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February 2011

Official publication of the Philadelphia Local of The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

TRI-UNION GROUP TAKES IT TO CITY HALLBy Bill Shusta, AFTRA National Board Member, Former KYW-AM broadcaster

Members of the Tri-Union Chorus with Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown and our very own Rocky, John Monforto, after the adoption of the Council.

My acting career began at age three as a Blue Forget-Me-Not in Snow White. My school days were filled with ballet classes and drama clubs. I got my degree in Theatre and joined my first professional union in 1980. The union was AFTRA.

This past December, I joined a few other AFTRA, SAG and AEA members in Philadelphia’s City Council Chambers. A resolution was presented asking that union talent be used for City projects. A last minute substitution of AFTRA Philadelphia Executive Director Steve Leshinski as the opening speaker produced gaffaws when he quipped, “Shelley Figures is my stage name.” Despite the humorous introduction, several council members continued to shuffle papers or check their Blackberriess. Suddenly, they were startled to see “Rocky Balboa” jog into the center of the room. “Rocky” (John Monforto) directed their attention to the heavenly choir of union performers, The Tri-Union Chorus. Conducted by AEA’s Tom Helmer, we sang a parody to That’s Entertainment inspired by John Di Domenico and written by Susan Moses.

We razzled. City Council smiled. We dazzled. City Council chuckled. We even used “jazz hands.” City Council laughed. We ended with a flourish and four part harmony. City Council cheered and applauded.

Applause. The sound every performer lives for. I felt proud to be a union actor.Yep. When you use union talent: That’s Entertainment!

On Stage at City Hall By Meagan Hill

View a pdf of the Resolution at www.aftraphiladelphia.com/council_res.pdf.

It may not have started with this as a key goal, but the tri-union effort now underway in Philadelphia is all about JOBS. A move is afoot to increase the visability of the performing unions in the city. A tri-union commit-

tee consisting of members of Actors Equity Association (E), Screen Actors Guild and AFTRA is behind this effort. It brought the group together back in August and the major move so far includes Philadelphia City Council. More on that in a moment.

Concern over casting directors encouraging union members to work non-union and some of those members working off the card in another union’s jurisdiction are major issues. The Liason Chair of the Philadelphia Equity Liason Committee, Tom Helmer, said that’s more so with Actors Eq-uity members doing SAG and AFTRA work and one goal is to reverse this trend, “through trying to educate our membership how important it is to support each other in our efforts to organize and create work opportuni-ties in Philadelphia.” A second goal he says is to, “find mutual ground in what we can achieve together as far as public policy in support of the arts and in support of entertainment in Philadelphia.”

The Philadelphia SAG Branch President, John Wooten, called the effort a show of unity among the performing unions, to stand together and not infringe on each other’s jurisdiction. Also, we are promoting the use of union contracts throughout our respective jurisdictions.

AFTRA’s Associate Executive Director Shelley Figures said of the local effort, “The unions have been talking about this on a national level, but there is plenty to do locally.” She said it was Helmer who called about holding a local meeting to focus on the issues.

Figures said the first meeting was one of the most well attended gather-ings she had ever seen. “The meeting resulted in a number of ideas being voiced. We talked about how we can support each others organizing efforts and do some kind of promotional outreach together.”

That brings me back to City Council. Meetings were held with City Coun-cilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown who agreed to present a non-binding resolution to Council touting the work of the performing unions in the city. It was presented at Council’s December 9th meeting. Following the reading of the resolution by the Councilwoman, a member of each union addressed the body. Then, the talent of the union members was highlighted by the Tri-Union Chorus. The complete presentation took less than ten minutes

and can be viewed on the Philadelphia AFTRA Facebook site and on the NBC-10 website. There also was a solid union member contingent present at the meeting.

AEA’s Helmer admitted it was a symbolic gesture but, “It was a great opportunity to go before City Council and show our presence as three strong unions in the city with a lot of members who want to work here and live here.” SAG’s Wooten called it a great show of effort on the part of the three unions.

