A Message from AFTRA VP Denny Delk

Posted July 02, 2010

Dear AFTRA Member,

This is a patriotic time of year and our celebration of America’s birthday always makes me think of the wisdom and foresight of our founders – both the founders of our nation and of AFTRA.

The nation’s founders created an experiment in government that provides the equality of opportunity, the rule of law and the enumerated rights we now treasure. AFTRA’s founders bound us together to provide bargaining strength, strategic leverage and a piece of the revenue we help generate. Each institution has grown and changed as the times have changed. Just as Jefferson could not have imagined Fourth Amendment protection for telephone conversations, neither could our AFRA founders have imagined our members working on interactive games, audiobooks or programming for the Internet. Click here to view the summer issue of AFTRA Magazine online and be sure to read the feature cover story on how AFTRA members are organizing in audiobooks.

We have been given two strong foundations to stand on, one civic and one economic, but each requires maintenance from time to time to keep it strong. Our country requires brave men and women to defend it and proud citizens to elect its leaders. Our union needs far-sighted people to respond to a changing media world and working members to direct our leadership now and for future performers. The latter you can do by ringing in on the current Joint AFTRA Exhibit A and SAG TV/Theatrical Wages and Working Conditions meetings
happening right now around the country. Those who went before left us with provisions that we take for granted too often: residuals for reuse of our material, a health plan that protects our families and a pension that allows us to take our ease after a long career.

When these concepts came along, they were new and daring. Now it is our turn to be daring. We need to look at our work, how it is changing and how we need to change with it to stay germane to the entertainment and information world. We have to listen to our friends and co-workers as they describe the new kinds of work we are doing. We need to come together to plan how we will be compensated for our performances, and how we’ll continue to share in the revenue stream that all these new distribution streams will generate. Just as TiVo has allowed time-shifted viewing from late night to late morning, and the iPod and iPad have allowed place-shifted viewing from the living room couch to the seat on the bus, we need to get our arms around the cash shifting from one delivery system to another before it runs away from us.

Cleck here to visit the AFTRA website to find out about W&W meetings in your area, or email your Local or the W&W committee with your suggestions at wandw2010@aftra.com. Attend the meetings if you can. Listen, contribute, challenge and support. In the end, all AFTRA members, those current and those who come after us, will benefit from this small contribution we can make to better our careers – and you can be proud of your part in the campaign.

Have a great Fourth of July, and God Bless America!

In solidarity,

Denny Delk
National Vice President
AFTRA

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