Posted by Jack Shaw on January 19, 1998 at 15:38:42:
The following was written anonymously, but should explain feelings of hard-working, dedicated AFTRA and SAG members in response to past questions regarding financial core.
Financial Core - The Real Poop:
If you're an Actor who loves all those nifty Union rights but hates all those pesky Union responsibilities, The United States Supreme Court has ruled that you can take full advantage of what's left of the collective bargaining power of your Union while potentially destroying the careers of literally thousands of Actors nationwide by becoming Financial Core.
In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled, in the case of Communication Workers vs. Beck, that sodomy is now legal in all 50 states. By becoming a dues-paying NON-Member, you can rape every single Actor that has ever walked a picket line on your behalf - legally - while doing your part to help our much-beleaguered employers save millions on all our costly Union benefits.
So what does it mean when a Union member declares Financial Core status? If you're flying in a plane and you don't like the course the pilot has chosen, the Supreme Court has said that you have every right to bind and gag the pilot and co-pilot, disable the automatic controls, spit in the faces of the flight attendants, and then parachute your golden ass to safety while leaving your brothers and sisters on the plane to fend for themselves. You still have to pay for the contract process - but not for long.
Time was when a Union looked out for its members, and its members looked out for each other. But those quaint, archaic notions pale in the light of opportunistic greed and shareholder profits. In the rugged, entrepreneurial 90's, where every outsourced sub-contractor is truly empowered to cut his or her own deal with the ever-expanding media conglomerate of his or her choice, it's no wonder that some of us are listening to all the right-wing, anti-Union propaganda encouraging us to undercut our careers into virtual oblivion.
A member who wishes to go Financial Core must do so in writing because there has never been one yet with the guts to look his fellow members in the eye while he slits their throats. The Union, by law, must accept this declaration with a firmly asserted "Thank you Sir, may I have another".
This is where it gets a bit confusing. Financial Core performers are legally entitled to pick and choose from the aspects of Unionism that best suit their lifestyles, yet dedicated Union members in good standing are morally prohibited from knocking these self-centered traitors over the head with a lead pipe.
Many Financial Core members have stated publicly that the Union has enacted politics that have kept them from earning a living. A closer look may reveal that it is a lack of sufficient talent that is keeping them from earning a living. See if the Supreme Court can help you there.
Charlton Heston is rumored to be a supporter of workers' rights to choose Financial Core. If this is truly the case, then perhaps he should be reminded that Judas also probably had the workers' best interests at heart. And while your at it, please deduct his transportation expenses from my dues.
The greatest fear of the Financial Core performer is that ultimately, every single actor will also go Financial Core, thereby spoiling the party for the few who want to advance themselves on the coat tails of our sacrifices. As Steve Stratton so aptly puts it, "Other people shouldn't use Financial Core for their own personal profit". Obviously. People should go Financial Core only when they want to give it away for free and reveal themselves as the sluts they truly are.
Financial Core doesn't mean being "anti-Union". Even the most ignorant dues-paying NON- member can see the possible benefits of safe working conditions, residuals and health and retirement plans. It's only the concept of banding together tor our mutual support that causes the Financial Core aspirant to show his or her own true colors.
Dues-paying NON-members should try and pull their selfish, fat heads out of their butts long enough to see what their decision is doing to the long term viability of their careers, as well as their careers of their fellow actors. Then, they should do what every other self-respecting Actor did prior to 1988 - quit whining and get a day job.