AFTRA

[gargoyles]

I can hear the outcry now. All the rugged individualists and above-it-all artists will recoil in horror at the very mention of the union. All the owners will sniff that they take care of their people better than any union can (maybe they can, but do they? Not if one believes what's all over this board.) They'll threaten and paint organized labor as the devil. But...

...that "devil" can get you a little bit better treatment, an actual contract, a say in your hours and overtime, give you a little leverage, and a portable health and defined pension benefits (to which you contribute zero for yourself and relatively little for your dependents,) life insurance and a sense of belonging to proud professionals who cleared a path for you decades ago.

So, what'll it be, working on the master's plantation, or a real seat at the table?

 

[Noitall]

who would be smart enough (or stupid enough) to be shop steward and tell me the last time you saw AFTRA save someone's job - if they did that as well as they collect dues, they'd be a little stronger. real seat at the table<-----a card table in the corner of the room. Buy a plantation, be your own master.

 

[gargoyles]

Yours are common criticisms and in many ways, valid. AFTRA, NABET and many unions in many fields have given up two important principles: just-cause firing provisions and the ability to shut down an operation in the event of a strike. That said, there's still plenty or reason to organize (don't like AFTRA, try the Teamsters or the UAW or the CWA. They'll show interest.)

Your employer has an attorney, why shouldn't you? You employer doesn't worry about doctor bills, why should you? Your employer has a retirement fund, why shouldn't you? If someone in your company's executive suite is forced out, chances are there'll be a parachute to catch him. Union contracts specify severance, isn't that better than not?

You and your co workers should have a voice in the number of holidays you receive (or what pay you get if you have to work them.) Do you have enough vacation? Do you want to bring your case to the State or Federal labor authorities if you're treated unfairly or illegally? Do you want to fight a hostile work environment on your own?

Yeah, unions don't save a lot of jobs these days. But at least when you're thrown away, you're not immediately destitute. And you're only mostly at the mercy of ownership, not entirely.

 

[Snafu]

Can't see it happening in a market this small. Unfortunately radio stations would just plug in the satellite and/or voice track everything from someplace else. I know of stations in top 20 markets where the talent has been working under an expired AFTRA contract for going on three years and management just refuses to even meet with union officials. The union doesn't file charges with the NLRB (which has been gutted by the Bush Administration anyway) and nothing gets done.

All of the power is in the hands of the owners right now and has been since Ronnie Raygun was around. If they could lose their license in an unfair labor practices suit then the model might work again, but until then the government says they have the right to screw you over.