Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/308664
For Members 12 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2014 | SAGAFTRA.org JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUIT AGAINST UNION AFL-CIO SUPPORTS WIPO TREATY SAG-AFTRA RESIDUALS PROCESSING HITS THE FAST LANE A concerted effort by the union to reduce the amount of time it takes to process members' residuals has been a resounding success, with checks now going out more than three times as fast. In March, residuals processing took, on average, under 30 days, a dramatic reduction from September 2013, when it took an average of more than 90 days. e number of checks the union processes has increased dramatically, from 2.9 million in 2012 to 3.5 million last year, and the result was a backlog of checks and long delays. Getting members their money faster has been a top priority for the union's leadership, and through a sustained effort, great progress has been realized. "Every member of our Residuals Department, under the leadership of Valery Kotik, has been giving their all to ensure members receive their money in a timely manner. I am proud of what they have been able to accomplish," said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White. T he AFL-CIO Executive Council has issued a statement of support for the World Intellectual Property Organization Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. At its Feb. 19 meeting in Houston, the council agreed on language to encourage nations to ratify the agreement. "e WIPO Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, our top priority in the international sphere, corrects the longstanding oversight under which audio performers are protected but audiovisual performers are entirely unprotected under international law," it said. SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard, a vice president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, brought the matter to the floor. He echoed the support of the labor federation. "Actors and media artists make part of their living from the distribution and reuse of their work — name, voice, image and likeness. For SAG-AFTRA members, protecting their performances globally means having a set of agreed principles and a governing body that oversees those intellectual property rights. at is WIPO and its Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances." e treaty was adopted in June 2012 and is making its way through the ratification process. Seventy-one countries plus the European Union have signed the treaty, and so far two of those countries (Syria and Botswana) have ratified the treaty, although the United States has not yet done so. e treaty has not yet received the 30 ratifications required to enter into force. To find out if you have foreign royalties accruing on your behalf, visit the Foreign Royalties Tracker at sagaftra.org/foreign-royalties. A federal judge has ruled in favor of SAG-AFTRA in a lawsuit that claimed the union mishandled funds due performers for foreign royalties. Although a portion of the lawsuit was dismissed last year, the plaintiffs, including former Screen Actors Guild President Ed Asner, claimed that the union was withholding records. On Jan. 28, U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real issued a ruling dismissing the remainder of the suit, stating they had been unable to provide any evidence substantiating the claim. Real noted that the union had been providing the requested records and that it was "not even clear which books and records, if any, are not being proffered for examination." SAG-AFTRA was represented by Bob Bush of Bush Gottlieb. e SAG-AFTRA foreign royalties program claims funds on behalf of SAG-AFTRA performers under foreign countries' laws that provide for payments to artists in audiovisual works to compensate for private copying (home recording), cable retransmissions, video rentals and other uses of such works. Over the last six years, the union has distributed nearly $18.5 million in foreign royalties to SAG-AFTRA members, money that would have been lost to them forever had the union not taken action. THE AMOUNT OF FOREIGN ROYALTIES DISTRIBUTED TO SAG-AFTRA MEMBERS AS OF DEC. 31, 2013. 11-19_For Members_F1.indd 12 4/24/14 5:50 PM