It all goes back to jobs. Helmer says that’s important. “Especially for SAG and AFTRA members who have seen their opportunities decrease over the years because there’s a lot of work that was union and [it has] turned non-union.” He also said member involvement in union activities is crucial but hard to come by. “Folks don’t necessarily take union activities as a high priority. I wish they would appreciate the fact that in order to keep the union strong and vibrant and effective, it needs the participation of each and every one of its members.”

If interested in this tri-union effort, contact the AFTRA office to deter-mine how you can help.

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CAST & CREW

Editor

Shelley FiguresContributing Editors

Stephen LeshinskiChuck Varesko

STAFF

Executive Dirtector

Stephen LeshinskiAssociate Executive Director

Shelley FiguresContracts/Signatory Admin.

Lynn KoenigsbergBenefits & Membership Admin

Michele Dooley

LOCAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President

Catherine Brown1st Vice President

Chuck Varesko2nd Vice President

Dick Sheeran Secretary

Cyndy Drue

Treasurer

Ed FischerBoard Members

Rob Charry, Sam Clover, John Di Domenico, Paul Kurtz, Sylvia Kauders, Tom McNutt, Susan Moses, M.J. Myers, Bill Shusta, Christy Springfield

NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS

Susan Moses, Bill Shusta

SESSIONSOfficial publication of the Philadelphia American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

www.aftra.com/philadelphia.htm

AFTRA PHILADELPHIA 230 South Broad St., Suite 500 Philadelphia215.732.0507Download Sessions at:www.aftraphiladelphia.com/sessions

Leadership Training

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

I usually use this space to describe in so many words what AFTRA is up to and all of the latest activities of our motivated AFTRA members. This has been such a busy time, both locally and na-

tionally, that I thought it would be easier to just list what we’ve been working on and send an open invitation to all of you to get involved!

• Our tri-union campaign brings together members of AFTRA, SAG, and Actors Equity to discuss common issues and plan joint activities. You’ve read about our very successful December City Council resolution, well, that was just the beginning! We have an entire year of a Tri-Union Professional Develop-ment Speakers Tour planned out, starting with our “Taxes and the Working Actor” event on February 28th

• At our January Leadership Training it was decided to focus on branding and promoting AFTRA here in our market to producers, employers, members and non-members so when people hear “AFTRA” they immediately think of talented, professional broadcast and enter-tainment employees who stick up for themselves but always deliver and excellent product

• AFTRA is also reaching out to like-minded organizations like Broadcast Pioneers, Jobs with Justice, and Drexel University to generate some of our own “synergy” of like-minded media-types in order to maximize our networking and make as many connections as we can.

• This includes my recent election as an AFL-CIO Trustee to the Philadelphia Central La-bor Council. It’s easy to forget, because of where we work, that we are full members of the CLC here in Philadelphia and give and get support to all of our union sisters and brothers in the Delaware Valley, from unionized nurses, teachers, and construction workers to mail carriers, utility workers, and university professors. Even though we may have very different jobs, we all have one thing in common: we all have to work for a living!

So as you can see your union has been very busy and will continue to stay busy on behalf of all the members. In 2011, how will you get involved?

By Catherine Brown, Philadelphia AFTRA President

Twenty or so AFTRA members met on Sat-urday, January 29th, to discuss the past, pres-ent, and future of AFTRA. Guest speakers

included attorney Jonathan Walters, Esq, from the law firm of Markowitz and Richman, and AFTRA National Organizing Director Phil Denniston.

Jonathan discussed the history of labor and la-bor law in America, starting from the 1930’s through today. Because AFTRA represents both broadcast employees and members working under freelance contracts a variety of laws apply to this union. But more than just a neutral “rule book”, these laws can help or hurt union growth and organizing and it was important for members to get an overview of how those laws apply to AFTRA.

Next up was Phil who did an overview of AF-TRA history, asking members to identify “themes” in the history that started over 70 years ago. What really stood out was how many “firsts” AFTRA was involved in, and also the evolution of AF-TRA jurisdiction from radio to television to sound recordings and new media (in fact: AFTRA was originally AFRA, without the “T”; there wasn’t any television yet to organize!)

The day ended way past the scheduled closing time (always a good sign) as members discussed ways to get the word out about AFTRA’s benefits and accomplishments as well as looking to add even more.

AFTRA National Organizing Director Phil Denniston at an event in 2010.

