Melissa Gilbert: "Don't shop at Wal-Mart."

[Norbert]

Bad news for budget-minded celebs: Melissa Gilbert wants you to stop shopping at Wal-Mart.

The “Little House on the Prairie” alum, now the president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, has sent an email to fellow actors, asking them to shun the discount store. "Wal-Mart’s low prices come at a tremendous cost,” Gilbert wrote, “not only to workers in groceries and retail but to thousands of workers in manufacturing whose jobs have moved out of the country as suppliers struggle to meet Wal-Mart’s demands for cheaper products. We all feel the pain of runaway production — so shop union, work union.”



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4087670/

:thumbsup:

[Safi]

1. Shop at Olsens!

:)

[CheshireCat]

2. We need more people giving this same message!

WalMart sucks the life out of most communities and employees! WE need a MAJOR boycott.

Haven't shopped there since 1992 and haven't missed a thing! (No - I'm not wealthy. I have to watch every penny I spend.)

Even here in SC, Wal-Mart is a regular target of pickets and protesters.

Wake up, people. You may save a few $$$, but wages in the area will fall and local businesses will close. Then WalMart will abandon their store and build a new one a few blocks away.

[nini]

3. Way to go "Half Pint"

I hope this is the beginning of getting the truth out to the masses about Wal mart

[MoonAndSun]

4. Way to go, Half-Pint!!

although, how many bigtime celebs shop there? I am sure a lot of the struggling actors probably do.

[CBHagman]

5. Half Pint gets it.

Spread the word, Ms. G.!

[hlthe2b]

6. While I credit her efforts, does she really think many actors

shop at Wal-mart? (Although I suppose those starving actors trying to break in to the business clearly might... I wonder proportionately how many of the latter make up the Screen Actor's Guild....)

[GOPisEvil]

7. The vast majority of actors do not make a living at it.

She's clearly speaking to the rank and file members who work retail, wait tables, etc. to make ends meet.

Good for her! :thumbsup:

[hlthe2b]

10. My question, though, is whether these actors are part of the Guild?

Is that a given to get any acting work?

[GOPisEvil]

11. I believe it is required.

Someone will have to verify that, though.

[democracyindanger]

20. It is

If you're a principal in a movie or commercial you have to be a member of SAG. You can sign up any time, but before you cash your check you'd better pay your dues. Almost everyone on a set is a member of one union or another.

There was actually a strike a couple years back. A lot of ad agencies had to go to Canada to shoot--using scab talent is a big no-no. But when actors strike, you get really entertaining picket lines; singing, dancing, etc. Seriously. It was fun to watch.

[CanuckAmok]

22. Performing in Canada technically isn't "Scab" action...

Canada's Provinces have their own performers' unions. The largest one is Equity, folowed by ACTRA and, in British Columbia, UBCP. SAG has no jurisdiction in Canada, except in the case of US Performers working as part of a "Distant Location Agreement", in which case the production company agrees to abide by SAG terms specifically on those actors only.

Everyone must be a union member to be a screen actor in Canada.

Incidentally, the reason the Screen Actors Guild generally strikes whenever they are able, is because a sharp majority of their membership have other income to rely on. Someone who has to make his living as a waiter between actor gigs has no reason not to vote for a strike; all he is doing is bargaining for better compensation/conditions the next time he works on screen, if ever. He has nothing to lose.

[democracyindanger]

28. Didn't mean to say

that the productions in Canada were 'scab.' The US agencies went to Canada because they *weren't* scab. :)

If I remember correctly, the last strike had to do with renegotiating royalties for use on the internetwebotron--at the time, I don't think performers were getting diddly.

[GinaMaria]

25. the strike

I believe is how we ended up with so much reality TV.

[democracyindanger]

30. yep nt

[CanuckAmok]

35. Exactly.

Fox accidentally stumbled upon "Cops", and proved that a crew of five people could shoot a very watchable TV show for under $30,000 per episode.

