Howard, Reardon to co-chair SAG-AFTRA

Ken Howard and Roberta Reardon will end up co-presidents of SAG-AFTRA not less than annually -- if the suggested merger between your Screen Stars Guild and also the American Federation of Television and Radio undergo. SAG and AFTRA haven't launched particulars around the merger plan, OKd over the past weekend through the two national boards. But individuals with understanding have told Variety the proposal provides the current chosen leadership of these two unions will stay in position having a joint regulating structure until a minimum of May, 2013. Which means a co-presidency for Howard and Reardon, a co-secretary-treasureship for SAG secretary-treasurer Amy Aquino and AFTRA secretary-treasurer Matt Kimbrough along with a single national board for people from the SAG and AFTRA national boards. The brand new election structure will start to get into effect the coming year between May and August, once the contests for leader, secretary-treasurer and many board people will occur. A professional Vice president and 7 other VPs is going to be chosen in a convention in September, 2013. Particulars from the plan is going to be revealed now and also the ballots is going to be sent out on February. 27 having a March 30 tabulation date. The geographic makeup from the new board will be based upon the residency of dues-current people from the union, that is envisioned having 140,000 people. By the finish of this past year, Hollywood could be repped by 48% of seats around the board. Hollywood has about 60% of SAG board seats presently with 25% allotted to NY and also the relaxation repped by regional offices. The merger proposal will be delivered to 120,000 SAG people and 70,000 AFTRA people, who include stars, tv stations, DJs, performers and ballroom dancers. To pass through, the referendum would want a 60% approval margin from both orgs among votes cast. The 45,000 thesps who fit in with both SAG and AFTRA will get two ballots, one for every union. SAG people defeated merger plans in 1999 and 2003 while AFTRA people supported both. The initiation fee for SAG-AFTRA is going to be $3,000 -- a hike for individuals owned by just one union but a savings for dual consumers. Current initiation fee is $2,230 at SAG and $1,600 at AFTRA. The yearly dues is going to be $198 with SAG-AFTRA taking 1.575% of earnings up to and including more $8,073. For tv stations, the dues rate is going to be 1.575% on earnings as much as $100,000, shedding to .274% for earnings between $100,001 and $250,000 to no more than $2,184. AFTRA's current policy permitting broadcast people to work on single-employer non-union locations will stay intact. But people will stay barred from employed by multi-employer non-union locations. AFTRA also introduced Monday that it is people have ratified the 3-year successor deal around the AFTRA National Code of Fair Practice for Seem Tracks. The prior deal expired on 12 ,. 31, therefore the new contract is retroactive to Jan. 1 and tell you 12 ,. 31, 2014. AFTRA stated highlights from the contract include a rise in base rates of twoPercent every year from the contract a rise in the business health insurance and retirement contribution rate on royalty earnings by 1% within the existence from the agreement the retention of needed special employer contributions that guarantee medical health insurance benefits for royalty artists around the current ''roster'' of the label by growing the utmost on employer contributions from $5,000 to $6,500 each year enhanced and broadened performers' base of participation in revenue from purchase of digital downloads the establishment of the new structure of revenue-based obligations for brand new regions of low-budget licenses and licenses for nontraditional usages, for example reuse of tracks in novelty consumer items. The seem tracks code creates a lot more than $140 million in annual earnings for AFTRA people. It covers performers, royalty and non-royalty artists, in addition to announcers, stars, comics, narrators and seem effects artists who focus on tracks in most new and traditional media and all sorts of music formats, additionally to audio books, comedy albums and cast albums. Contact Dork McNary at dork.mcnary@variety.com