Have something to share with Philadelphia AFTRA members? Maybe a comment on an article or column? Do you want to write an article? Contact Sessions via email at: sessions@aftraphiladelphia.com

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THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR

In 2010 we “closed” five broadcast contracts (KYW-AM, WPHT, WXTU, WYSP, CBS3) and expect to finish our last two “open” contracts (WIP and NBC10) in the next few weeks. Sort of like Haley’s Comet, this will

be one of those “every few years” times when all of our broadcast contracts will be closed and renewed, at least until Q102 and WMMR open up in the fall.

So while we’ll always need to service and enforce our contracts, it is an opportunity to focus (again) on our freelance membership, particularly the question of how in the heck do we get more union work for our members.

We are now and will always be somewhat at the whim of entertainment industry, at least as far as what is and isn’t shot here in our market. Being so close to NY is a mixed blessing, and while the recent resurgence of LA-based productions is great for AFTRA, those aren’t opportunities most of our Philadelphia members can easily take advantage of.

So what to do?Well, first thing is, we’re not alone. Starting with the Labor Day parade

last year and into our December City Council resolution (visit nbcphiladel-phia.com and search on AFTRA to view the video), we have been involved with SAG and Actors Equity in a “Tri-Union” campaign to coordinate and support each other in our various jurisdictions. These meetings reveal that

we have more in common than we do different and that by working together we can accomplish more for our members.

We have also scheduled a Professional Develop-ment Speaker Series for 2011, including seminars on Tax Advice, Demo Reels, the Videogame Industry, and other seminars to help our members enhance their skills and network here in our market directly.

And, of course, there is organizing. With the proliferation of technology, the migration of Philly-based businesses out of our local economy, and the economic pressures on costs and scheduling, it’s a buyers-market for talent out there. Unless and until producers are forced to recruit union talent in order to create a quality production it will simply be too-easy to by-pass AFTRA members to do work in our jurisdiction.

What we need from AFTRA members is to reach out to non-union performers in order to have conversations about how important it is for all performers to stick together in order to negotiate minimum standards when it comes to wages, benefits, and working conditions, even for jobs that only last a few hours (or are done from home!).

We need to re-build and re-energize our freelance base this year, and we need all hands on deck to do it. Can we count on you in 2011?

Did you know C.D.’s aren’t sold anymore in South Korea? Digital theft there is such a problem that as soon as a disc is released, it’s stolen, illegally downloaded via the internet. Would you walk into

a Border’s and leave with a CD or movie without paying for it. Of course not. But, you might do it online. Millions do and at an annual cost of 140 thousand AFTRA jobs and 5.5 billion dollars in revenue. Stopping this is one of AFTRA’s highest legislative priorities.

On the consumer side of the issue, AFTRA is a mem-ber of a major coalition of affected parties trying to stop copyright theft with a program called the Cre-ative America Campaign. At the moment, there’s no base for us on this issue while those opposing efforts to halt digital theft are well organized and spending millions. We must educate, activate and deploy our base to provide a climate to impact the political process.

The campaign being organized by the firm GMMB says the hurdles to overcome are igno-rance, apathy, hostility and fatalism. The answers are facts, personal stakes, unity and remedies. This is about jobs and theft. We must focus on the impact on the community, its members and their families. The impact of digital theft is real, emotional and a living, breath-ing issue we must be prepared to fight everyday.

The unions involved are AFTRA, SAG, DGA and IATSE along with the major film studios and several television networks. Secondary businesses also are affected, i.e., if a family illegally downloads a motion pic-ture and views it at home, they don’t go to a theatre and possibly dinner

It’s Not Piracy —It’s Digital Theft By Bill Shusta

By Stephen Leshinski,AFTRA Philadelphia Executive Director

afterwards.The parties involved will share in the cost of the

project with some paying more than others. The National Board has approved AFTRA’s first pay-ment of $100,000. During questioning about that

amount, Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpath said that, if we don’t have

a seat at this table, we don’t have a voice and the solution may not go the way we want. The program should be

up and running within six months as a lot of work already has been done.

