Legislative Status Report
by Paul Petersen

Confidential to:

William Daniels, President, SAG Catherine York, Government Relations, SAG Michael Harrah, Chair, YPC, SAG Shelby Scott, President, AFTRA Susan Boyd, AFTRA, Los Angeles Jay Barnett, AFTRA

Dear Friends,

The past two weeks in Washington DC, Iowa and Kansas have been scintillating, to say the least. In Washington I met with most of the North Carolina delegation (Sen. Edwards, Cong. Price, Ballenger and Etheridge) explaining how Midnight phone calls waylaid even my tepid “Study Bill” which passed in last year’s North Carolina legislative session by ‘de-funding’ the Study… which would have naturally revealed the true employment practices visited on Minors in North Carolina where Drew Barrymore filmed “Firestarter” by working night after night with no school to speak of…and began her drug and alcohol addiction. That won’t happen a 2nd time. I also met with Cong. Rogan (Calif.), Cong. McGovern (Mass.) and had a wonderful curbside meeting with Cong. Ron Blagojevich (Blah-goy-o-vich) of Illinois.

I dropped off prepared packages in the offices of Sens. Feinstein, Brownback and Stevens. I’ve enclosed sample packets for your review.

Most exciting of all was an unexpected encounter with Cong. Dan Burton, a powerful new ally from Indiana. We “recognized” each other. In five minutes of explanation in a hallway he immediately grasped the significance of my advocacy. Like all the others, he was astonished at the Federal exemption. When I showed him how plainly states like Arizona and North Carolina use the treatment of young performers as a production lure he and his assembled Staff were amazed. Ah, nothing like Truth and Passion.

The Congressman asked this question: “Are you saying that young performers are treated unfairly in the workplace in the entertainment business?”

My North Carolina liaison answered thusly: “Let’s put it this way, Congressman Burton. There are more protections for animals than children.” God bless Joanna Hill-West.

In a subsequent meeting with Cong. Burton’s Chief of Staff (who is, by the way, married to Senator Stevens of Kansas’ Chief of Staff) I believe the framework of a federal solution was sketched in…beginning with the Sub-Committee on Work Force Protections, which is chaired by Cong. Ballenger.

If I can present a cogent argument to Cong. Burton and he agrees that this is an area crying out for federal action, then our National Board’s already-approved approach to the Federal Government next year (after the political tides have shifted) is all but assured.

No one carries more clout on Capitol Hill than Congressman Burton. I made him but one promise; that we would put on the best “dog-and-pony show” Washington has seen in years.

Then I can stop chasing down individual States.

The following report of my continuing legislative efforts in Five States and Two Countries should bring everyone up-to-speed. I think you will be pleased.

Fraternally,

Paul Petersen: CSE-WSO, UN Delegate-Elect
National Co-Chair, Young Performers Committee, AFTRA
Member, SAG, YPC
Founder & President, AMC

IOWA:
No Child Labor Laws for Kids in Entertainment. The Film Commissioner, Wendol Jarvis, is a personal friend and long-time supporter of The Donna Reed Foundation, now in its 15th year. With the new political leadership and Governor Vilsack on our side, the opportunity to progress is simply a matter of presenting our legislation and proceeding. I spoke with Governor Vilsack and his wife (who is an educator) last year and they will be on hand for our 15th Annual Festival in Donna Reed’s hometown of Denison, Iowa, the 3rd week of June. Importantly, Senator Tom Harkins will almost certainly be a staunch ally for our Washington DC effort in 2001.

As with every State, the Film Commission in Iowa worries about being put at a disadvantage vis a vis other jurisdictions and doesn’t want to gettoo far “out front” on protecting children. The concrete advances we’ve enjoyed in Kansas make Iowa an easy target (see below).

KANSAS:
No Child Labor Laws for Kids in Entertainment. Assembly Bill 2838 (enclosed) passed out of the Kansas Assembly 122-0 last week and was heard on the Senate side on the 30th of this month (March). I flew in and testified. The Speaker of the Assembly, Doug Mays, was himself amazed that this Bill came through without amendments (the only Bill this session). I have met with Governor Graves and the way is clear to establish new Law in Kansas. The Film Commissioners are on our side. We will not lose. This Bill could be on Gov. Graves’ desk as early as April 7th, 2000.

NORTH CAROLINA:
No Child Labor Laws for Kids in Entertainment. This is our toughest test. Last year’s “Study Bill” passed out of the Assembly 23-12 but was quietly killed due to late-night “opposition” and Midnight phone calls from the largely conservative elements in Wilmington who are deceiving their own legislators. I have the access to the people “behind the scenes” and will disarm the opposition by threatening them with national exposure. They (the North Carolina film makers) knowingly cheat children.

