The mainstream media is chock-full of stories about unions and collective bargaining these days. Remember the blast of cold wind that blew across Wisconsin last winter when Governor Scott Walker sought to strip collective bargaining rights from public sector unions. It was a story about politics plain and simple, not the story of a fiscal crisis. The story south of the border is far from over as citizen response swells to “recall” Governor Walker.
The engagement of the union movement and citizens who have rallied against these destructive, politically motivated, unionbusting politicos warms the cockles of my heart. It seems to me that many people are not buying the message the right wing is pushing — mostly, because people know better. Many know and understand that unions paved the way for a better society and that unions are the best positioned organizations to challenge the right-wing agenda. It is not surprising that conservatives and the media conglomerates they control loathe unions. They perceive unions as the biggest obstacle to their success.
I am very mindful of how aggressively politicians all over the world, including here at home, have been working in the court of public opinion to denigrate both unions and the power of collective bargaining.
In our world at ACTRA, the very heartbeat of our union is our ability to collectively bargain with our engagers and improve pay and working conditions for all members. We are inspired by our cultural pioneers who demanded more than a “dollar a holler” in the early days of CBC Radio. They banded together collectively when work opportunities for performers and writers had exploded in the 1940s but the paycheques didn’t follow suit. As reported in the 60th anniversary edition of InterACTRA, “Determined to make a living with their creative gifts, several Toronto-based artists decided there should be a more professional approach to this acting business and organized the first ‘union style’ collective in 1941, the Radio Artists of Toronto Society (RATS). Meetings were held in secret, and the group was happy to officially adopt the term ‘society’, knowing well the panic that would ensue if the word union made the rounds.”
In 2011, I couldn’t be more proud of our union’s consummately professional approach to collective bargaining. (And I think our founders would approve.) We have a highly experienced lead negotiator in our National Executive Director StephenWaddell; we have a stellar national Research and Bargaining department and dedicated and smart staff all across the country, coast to coast to coast. But most importantly, we have passionate, engaged, smart and soulful members willing to stand up and fight on behalf of our community. It was an honour to serve with our National Commercial Agreement (NCA) negotiating team members: Heather Allin, Ruth Chiang, Jackson Davies, Ian Finlay, Billy Parrott, Alvin Sanders, David Sparrow, Maurice Dean Wint and Sheila Victor. We’re looking forward to an increase in work opportunities under this contract and the minute it was ratified, we started work on the next round of negotiations. That’s the simple truth of it. At ACTRA, research and analysis never stops — we are mindful and prepared. And bold.
Next? We have geared up for collective bargaining on the Independent Production Agreement (IPA) and the British Columbia Master Production Agreement (BCMPA). Focus groups are hopping and national solidarity deepens.
This photograph was taken in Ottawa at ACTRA’S Lobby Days’ reception and boasts leading actors from every part of the country from Vancouver to St. John’s, from Regina to Montreal, from Edmonton to Toronto. We are working very closely together because we all have our eye on the same prize – leveraging the power of a unified ACTRA membership to fight for the best possible pay and working conditions for all ACTRA members.
Ferne Downey
ACTRA National President
