SAG-AFTRA DOES AN ABOUT-FACE @ 6/26/19 BACKGROUND ARTISTS MEETING

Background Artists Help Set the Tone & Atmosphere for Film & Television Scenes

IMPORTANT UNION BACKGROUND ARTISTS SAG-AFTRA 2020 CONTRACT DEMANDS UPDATE:

As many of you know, on May 24, 2019, SAG-AFTRA arbitrarily cut off the email address (wandw2019@sagaftra.org) to which Union Members had the opportunity to email their 2020 Background Artists Contract Demands & Proposals to our Union.

But at last night's Background Artists Meeting, SAG-AFTRA did an about face, announcing that our Union would, once again, accept 2020 Contract Demands & Proposals at wandw2019@sagaftra.org.

While the Union refused to commit to a date certain as to how long this email address will remain viable for our 2020 Contract Demands, SAG-AFTRA Leadership repeated several times that Members should email their 2020 Contract Demands & Proposals AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

So, once again, the Background Artists Coalition has re-printed below a prepared message that SAG-AFTRA Members can simply cut & paste & email to wandw2019@sagaftra.org and we do hope that EVERYONE will take advantage of our Union's reversal here and quickly send in your messages TODAY before SAG-AFTRA cuts off the email address again:

Please let your voices be heard!

Let our Union know that as the Majority Membership, Background Artists' Demands MUST be included in the 2020 SAG-AFTRA Contract Negotiations!

And remember, one doesn't have to work Background in order to send the message; all you need is a SAG#!

THANK YOU!

Please Cut & Paste & Email the following Message to wandw2019@sagaftra.org - adding your NAME & SAG# at the bottom of the message - and please be sure to ask ALL your SAG-AFTRA Member Friends to do the same:

To: SAG-AFTRA

Subject: SAG-AFTRA 2020 Contract

As SAG-AFTRA Background Artists have labored under a deficient hourly wage for far too long, and because our Union failed to even ask for a specific raise for Background Artists during the 2017 Contract Negotiations despite having promised in writing to do so, and because the current Union Background Wage is Five Dollars and Thirty cents ($5.30) an hour BELOW the AVERAGE National 2019 Hourly Wage and Fourteen Dollars ($14) an hour below the Average Hourly Wage in the film & television industry in NYC, we herein demand the following terms and conditions for Union Background Artists in the 2020 SAG-AFTRA Contract:

1.) $35 per hour for all Union Background Actors across all media; 2.) We demand either: a.) 40% Increase in the Minimum Number of Union Background Roles Required for all production contracts across all media or b.) $50 per hour for all Union Background Actors across all media; 3.) Cancellation of any and all SAG-AFTRA Predatory Contracts allowing Union Background Artists to be paid Minimum Wage and, in some SAG-AFTRA contracts, NOTHING AT ALL and 4.) For the Screen Actors Guild to call a STRIKE VOTE prior to the formal Contract Negotiations for the 2020 SAG-AFTRA Contract, so that when SAG-AFTRA's Lead Negotiators go to the bargaining table, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will know that our Union is serious, will know that our Union has our backs and will know that our Union will not accept anything less than what we demand or the Screen Actors Guild will shut down all Union film & television productions.

Sincerely,

NAME

SAG-AFTRA Membership #