To quote from the latest edition of the AFTRA Magazine, “The Union needs all AFTRA members to be part of this fight, and lead by example. The first step is that every AFTRA members must commit to not illegally download material from the Internet. Next, educate friends and fam-ily about the many legal websites where televi-sion programs, films and music can be legally

downloaded. In the coming months, AFTRA may call on its members to take action on these impor-

tant issues-members who have an important personal stake in this fight. It’s important the membership stand

with the Union as it attacks the problem and secures the future.”

The Winter 2010 issue of the AFTRA Magazine also has a list of the legal sites to use for downloading content.

Remember, it’s not piracy. It’s digital theft.

The Question for 2011

AFTRA Philadelphia PresentsThe Professional Seminar Series

Throughout 2011 AFTRA Philadelphia will present seminars and workshops on all aspects of the areas covered by AFTRA contracts. At the time of publication dates and topics were still being firmed up. Look for more specific details soon in Flash messages and in the mail. At this time the topics to the right are set and dates are being determined. Knowledge is power. Learn more about it all in The Professional Seminar Series.

February 28 -------Tax Seminar

March -----------------Making a Voiceover Demo Reel

May --------------------Use of Teleprompters/Other Equipment

June -------------------Videogame Work

August ----------------Making a Jobs Union, with Sheldon Smith

September ---------Improv Class

October --------------Hair and Makeup for Broadcast

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Greetings, fellow AFTRAans! The January 12th AFL-CIO meeting started at 7:00 p.m. with a welcome from Pat Eiding, the ensemble pledge

of allegiance, and a moment of silence in honor of those who fight to keep us safe.

New delegates from SEIU/Healthcare, Machinists 1776, 420O, and 13000 were sworn in.

The first order of business was the reading of the Executive Board meeting minutes/highlights from January 4, 2011 by Linda Butler. The financial statement was approved. Also noted was that some unions departed the delegation due to shrinking membership. Remain strong!

A motion was accepted to support the Afghan War. A huge point of discussion was the proposed issue of privatization of

state liquor stores and how it would raise prices and benefit newspaper ad revenues prompting them to print negative information concerning the current state of the stores, board etc.

Firefighters and EMS now have different collective bargaining agreements pending as opposed to the previous singular arrangement.

Expect efforts to reach out more to engage the union bodies in terms of political outreach and membership recruitment. Nick Alpers, Mobilization Director and Liz McElroy, Assistant to the President, spoke on the importance of establishing more of a presence in the community and in the political arena where necessary, particularly around March when endorsements might be sought by emerging candidates.

New Executive Board members were sworn in and advised they must be proactive in that area.

Janet Ryder of United Way advised of scholarship and email list availability for AFL-CIO union members.

The annual AFL-CIO conference is in Atlantic City from January 30th to February 1st. I will be attending and another update will be forthcoming.

We adjourned at 8 p.m. Have a good one everybody!

AFL-CIO Report By Cecil Parker

Danny Bonaduce’s been a member of AFTRA since the age of 4. He was hired by Dick Clark to do his first paying job – some kind of commercial that he doesn’t remember but has seen on tape.

This is what happens when your grandfather is Jack Steck who created

ONE OF OUR OWN — Danny Bonaduce By Cyndy Drue

Danny Bonaduce at work at WYSP. (Photo Cyndy Drue.)

In Memoriam — Joe Milazzo

American Bandstand, and your parents are writers of television shows; when you’re born into a show biz family, you get into show biz yourself. And de-spite acting as Danny Partridge in the TV series The Partridge Family, Danny Bonaduce’s favorite job is being an entertainer on the radio.

“I’m a big believer in unions. Philly is a union town. AFTRA protects me. Unions protect you from yourself,” Danny said recently during my visit to see him at WYSP at 400 Market Street on the 9th floor. He’s beginning his third year doing the morning show there.

“It makes me nervous that voice-tracking is popular. Every town needs to have a local person.”

His first memory of listening to the radio:“I was driving to school in LA in 11th grade and I think it was Rick Dees

announced that Danny Bonaduce was found in his Encino apartment dead from an apparent drug overdose. Then I thought, maybe this is hell. Then I thought, just go back home. People get killed all the time in erroneous reports. There were surprisingly few phone calls.”

