Deadline: SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously approved a resolution Thursday night reaffirming its longstanding jurisdiction over the taping of live shows, and accused Equity of taking part in a “surreptitious campaign to encroach upon SAG-AFTRA jurisdiction.” The board’s resolution, announced on Friday, also directed SAG-AFTRA counsel “to conduct an investigation of Equity’s activities seeking to poach SAG-AFTRA’s jurisdiction, with a particular emphasis on its ‘Media Committee’ and the many agreements it has made for so-called ‘remote’ work that falls squarely within SAG-AFTRA’s jurisdiction, taking thousands of days of work from performers who should have been working under SAG-AFTRA contracts.”
2 comments:
I think it is disappointing to see two unions that are so connected, that represent the same types of people be involved in such a dispute when what they should be working on is trying to uplift their members and get us work. I do however believe that right now, SAG-AFTRA has the upper hand and is holding it over Actors Equity seeing that the film industry is able to restart and re-open as per CDC guidelines. I think it is unfair for SAG to try and seize the moment and try and hold jobs hostage from people in AEA. I've said this before and I'll say it again, why wouldn't you hire someone that is more qualified for the job? Why hire a stage manager when you can hire someone from a tv network that has been dealing with broadcast technology their entire careers? I think that is the harm in having SAG control the new world of digital theater and live broadcast. Yes, live broadcast shows like Jesus Christ Superstar is an example of negotiating in good faith between these two unions, but that was a different time.
This dispute will not end, and it seems like both unions are standing their ground and refusing to move. Initially, after reading about this issue last week, it seemed like Equity was trying to get control over contracts for work being done in theaters to be streamed, which while typically in SAG-AFTRA’s jurisdiction, certainly felt like to me like it should be in Equity’s wheelhouse. After all, this is the only live theater we’ll be getting until May at the earliest, and these productions are designed to be plays/musicals just like performances at the Tony’s or one-time streamed events. A streamed performance of a staged play is very different from a Hairspray Live sort of event which is, by design and intention, a broadcast thing. However, it does seem like Equity is being a little greedy by not quelling SAG-AFTRA’s concerns that Equity won’t try to use a pandemic-waiver in the future when there are jurisdiction disputes. I wonder if Equity is frustrated with how many bootlegs are available online of Broadway shows and would like to get involved in that market while avoiding work with SAG-AFTRA. I also don’t understand why it was a forgone conclusion that SAG gets digital/online jurisdiction. When online streaming became mainstream, that should have been a contended issue because now SAG-AFTRA has closed off the internet to all competition.
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