” “threats” and “blacklisting.”
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3 comments:
At this advanced point in the history of Unions, I find it disgusting that the original intention of them has not stuck through and in fact these unions are acting against the interests of their members, and would be using such an aggressive method to deal with a problem that only requires some discussion between Union leadership and it's members. I'm glad that this is being recognized as a problem before the very nature of Unions shifted away from the noble cause they initially represented. Establishing rights for workers should not be an uphill battle.
I'm entirely agains LA forcing theaters under 99 seats to pay Actors Equity Association members minimum wage. Theaters on such a small scale already struggle to make any kind of profit. Forcing them to pay wages they can't afford would either run the theaters into the ground or would decide to opt out of the Actors Equity Association. If the act were to pass, AEA actors would have a much harder time finding work, since not only would let theaters be union members but there would be less theaters in LA altogether. Despite the fact actors would be making minimum wage at these jobs, they'd ultimately lose money in the time it could take to find another job in an extremely hard market. Coming from LA, I care deeply about small, intimate venues being able to operate well. Without them, I'd lose so many opportunities to experience theater in my own town.
To me, this case of lawsuit is kind of ironic. AEA started as a union to assert the labor right of actors, which is supposed to guarantee the proper regulation of their work, and provide them with better working conditions and opportunities; however, the oneway raising of their minimum wage actually reduced their opportunities to be hired, and even threat the existence of local intimate theatre. I believe people, especially people in leadership, need to consider more thoroughly before making a claim; and more importantly, they should listen to the opinion of their mass members. The most fundamental problem of AEA is not their raising of minimum wage, but the fact that they ignored the voting result when majority of its people are against the change. And when its members protest, and join another organization, its reaction is not generous and open at all. Just like the natural evolution of AEA, there will definitely be more this kind of organization spring out if AEA continues to go on its own way.
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