SAG-AFTRA Activity Pressure To Examine “Wigging” & “Paint-Downs” – .

The National Board of SAG-AFTRA decided at a controversial meeting tonight to set up a task force to “investigate and address” issues related to paint-downs and wigging. The application was brought to the board by SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris.

The move, against which five stunt performers on the board of directors spoke out, came after dozens of stunt men and women had signed a letter to the SAG-AFTRA leadership demanding an end to “wiggling” – the age-old practice of wigs and putting clothes on stuntmen so they can double up for actresses – and “paint-downs,” where white stunt performers are given dark make-up so they can double up for color actors.

Stunt performers ask SAG-AFTRA to stop “paint-downs” and “wigging”.

The resolution acknowledges that “a number of stunt professionals have raised legitimate questions and troubling allegations about recruitment practices, paint downs, wigging and other discriminatory practices that continue to crop up throughout the entertainment industry during productions,” the task force said examine:

• “Employers who require or encourage hiring practices or other practices that continue to discriminate against stunt performers, including possible violations of federal and state anti-discrimination laws;
• “Stunt coordinators who employ, approve, or otherwise support practices that discriminate against stunt professionals in sheltered groups, including by creating a discriminatory and hostile environment;
• “Stunt performers engaged in“ paint downs ”,“ wigging ”and other discriminatory production practices across the industry.
• “Retaliation by stunt performers and stunt coordinators who bring these issues to light, including threats to their safety and working conditions.”

The resolution states that the union “is committed to ensuring that the work of the entertainment industry reflects the full diversity and inclusion that the American scene is made of” and that “the leadership and membership of SAG-AFTRA are committed to the elimination of the Use racism and sexism, homophobia, discrimination on grounds of disability, age discrimination and other forms of discrimination that block job opportunities and hinder the career paths of professionals in our membership and industry. “It is also noted that” these practices make decisions by members of the stunt -Community and producers “.

The resolution was opposed by the union’s main opposition group, Membership First, and all five stunt performers on the board, who argued that safety should always be a top priority and that the resolution could tie the hands of stunt coordinators in their recruitment Decisions that could lead to more accidents and injuries on set. “Every stunt person on the National Board voted against,” said board member and stuntman Peter Antico.

In other actions, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief operating officer and general counsel, filed a report of the ongoing legal battle with Actors’ Equity over the recording of stage productions and found that the union had filed a formal jurisdiction complaint with the Associated Actors and Actors Artistes of America and a request for mediation with the professional staff division of the AFL-CIO.

Michael Estrada, CEO of the SAG-Producers Pension Plan, and Christine Dubois, CEO of the AFTRA Retirement Fund, reported that both funds are in the so-called “green zone” and “are stable and secure and have a positive outlook”.

Treasurer Camryn Manheim and CFO Arianna Ozzanto reported that “actual third-quarter data is on target and on budget.”

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