By Frank Melcori
“All union problems involve the boss and the worker,” she says. “It’s the same with actors’ unions–it is a dynamic that transcends all industries. In this regard we have a PR problem. The public does not view actors as union members or people even requiring a union.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
“At this point SAG had a rude awakening–the two unions were going to destroy one another, while the producers would obviously accept the bid most favorable to their interests. The two unions decided to enter into an agreement. They would start to talk about a merger, and in the meantime they would negotiate together in all contracts in which their jurisdictions overlapped. The producers in this situation could not play one union against the other, and, because of this process, the contracts of the two unions would become more similar.
Willenborg admits there are SAG members who don’t want to join forces with AFTRA. Some movie actors, such as past SAG president Charlton Heston, resent being lumped together with TV announcers. But, Willenborg says, “SAG hasn’t been a pure actors’ union since the mid-50s, when it started to represent dancers and people in commercials.