How he got into radio:“The way I got into radio, the National Enquirer announced that Danny

Bonaduce was homeless. A DJ in Chicago did a fund drive for me and raised $11,000. They gave the money to charity but they gave me $2000 to come there. I saw the power of radio. I started doing some bits on the radio about being homeless and Danny Partridge. I did one at Eagle 106 (in Philly in 1988), and the GM offered me a job there. I jumped on it; then went to Phoenix, then Chicago. I did mornings in Detroit. I did afternoons in LA while I did the mornings here. The first year I did WYSP mornings, I’d go home and rest, and do an afternoon show by satellite in LA.”

Favorite things about Philadelphia:“I’m a huge history buff, so I love the architecture and history of Philly, fol-

lowed very closely by the people. They were wise enough to give birth to me and to the Declaration of Independence.” (Danny was born in Havertown.)

AFTRA member Joe Milazzo, who enjoyed a suc-

cessful second career as a character actor, passed away October 8, 2010 at the age of eighty six.

Joe’s acting career took off at the age of sixty one, beginning with a memorable ap-pearance on the Jay Leno Comedy Special in 1986. Joe’s distinctive face graced countless TV, Commercial, and Film productions in a busy eleven year period, until his second retirement in 1997.

Married to Dorothy for fifty nine years, he is also survived by his children James, Carol, and Virginia.

Contributions in Joe’s memory may be made to:

The Alzheimer’s Association of New Jersey

3 Eves Drive, Ste. 310, Marlton,

New Jersey. 08053.

By Lynn Koenigsberg

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BROADCAST BEAT — NEWS FROM OUR SHOP STEWARDSWIPBy Rob Charry

By the time you read this, Wing Bowl 19 will be in the books. Which means the planning has already begun for Wing Bowl

20. The brainchild of Al Morganti and An-gelo Cataldi, Wing Bowl was conceived as a substitute for the party and parade that would ensue if the Eagles won the Super Bowl, because it appeared as if the Eagles would never be in

the Super Bowl, let alone win one. That prediction (about winning a Super Bowl) has so far proved to be right unfortunately, though no one realized at the time how big and how much of an unusual Philadelphia tradition Wing Bowl would turn out to be.

Since many of you have asked about WIP’s overnight sensation, Big Daddy Graham, it seems like an appropriate time to update you. (Photo below.) Big Daddy spent much of last spring recovering from throat cancer surgery, and I’m happy to report he continues to feel stronger and is working as hard as ever. In addition to his overnight show (and filling in when Angelo and the morning team are on vacation), BDG is out and about doing standup comedy, hosting quizzo nights, trivia nights, along with occasional panhandling gigs. If you’ve never seen Big Daddy live, do yourself a favor and catch one of his two funny philly guys show with WIP’s Joe Conklin — upcoming shows February 12th at the Broadway Theatre in Pitman (with special guest Lauren Hart) and March 19th at Phoenixville High School. BDG also writes a weekly column for CSNPhilly.com. Check out Big Daddy’s website: BigDaddyGraham.com and Joe’s as well: JoeConklin.com

Ike Reese, who co-hosts afternoons with Howard Eskin, has been anchoring Saturday sports on our sister station CBS3 during football season. You can now catch Ike Sunday nights on CBS3’s sports wrap up show The Sports Zone with Beasley Reece. Ike is a proud Michigan State alum (along with Philadelphia AFTRA local president Catherine Brown), and not only keeps tabs on his old team on the gridiron, he is avid an Spartans basketball supporter as well.

WPHTBy Clinton Petty

WPHT welcomes Michael Cerio/Metro from WYSP to produce the new Chris Stigalmorning show. Mike

Viso, Eric Strain and Jim Kelly all move to 9 a.m. for their roles in the newly adjusted and more local lineup.

Greg Stocker stays with Michael Smerconish, now at 3 p.m. Sandro Anello and Keith Wurster are now producing the night shows. WPHT also welcomes Nikki Marra, who joined the station late last year.

CBS 3 NewsBy Neil Rattigan

CBS 3’s AFTRA members have ratified a new three-year contract by a two-to-one margin. The deal, retroactive to October 2009, calls

for 2% raises for writers and producers in the pact’s second and third years. CBS will increase the Health and Retirement contribution by another .5%. And it officially adds web employees to the union.