Shut out the actors, shut out the technicians, and shoot for peanuts. My department, for example, typically employs eight union technicians per show. The trainee makes about $900 per week, and the head of the department makes betwen $3000 and $5000 per week. So that's about $23,000 per week to pay my department, for ONE show. Plus benefits, plus meals, plus logistical costs. And that's just one department. Think about all the shows, shooting everywhere, which are moving from the 80+ people usually needed to shoot scripted programming, to reality TV, which can, in theory, shoot with a crew of three. That's a big savings.

Then there's the actors. A lead on a semi-popular series, for example, "Enterprise", probably makes between $30,000 and $60,000 per episode. If the show's a hit, the sky's the limit: a million bucks per episode per "Friend". Maybe the next ten cast members make $20,000, and the supporting cast and stunt people make $5,000. Plus residuals. Even the Union extras make $300 a day. That's where most of the costs go. Oh, and to the producers, but you know they're not in danger of being phased out!

I'm not sure, but I think SAG must have some sort of jurisdiction over performers on 'reality tv', unless it's categorized as 'news programming', as is the case with "Cops".

As a film technician, I feel that one reason 'reality tv' is so popular, is because the media, who are owned by the same people who own the networks, keep telling us it is. So we watch it. I know that's a little bit :tinfoilhat: , but whern you think about it, excluding the TV series which were popular before reality tv (Simpsons, Malcolm, Friends, etc), there's not much being offered in the way of scripted programming, so, if you want to watch tv, what choice do you have?

That's why I boycott reality TV, and urge everyone I know to do the same.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

26. The VAST majority of SAG members..

make under something like $5000 a year in their profession.

An actor has to be a SAG members to get jobs on union shoots, though many indies are shot with non-union (SAG) workers.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

29. Yes...

read my post below.

[Kamika]

16. maybe they NEED to shop at walmart to make ends meet?

Im just sayin.. some ppl need their low prices

[el_gato]

17. yeah, and maybe they should cut off their nose to spite their face

Im just sayin...there are consequences

[GOPisEvil]

18. Low prices come with their own high price...

...follow me here. Your company makes a product. You charge retailers 10 cents for your product. (Assume no volume discount.) Your product is manufactured here in the US and costs you 5 cents to make. Wal-mart lowers its price from 20 cents to 18 cents. Target matches them. Wal-mart then lowers the price to 15 cents, Target matches and so on until Wal-mart is asking YOU to reduce your price. So you cut your price a little. So, your profits go down now. Maybe you can't give your employees bonuses at Christmas now. Wal-mart comes to you again, threatens to go to your competitors if you don't lower your prices. So, you cut prices again. Now you have to cut back on employee benefits. Maybe lay someone off. Whatever. To the point where Wal-mart cuts you down to the original cost of producing the unit, when you decide to either fold up, or move production to another country with cheaper labor.

That's the low price trap. Everybody wants a bargain, but sometimes the price of low cost is quite steep in the end.

Just food for thought.

[jmowreader]

9. You have to buy paper towels somewhere

Actors live in houses like the rest of us, and they run out of staple goods too. Last I checked, Wal-Mart sells paper towels too, and most Wal-Marts are open 24 hours for your shopping convenience.

Would an actor go to Wal-Mart? I can't see why not; it's not like an actor in Hollywood is going to get mobbed when he or she goes to the kind of store tourists don't flock to just to see celebrities. Mmm...actors in Hollywood are like sailors in San Diego.

"Look! There's an actor!"
'That's nice. Look! They have beans for 49 cents a can!"

[Rainbowreflect]

8. I was trying to explain this issue to some coworker this week.

Their reply, "but cereal is soooo much cheaper there."

[populistmom]

12. Good for her!

Anytime someone gets the word out, the better.

[BiggJawn]

13. I......Ahh, Forget it!

When will I learn not to click on these "Boycott WallyWorld" threads?

[proud patriot]

14. She and I are the same age there abouts

I was raised by the Ingalls , that T.V. show
was my Favorite with MASH . I'd love for my son
to show an intrest in it.

