By Jae-Ha Kim, Robert Manor, Shu Shin Luh
Chicago Sun-Times
May 25, 2000
Elliott Gould and a dozen other actors and actresses grabbed the spotlight at AT&T’s annual meeting in Chicago Wednesday, demanding the company support their union’s efforts to win a contract with the advertising industry.
“I’m here because I feel the responsibility of any high-profile person is to support their brothers and sisters in the rank and file,” Gould said before the meeting began.
“Everyone thinks that actors are rich, and certainly a small percentage are,” he said. “But the average (union) actor in Chicago makes less than $5,000 a year.”
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have been on strike since May 1, in response to an advertising industry proposal that would change the current pay structure for commercials. The unions represent 5,200 people in Chicago, 140,000 around the country.
AT&T aired a commercial using non-union personnel after the strike began, making it a target of the unions. AT&T is one of the nation’s major advertisers.
The advertising industry wants to compensate commercial actors with a flat-fee payment. Currently, actors and actresses are paid an average of $8,000 for each 13-week commercial cycle. The flat fee would reduce that to about $2,500, according to the unions.
“The advertising industry is asking us to take a 75 percent pay cut,” said actress Karen Austin, who as secretary of the guild is its second-highest elected official.
Austin relentlessly badgered AT&T Chairman Michael Armstrong to drop any ad firm that uses non-union actors.
“He said he would look into it,” Austin said, after she cornered Armstrong at the end of the meeting.
Armstrong has often had to face angry members of the Communication Workers of America and other unions representing more than half of AT&T’s workers.
But he appeared a bit nonplussed by the demands of the actors and actresses.
“We are going to contribute to the union’s pension fund,” Armstrong said. “AT&T (as an advertiser) is one of the biggest customers of the Screen Actors Guild.”