The ink was barely dry when KYW-TV enforced another part of the deal. All AFTRAns hired after 1993 are learning how to edit, including reporters. Around the same time, an IATSE employee trained to edit was re-assigned. Another IATSE employee was let go. The union will track training for cameras.

Members successfully fought a proposal for unpaid furloughs, but unsuccessfully tried to get CBS to prohibit non-compete clauses for

employees facing a salary reduction.One notable departure from the Eyewitness News team. In December,

friends and colleagues held a going away party for Cydney Long, who had been reporting and anchoring since 2001.

METROBy Randy Chepigan and Sam Clover

As quickly as can be expected in this economy, the Metro/Shadow shop continues to

work with management toward increasing workforce, for both the betterment of the on-air product and the improvement of some shop members’ overburdened workloads. In the past several weeks, we’ve wel-comed three new members, with hopefully more to come soon.

As we find ourselves immersed in another winter storm season, our members have already benefitted from another improvement we had asked for, involving weather-related emergency hotel stays. As we had requested, management now reserves blocks of hotel rooms in advance. This eliminates the old system of shop members reserving their own rooms, fronting the money themselves and having to wait for company reimbursement weeks later.

We continue to enjoy a good and communicative working relationship with management as we look forward to beginning our next round of contract negotiations in a few months.

Cyndy Drue (L) and Big Daddy Graham at the Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon on January 19, 2011. Ms. Drue was representing AFTRA Philadelphia and Graham appeared on a panel of sports experts.

Congratulations to Bill Shusta!

The Eastern Section of the National Board has elected Philadel-

phia member Bill Shusta to replace Atlanta member Dick

Klinger on the Eastern section of the Administrative Commit-

tee. Klinger’s resignation from longtime service on the AFTRA National

Board was announced on January 22 of this year.

Shusta’s expertise on union issues, especially regarding broadcasters,

is a valuable addition to the “Ad Com.” This national AFTRA commit-

tee is the group that meets monthly and helps take care of the union’s

ongoing business items in between meetings of the National Board and

Convention.

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NOTICE OF NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS2011

AFTRA PHILADELPHIA LOCAL & NATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS, LOCAL BOARD OFFICERS &

AFTRA CONVENTION DELEGATES*

This will serve as official notification of the forthcoming nominations of five (5) members of the Philadelphia AFTRA Local Board (four [4] in the

Freelance category, and one [1] in the Staff Announcer/Newsperson category) for three-year terms (May 1, 2011-April 30, 2014); one (1) National

Board member for a 4-year term (July 2011-2015); five (5) Local Board Officers [Pres., 1st VP, 2nd VP, Treasurer, Secretary] for 2-year terms ( May 1,

2011-April 30, 2013) and 17 delegates to the 63rd AFTRA Convention to be held in Seattle, Washington.

Petitions and EligibilityThe Philadelphia AFTRA Constitution provides that nominations be made by nominating petition in writing signed by ten (10) members in good

standing for a LOCAL BOARD seat, 20 members in good standing for a NATIONAL BOARD seat, and ten (10) members in good standing for CON-

VENTION DELEGATES. All petitions must be submitted to the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Local no later than March 1, 2011, to the AFTRA

Office, 230 S. Broad St., 5th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Please contact the AFTRA office at 215-732-0507 for nominating petitions.

Nominations for the five (5) Local Board Officers will be taken from the floor during the Annual Membership Meeting to be held in April, 2011.

To be eligible for nomination and to hold office you must be an Active member in good standing defined as a member who is paid up in

dues, initiation fees, reinstatement fees, assessments and fines as of the day that he/she signs the nominating petition. Members paying dues pursuant to

a payroll “check-off ” agreement or approved payment plan are considered to be in good standing. Further, to be eligible as a candidate for any Local

or National Board seat or Convention delegate, a member cannot be employed as management or perform the function of management within the

jurisdiction of AFTRA.

