The Labor Wire

January 25, 2019

Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards will be one of the year’s most prominent celebrations of union labor. But SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) isn’t just putting on a party this week. Led by President Gabrielle Carteris, nearly 1,000 SAG-AFTRA members marched Wednesday in Los Angeles to condemn an unprecedented attack on unionism in the advertising industry.

Since September 2018, global ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has been trying to illegally abandon its union contract. Backed by the AFL-CIO and affiliate unions from across the labor movement, SAG-AFTRA is waging a strike to condemn BBH’s actions and protect its members’ rights on the job at commercial shoots.

“It is amazing to stand here looking out at all of your faces,” Carteris told the crowd on Wednesday. “We are all here for the same purpose—to stand as one. We are living in a time when unions are being threatened, and today we say, ‘No more.’”

SAG-AFTRA’s Commercials Contracts have more than 600 signatories, which collectively produce the vast majority of commercials that viewers see every day. After being a signatory for nearly two decades, BBH is arguing that the agreement doesn’t apply to it, abandoning its responsibility to:

• Always shoot union commercials
• Provide fair pay and residuals
• Contribute to workers’ pensions and health benefits
• Guarantee workers’ safety on set
• Commit to the responsible and respectful use of workers’ images, voices and performances

This is a brazen attempt to undermine union protections at the core of the industry. Find out how you can help stand up for our brothers and sisters’ right to a strong union .

160,000: Number of SAG-AFTRA members on strike against BBH.

Follow the in-article links to be directed to the SAG-AFTRA websites for more information on this bold attack on working men and women.