It is somewhat amusing to hear a “Right To Work” State hide behind the SAG Contract…a union contract which is silent about the ownership of the money, the hiring of Preemies, excused absences from school and a host of other issues. It saddens me to report that our own SAG presence is more “friendly” with the Producers than necessary. This “coziness” leads to the exploitation of children, all in the name of keeping the film production community healthy.

Now that Canada is doing to North Carolina what they have been doing to California the time is ripe for a change…at least for our dues-paying kids. It’s not about union versus non-union work, but about being fair with children who, in North Carolina, are routinely putting in 12-hour days for $50 and a box lunch. They school ‘em when they want to and ignore 12-hour turn-arounds and night shooting restrictions whenever it suits ‘em. “Firestarter” was filmed in North Carolina with Drew Barrymore. She admits to working until five or six in the morning, night after night and was so un-supervised she got into drugs and alcohol (Pg. 71 of her autobiography).

Our Champion in North Carolina is out-going Labor Commissioner Harry Payne (I have also met with his likely replacement…Doug Berger, who needs union support in his race through the AFL-CIO whose dinner I attended last year). Commissioner Payne plans on calling all parties to a “private meeting” sometime in May and at that meeting I plan on giving the Wilmington area film-makers a choice of cooperation or exposure. I have already been invited to a Jesse Helms prayer breakfast and I have direct access to the Christian Right (big supporters of North Carolina business) if that’s the kind of fight they want. I won my Study Bill fair and square and they killed it. I told three North Carolina Congressmen (Ballinger, Etheridge and Price) in their Washington DC offices that I will not be sand-bagged a 2nd time. If Lt. Governor Wicker wins the governorship we have yet another friend. He was very keen to set things in motion when I met with him fifteen months ago.

ARIZONA:
No Child Labor Laws for Kids in Entertainment. This “Right to Work” State is a challenge, but a home-grown working group has formed to tackle the absence of law in our neighboring State. Don Livesay of our AFTRA/SAG Phoenix branch is our Chairman. The State Film Commissioner, Linda Peterson-Warren has attended two of our meetings and supports this effort to install Kansas-like statutes into the Law. Labor supports us, and Arizona filmmakers are also on-board. What remains is an entrée into the Governor’s office, which I may arrange through Senator McCain’s Staff. One of my Board Members, Camille Castille, is the Superintendent of Education for the Chandler School District and she will deliver the State Superintendent. Governor Jane Hull is known to be a caring woman. We have a 95% chance in this State if our Regulations and Legislation are sensible and carefully crafted.

TEXAS:
No Child Labor Laws for Kids in Entertainment. Texas is an odd place. The Regulators have far more power than the legislators, and in that regard I addressed the Texas Bar Association last November. The man directly responsible for child protection in Texas was in attendance and gave me his personal unqualified support once he heard what was really going on in Governor Bush’s home state. I expect no trouble in the rule-making process. It helped that while I was in Texas, Robert Altman came in with a film company (which was not yet a SAG-signatory) and for the mighty sum of $250.00 convinced a Dallas woman to have her 8-month pregnancy “induced” for the convenience of the Altman film crew. It can and did happen. Our task is to come up with the regulations we want, remembering not to put Texas at a disadvantage when it comes to soliciting film work. They have a terrible work history in Texas, and “insiders” know it.

CALIFORNIA:
The best (but not perfect) Work Rules for Kids in Entertainment. Michael Harrah and I will be submitting for Board Approval a revised hourly schedule for our Minors here in California. Nine year olds and sixteen year olds are currently treated the same. This hurts our professional kids trying to sustain their careers, and impacts our Producers in negative ways (as in, they cheat). It’s time for age-appropriate work rules that recognize the additional capacity for work of our older members…with compensated Overtime in increasing amounts. These changes will be of tremendous benefit to California Producers, and as such we in the Theatrical Unions must demand something in return…like support for our national unification of the Work Rules next year in Washington DC. We need Oversight (a principle on which the Producers have already agreed). If we can do it for animals we can do it for kids.