ElectionsThe election shall be conducted by mail ballot. The ballots will be mailed to each active member at their current address on or about March 7,

2011. In the event you do not receive a ballot by March 14, 2011, please contact the Local office at 215-732-0507 to request a duplicate ballot. To be

counted, ballots must be received in the Philadelphia Local Office at 230 S. Broad Street, 5th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102 no later than March 24, 2011

at 5:00 p.m. To be eligible to vote you must be an Active member in good standing, i.e., having paid dues for the period 11/01/10 through 04/30/11 as

well as outstanding initiation fees, reinstatement fees, assessments and fines, if any, no later than February 21, 2011. Members paying dues pursuant to

a payroll “check-off ” agreement or approved payment plan are considered to be in good standing. Ballots received after that date and time or ballots

not mailed to the Philadelphia Local office will not be counted. The ballots will be counted on March 25, 2011.

* Elected Delegates whose expenses will be paid to attend Conventions are appointed by the Local Board of Directors. Other elected delegates may attend

at their own expense. All Delegates must assign their proxies in writing.

The members whose terms expire with this election (Officers, Local and National Board) are:

OfficersCatherine Brown ......................................................PresidentChuck Varesko ...........................................................1st VP/FreelanceRichard Sheeran........................................................2nd VP/Staff Announcer-NewspersonEd Fischer .....................................................................TreasurerCyndy Drue ................................................................Secretary

Local BoardRob Charry .................................................................Staff Announcer-NewspersonSam Clover ..................................................................Staff Announcer-NewspersonTom McNutt ...............................................................FreelanceBill Shusta ......................................................................Staff Announcer-NewspersonChuck Varesko ...........................................................Freelance

National Board (Two seats expiring; one seat open in 2011.)Bill ShustaSusan Moses

2011 AFTRA Membership Meeting SAVE THE DATE: APRIL 27, 2011

Details coming soon!

The Tri-Union Group, composed of members of AFTRA, SAG and Actors Equity Association, met in the AFTRA Philadelphia conference room on January 24th. After discussion of their successful City Council Resolution effort the group discussed future actions. To be a part of the Tri-Union Group contact the AFTRA office.

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On Wednesday, December 5, 2010 the Phil-adelphia AFTRA membership gathered at Paddy Whacks Pub at 2nd and South Street in Philadelphia for the AFTRA Holiday Party.

AFTRA Holiday Party 2010

Steve Nikazy and Stephen Leshinski.

Cyndy Drue and Rob Charry.

Meagan Hill, Sam Clover, Christy Springfield.

Skip Fischer and Paul Kurtz.

Michael Tearson

Lynn Koenigsberg and Michele Dooley.

Tom Helmer, Marcia Fishman

Frank Traynor

DJ Chuck Varesko

Members of the Tri-Union Committee at their meeting in January. (L-R) Cyndy Drue, Tom Helmer, Bill Shusta, Barry Brait, Chuck Varesko, John Wooten, Sylvia Kauders, Jeanette Hartunian, Tom McNutt and Frank Traynor. The Committee is a cooperative effort by members of AFTRA, SAG and AEA to boost work for union performers.

Tri-Union Group MeetsAdd Your Voice Demo to The Talent Guide!

If you’re included in the Online Talent Guide in the Announcer category and you don’t have your voiceover demo in The Guide — why not? Go to:

http://www.aftrap-hiladelphia.com/up-load.html

Use the upload page to send us your mp.3 demo. Be sure to email us so we know you’ve uploaded.

If you have your demo on CD, or even cassette, we can convert it for you. Just send it to the AFTRA Phila-delphia office.

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Read Nat Wright’s History of AFTRA Philadelphia at www.aftrap-hiladelphia.com/convention/history.html

In This IssueTri-Union Group at City Hall ....................1On Stage at City Hall ................................1President’s Message ................................2Leadership Training .................................2The Director’s Chair .................................3The Question for 2011 ..............................3It’s Not Piracy —It’s Digital Theft ............3Danny Bonaduce ......................................4In Memoriam: Joe Milazzo .......................4AFL-CIO Report ........................................4BROADCAST BEAT ..................................5WIP ...........................................................5WPHT ........................................................5CBS 3 News ..............................................5METRO .....................................................5Congratulations to Bill Shusta! ...............52011 AFTRA Membership Meeting ..........6AFTRA Holiday Party 2010 .......................7Tri-Union Group Meets .............................7