Health Care:  It passed.  Will we keep it? What is "it"?  It is not the legislation we supported. But it's a start.  The larger question is: Will the Supreme Court deep six it?  Will the Republicans de-fund it?  Important as ever to us, the drama continues.....

Elections matter.  And Republicans are on the attack. Our thoughts on the status of legislative and public policy issues and the new political realities in Washington

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no union funds were used in the production of this or any AftraNOW materials. just our own.

If you beat on the door long enough and loud enough... things start to happen.  People meet.  Groups connect.  Plans are executed.  Committments are made, some of which are actually honored.  Bingo.  Progress.  It comes at a price: hard work and persistence.  We are proud of the leadership of our colleague, Anita Hollander. click here to get to the I AM PWD site.  And to read a story in the Hollywood Reporter quoting Ms. Hollander, click here...

Holter's Latest NY Local President Holter Graham's most recent President's Column in StandBy, "Little Things, Big Things", a tour thru the Convention and the work that continues every day at the Local while leaders meet to discuss what a new union might look like.  Good reading, as always. Column is on page 3.

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Wisconsin and beyond... Wisconsin's assault on public sector unions in the name of a balanced budget is an attack upon ALL union members, make no mistake.  It stikes at the very heart of our right to have a union - public or private - and bargain for ourselves with our employers on all matters of significance to us. Click here and read more about the We Are One campaign from the AFL-CIO.

January 28th: AFTRA National Board Approves  New Union Proposal jAFTRA voted to approve the G1 proposal for a new union 94% to 6%.  The unions will take the next week to assemble materials for members.  Ballots go out at the end of February, due back March 30th.  Only AFTRA members in good standing on January 30 will be able to vote in the referendum. Initiative must be approved by 60% of membership to pass. If you're a member of AFTRA and SAG, you get to vote twice.

"We are all from Peoria!"  At Convention. we heard first-hand from the AFTRAns in Peoria about their contract fight with their station's new owner, Granite Broadcasting. Which is owned by Silver Point Partners, a hedge fund.  The AFTRA station is trying to keep their local news really local, not "local" from say, Indiana. It's tough sledding. Tweet the Granite Broadcasting CEO to demand a fair deal.  Then, check out their Facebook page and show some solidarity.

"You can't make this shift up: Delta Airlines" About every ten minutes or so...OK, that's an exageration...every 20 minutes or so, we come across something that is so over the top that, even in our normally over the top business, it's - well - over the top.  Today's contestant: Delta Airlines. Click for the latest WTF.

To Our Fellow AFTRA and SAG Members: This weekend, the SAG and AFTRA National Boards took a decisive step to strengthen our future by overwhelmingly endorsing a plan to merge the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild. If members approve the merger, the new union will be called SAG-AFTRA. The vote of the unions’ National Boards came after more than a year of focused effort to hear from members about their needs for stronger union representation and to develop a merger plan to meet those needs. With the enthusiastic approval of our boards, the decision now rests in the hands of AFTRA and SAG members. Merger referendum ballots are scheduled to be mailed on or about February 27 – but all members of both unions will have access to the complete merger documents within the next couple of days on the SAG and AFTRA websites. Full printed merger documents will also be mailed to each voter with the referendum ballot, which will be due for return on March 30. This will give each member ample time to make a thoughtful and well-informed decision. We’re also excited to announce that on Friday, February 3, we will launch a new joint website to provide members all the information they’ll want to consider before casting their votes. The website will include complete merger details, FAQs, and a comprehensive calendar of events to alert members nationwide to informational meetings and other opportunities for learning about the plan. Watch your email later this week for details of the website launch. After more than a year of intensive work, we are extremely proud to bring you this historic opportunity. We also want to acknowledge the ceaseless dedication of the AFTRA and SAG members and staff who came together as the Group for One Union (G1) to produce this remarkable plan. We look forward to sharing all the details and answering any questions you may have. Finally, we are confident that SAG and AFTRA members will embrace this singular chance to harness the true power of unity, and that SAG-AFTRA will protect members and shape the entertainment and media industries for decades to come. In unity, Roberta Reardon, President AFTRA Ken Howard, President Screen Actors Guild

Our Convention Report We tackled the biggest, thickest, thorniest problems we face, from digital theft and loss of income to the growth of non-union work, with fraternity, respect, intelligence and yes, frustration.  More.....

"Honey, pass me the Tums." Indiana cozys up to a "Right to Work" law, the first in the industrial heartland..  Meanwhile, we hear the same turn of phrases over and over again, like "the end of the middle class", "the middle class is under attack", "wages have been stagnant, actually dropping, for the past 30 years."  Sometimes, pictures help.  Or, in this case, graphs.  We are posting these unapologetically without permission from various sources.

AFTRA Contract Expirations

Click here for a complete list of AFTRA's contracts and their expiration dates.  Also, link to news about specific contract negotiations.

It started with music.  Now it's film and television.  It has always been our living What is "it"??  Content theft.  Digital deletion of our residuals and earned benefits.  And it is wrecking the business.  The unions response: Creative America as a place to educate ourselves and to take action. Must reading: The Creative America website. Watch AftraNOW member David Basche in "Content Theft: The Big Picture". Register for updates.  Then contact your legislators and urge them to support the PROTECT IP Act and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  Take Action.  Protect your work, your residuals,  your benefits and your future employment  And check out their terrific Facebook page.

Sound Recordings and Network Code sent to membership for approval Sound Recordings Code has been sent to members for ratification.  New and enhanced revenue streams for recording artists, plus new, simpler mechanism to collect and distribute them.  The AFTRA National Board approved the Network Code for TV Jan. 28, to be sent to members Jan 30th for ratification.  Ballots due back by Feb. 22. ...

The AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Awards (the AMEEs) Supporting the AFTRA Foundation.  February 6, 2012 at the Plaza Hotel.  This year's honorees: radio legend Pete Fornatale, singer/composer Roseanne Cash, actress Phylicia Rashad. Click here for tickets and further information.