CANADA:
Only British Columbia (of the Ten Canadian provinces) has Child Labor Law for Kids in Entertainment. The ACTRA Basic does not address fundamental issues. Our “friends” in Canada don’t want to rock the boat, but their labor practices are abhorrent when it comes to kids. I have generated two front page articles in the Toronto Star, but this progressive country…which had no trouble passing laws for tax breaks and preferential hiring practices…continues to import American kids and exploit them. We’re all working for the same 8 companies (The Octopus), and it’s time for a change…at least for our kids. Canada, like Saban Entertainment (whom we roundly defeated), refuses to admit their failings when it comes to our kids.

MEXICO, URUGUAY & SOUTH AMERICA:
Not a single country South of the Border has Laws protecting Children in the Entertainment Industry. I have initiated conversations within the World Safety Organization and expect to present a damning report at the United Nations within the year. It is vital that we in the United States have our own house in order before we set about telling the rest of the world how to treat kids in this Business. The old “Hollywood Way” of saying one thing and doing another will not work with the international community. It will be exceedingly helpful if we have organized the Spanish Speaking market here in America.

IN SUMMARY:
The table is set for a national initiative to finally bring unification to the world inhabited by Young Performers. The State legislation should be seen as recruitment. We will need allies to win the day in our nation’s Capitol. The individual States have allowed us to “experiment” with our approach…and more importantly, to win both allies and the argument. This is not rocket science. Nearly everyone familiar with the work place as it really is knows the interests of children are often sacrificed for expediency. It is expensive to have a teacher on hand and to limit the hours a child can work. The money is far too tempting, especially when the long-term welfare of the child is not considered. The Core Issues are these:

#1. We must, as a trade union, sustain the principle that the person who does the work should own the money. A portion of a professional child’s income should and must be protected by some form of our Revised Coogan Law.

#2. If the State is going to solicit the film trade then it follows that the child engaged in this pursuit deserves an “excused absence” from regular school. Neither the child nor his school district should be punished while doing what the State supports.

#3. Someone should at all times represent the State’s concern over the “health, safety and morals of the child.” At a minimum the Parent/Guardian should be present and accountable. On school days there is little argument that a Studio Teacher should be present to provide education and oversight. On non-school workdays and posted vacation days there are Three options for Oversight: The Teacher, the Parent/Guardian, and the mandatory First Aid professional.

#4. It is wrong and dangerous to allow the hiring of Premature Infants. Babies must be Full Term and of Full Birth Weight before they are brought into a work environment.

#5. As children grow they possess an increasing capacity for work. Age-Appropriate Work Rules, especially for our members aged 12 to 16 whose careers are often terminated by restrictive work rules (which we know are observed in the breech), should have the opportunity for Compensated Overtime. “Cheating” is rampant throughout the Industry. This is a poor lesson for young professionals to learn. Instead of breaking the Rules we should change them to reflect this widely acknowledged impediment to a healthy and sustainable career environment.

#6. The Taxation of Children is mean-spirited and steeped in envy and resentment. Throughout the tax code there are “considerations” for those with power, votes and money. Our juvenile members have none of these political tools. Money saved for Education, a Starter Home, a Starter Business, Professional Enhancement, and Extraordinary Medical Expenses should be, if used for those purposes, free of taxation. In each case listed above the State’s long-range interests are best served if our professional children are “encouraged” to pursue those life-paths we know to be in their best interests.

THE OPPOSITION:
With the exception of a very small group of Parents who feel they and not we know what is best for their child, most of whom live off their children’s labor, I know of NO organized public opposition to these legislative pursuits. Most people think the problems of professional children were long-since addressed and put-paid. That is simply not true…from the State of New York’s denial of unemployment benefits to anyone under the age of fourteen, to the deliberate deception of alternate production centers that the SAG Basic Agreement speaks to the children’s issues. The SAG Contract applies with Signatories, but not in non-union and out-of-country environments. If un-enforced or inconvenient the SAG Contract is worthless. Our children and their parents are, by definition, naïve and inexperienced.

OUR SUPPORT:
The California legislators have been uniformly supportive. I have personally spoken with three Governors. The Film Commissions of three States have been welcoming. Within the Guild itself I believe there is widespread recognition that the time has come to fix the problems which have bedeviled kid actors for decades. I am enormously proud of the leadership shown by the members of the theatrical unions from whom all of us derive our access and impact. I am also grateful for the support of the AMPTP, which has, to date, supported each of our efforts with both money and resources. They have sometimes struggled with this apparent contradiction in traditional Labor/Management tension, but in the main they have at least been willing to listen and, when necessary, remain silent. The truth is they stand to profit from expanded work hours for our younger performers. Our mission spans all ideologies and political labels. This is Win-Win across the board.

Prepared this 1st day of April 2000.