ACTRA StrikeComplications Ensue
Complications Ensue:
The Crafty Screenwriting, TV and Game Writing Blog




Archives

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

January 2018

March 2018

April 2018

June 2018

July 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

November 2019

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

August 2020

September 2020

October 2020

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

May 2021

June 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

August 2022

September 2022

November 2022

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

July 2023

September 2023

November 2023

January 2024

February 2024

 

Monday, January 08, 2007

ACTRA, the Canadian actor's union, is going out on strike. The producers are offering a pay raise of 4% over three years. Since the inflation rate is about 3.5% per year, that works out to a 6.5% pay cut over three years in constant dollars.

The ACTRA strike will hurt actors and producers both, since productions that might have gone to Canada will now go elsewhere. (Some of them already have.) But it's a basic principle of negotiation that if you're not willing to walk away, you're in a lousy negotiating position. The ACTRA strike won't help my business and won't help me in the short run. But I'm glad the actors had the guts to reject a lousy deal.

Producers probably don't realize this, but the talent unions benefit them. Why? Because producers will individually pay as little as they possibly can. A dollar in your pocket is a dollar they don't get to keep. That's just the nature of the business.

But if actors, writers and directors got paid as little as possible, very few people would be able to make a living acting, writing or directing. The minimum payments specified in the contracts are what make it possible to make a living in the business. That means that an industry develops that has a pool of people who are not only talented but skilled. Those are the very same people that producers need to be able to draw on to work on their projects. Without unions there would be a few extremely successful creative people -- who would charge much more to make up for all the money they didn't get earlier in their career -- and a lot of amateurs working day jobs and writing or acting or directing on the side. That wouldn't actually be good for producers as a group.

When I was in Cape Town, I got to see the results of an un-organized, un-unionized writing pool. In South Africa a writer gets paid a couple thousand bucks to write a TV drama. You actually get paid more to write books. So, as you'd expect, there are very few skilled, experienced screenwriters; and they're typing as fast as they can to get by.

Show business is a scary business. Unions make it possible to have a life in it. Strikes are what give unions clout.

You go, ACTRA.

5 Comments:

I support what you say in theory, Alex. But you have to realize that it isn't just the mean old producers being cheap. What's the old expression ... shit runs downstream?

If the increase being offered nets out to a 6.5% pay decrease, ACTRA is still making out better than most producers, who have seen a 20-50% erosion of domestic license fees. The median percentage of budget that a non-CTF project gets from their Canadian broadcaster in English Canada is about 30% (it's better in Quebec in French language, but that's a different kettle of fish altogether).

To add insult to injury, network groups here are now demanding things like worldwide premiere (even if they aren't the highest pre-sale and/or biggest territory) and running the snot of your show by checkerboarding it on every channel they have so it has no second window potential. And don't even get me started on license co-termination ... essentially, if your show gets picked up and your term is five years, and they greenlight subsequent series, the broadcaster gets their window on all episodes extended until the last episode of the last series expires, usually for no additional money to the producer, who has to pay to extra fees to all the guilds to clear the show. Thereby tying up your rights and again, eroding whatever second window equity you might have had.

If that isn't enough, the networks are now demanding things they never did before like recoupment of said paltry license fees in first position (even if you as producer deferred any or all of your fees), making distribution rights held by a broadcaster-affiliated company contigent to the commission, wanting the right to subdistribute in the home territory outside of their network group without cutting you in or getting your approval, demanding control of worldwide internet, mobile and dvd rights (like they'd know what to do with them anyway, they just assign inflated values to puff up the assets on the corporate balance sheets), and the right to assign prodco share of any retransmission royalties.

In general, as a producer right now, it's pretty damn tough to make a living unless you want to play the CTF lottery or get really good at either co-production or sponsorship.

So while I sympathize with ACTRA, I think you have to see it from both sides.

End of rant :-)

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:51 PM  

An an interesting aside, I've just heard the CFTPA is taking it to court in Ontario, challenging the validity of the strike because it doesn't follow the protocols agreed to by both parties in the IPA. They're also challenging ACTRA's authority as a union.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:18 PM  

Completely agree with everything you've said, Alex. I'm on ACTRA's side in this too, and not just on the money issue, but in their desire to start mapping out how profits from the next stages of content delivery are shared. Producers must understand that the enormous losses creative people have suffered in the DVD market won't be allowed to repeat in other formats.

Caroline makes some great points in her comments, many of which I'm all too painfully aware of. But you don't help an unfair situation by allowing it to continue and impact even more people. If the performers dig in, perhaps the producers will have the courage to follow suit and force the networks to pay for what they play.

I also find the CFTPA threats somewhat laughable. I woke up Monday morning to news of the strike, checked the ACTRA website and found virtually every production shooting in Toronto had signed ACTRA letters of continuance. It would appear solidarity is only found on one side of this equation.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:13 AM  

In South Africa a writer gets paid a couple thousand bucks to write a TV drama. You actually get paid more to write books.

That's also the case in Canada, at least for features and MOWs. Most TV movies and indie films that are being shot here (in BC anyway) are non-Guild and pay well under WGC minimum, in many cases only a few thousand dollars. A lot of Guild writers have to take these non-union jobs to pay the rent, simply because there are so few producers able to pay Guild wages. My experience bares that out, and it's the reason I haven't bothered to join the Writer's Guild. I simply can't afford to pay hundreds of dollars in annual membership dues for the privilege of not working.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:59 PM  

Dear Gilman:

All I can say is, it's writers like you that enable producers to continue paying less than Guild rates. And, as a writer who does NOT take non-Guild jobs out of respect for his guild and his fellow writers, and has passed up tens of thousands of dollars of non-Guild work: thanks a bunch for that.

On the other hand, if you'd join the Guild, you might find that the money you make on the jobs you get more than makes up for the money you lose on the jobs you have to pass up. And you might be able to write better for not having to write faster.

Just a possibility.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 10:39 PM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.



This page is powered by Blogger.