I think it's great that she is aware of these problems
and speaks out with her voice which can be heard more
than mine .

This year is California's big battle with Walmart .
If you are a Californian and not signed up to help
in this fight I urge you to do so now .

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

15. Her hubby's not gonna like that

He's Bruce Boxleitner, major repug.

[Dogmudgeon]

19. Boxleitner is Republican?

I thought he was an anti-Bush Democrat.

Maybe he is a Republican, but still anti-Bush.

Hmm ...

--bkl

[ScreamingMeemie]

23. I think he's a Democrat...they were together at that anti war rally

in March last year. :shrug:

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

31. Hrm...I didn't know that.

But I was sure he was on "the other side".
I know his co-star from Babylon 5 (Jerry Doyle) is a Repub: he ran for Congress in 2002 (and lost).

[mouse7]

21. Easiest boycott in SAG history to get full compliance on.

Yeah, I don't think she'll have to twist many arms on that one.

Certainly far easier than calling a SAG boycott on blood diamonds.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

27. That's a crappy thing to say...

As noted in my post above, most SAG members are NOT wealthy. I read something a few years ago that less than 5% of their members make a full-time living (and I'm not talking millionaires) at acting.

Only a select few at SAG are in the diamond buying league.

[CanuckAmok]

37. The average SAG income...

...I just called a rep I know, and asked her. This is supposed to be confidential, by the way.

The average income for a full-member of rhe Screen Actors Guild is $17,500 per year.

That number factors in the vast majority of SAG members (60%) who do not work on screen every year, and the 8% estimated SAG members who earn over a million dollars annually. The remaining 32% are the ones considered to be 'making a living' as performers.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

38. Wow...

$17,000 is "making a living" -- considering where most of the work is cast out of, that's not a heck of a lot for the areas.

Thanks for checking! :hi:

[GinaMaria]

24. Costco! n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

32. Those "Rich" SAG members...

“In fact, the sad truth of the matter is that the vast majority of the members of the three major talent unions (the Directors Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and the Screen Actors Guild) cannot earn a living in the film business. For example, perhaps as many as two-thirds of the members of SAG earn less than $1,000 a year from acting in films.” (3) From the Actors Equity Association (AEA - the stage actors union) website (4) one sees that approximately 5,000 of the 35,000 members in good standing are working on about 500 professional stages in the United States. In one year approximately 45% of the total membership in good standing has worked at least one contract. In 1997, $225 million was earned by all members under contracts. Simple division shows that this comes out to an average of $6,428 per member in good standing. From the SAG website (5) one sees that in 1996 more than 80% of SAG’s 90,000 members earned less than $5,000. Meanwhile, Bruce Willis received $5 million dollars for his first feature film role in Die Hard, and Demi Moore was offered $12 million dollars for the movie Striptease (6), both of which make the acting student revisit the artistic merit versus commercial success conundrum.

http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/elx99/delap430.html

[tinnyguy1777]

33. I agree-Here's why---

Wal-mart opened a grocery store (Super Store??) in this area about 7 or 8 months age. Tomorrow, Jan 31, is the last day of operation for a large Sentry Store in the same small town. Sure, the manufacturing jobs around here are all going to Mexico and China, but Wal Mart's new store put the final nail in the coffin. So, there are some 35 full time, and 45 part time jobs shot in the ass. Stay the hell away from Wal Mart!!!!

[piece sine]

34. been here before!

I can NOT boycott a store that I absolutely never, ever (not even once) shop at! There are no WalMarts in Dupont Circle in DC. But I support those who used to shop there are now choose not to.

So flame me, a genuine WalMart virgin. Never stepped foot in one, although I have been to Target but can't say I was impressed. Too much ORANGE everywhere!

[catzies]

36. If you saw "Too much ORANGE everywhere," you might have been

in HOME DEPOT. ;)

Target has RED everywhere.

:)

[Lindsey]

39. Good for her!

n/t

[camero]

40. Glad she finally saw the light

And got the pine cones out of her ass.