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IF YOU HAVE A CHILD IN THE INDUSTRY, Dear Friends, &and we are friends, for you are the persons most responsible for the lives I hold most dear; show business kids. The time has come for a frank discussion about the true conditions that face youngsters in this Industry. I am going to ask you for your help later on, but lets see if any of the following rings true based on your experience. I have asked the Guild to get this message out. I do not have your addresses (except those who are already a part of our Foundation called "A Minor Consideration") nor your phone numbers. If you dont want to talk to me, so be it. Those of you who wish to contact me need only write SAGs Young Performers Committee, to my attention,
&or phone the Committee Office @ (213) 549-6420. You are free, of course, to skip me entirely and write to Ms. Vicki Shapiro, head of SAGs Legal Department, or Mr. Robert Todd, head of Production Services (the place in our Guild where you report violations).
It is a fact that nowhere in Law or the Education Codes are your home schools required to accept studio teaching. If your local school administrator or even an individual teacher has given you trouble on this issue, please, let us know. It is a fact that no applicant for a State-issued credential certifying them as a "studio teacher" has, in the past 11 years, ever failed the alleged test. Never. It is a fact that more than half of all approved "studio teachers" now certified for work in the Industry have just one teaching credential&a multiple subject credential better known as an Elementary Level credential. Multiple Subject teachers are rarely hired for junior and/or senior high school. (Source, California Appellate Court, 12/23/96) It is a fact that the definition of "Studio Teacher" as found in Title 8, Section 11755 says explicitly that such a teacher shall have two credentials, Elementary and Secondary. It is a fact that Overtime, for a minor, is illegal in the State of California, and that "no school official or labor official may---at any time or under any circumstances---" exceed the minimal provisions of Law or Regulation. (Pg. 42, Department of Labors publication, "Child Labor Laws in the Entertainment Industry," October, 1995.) It is a fact that the Department of Labor, which issues work permits, credentials studio teachers, and has enforcement power in its division of Standards & Enforcement) has never suspended the teaching credentials of a "studio teacher." The DLSE has never revoked such a credential. It is a fact that every company which employs a minor in California must apply for and have on hand for immediate inspection a "Certificate of Eligibility to Employ Minors" issued by the Department of Labor in which said company promises to abide by all laws of the State, in writing. (8CCR 11751 (b) A "Certificate of Eligibility to Employ Minors" has never been suspended or revoked. Never! It is a fact that any retaliation against studio teachers for discharging their duties shall result in the denial, suspension or revocation of the "Certificate of Eligibility to Employ Minors." (8 CCR 11758, 11758.1) Studio Teachers are generally "daily hires" and if a studio teacher has mysteriously "disappeared" after standing up for your child we need to know about it. It is a fact that California kids signed with a California corporation must be accompanied by a California studio teacher, and in jurisdictions which allow working conditions less stringent than California "the strictest standards shall apply." (All SAG Basic Agreements with the Producers) It is a fact that a C Average is required for the issuance of a Work Permit. 1,500 Work Permits are issued every month. I have never heard of a Work Permit being denied, let alone suspended for poor grades Have you? If so, please inform your Guild. We in the Young Performers Committee routinely hear complaints regarding education. 60% of all complaints we hear involve educational concerns. Reports of cash payments to parents to ignore established work rules have become commonplace, especially on commercials whether in or out of California. Outside California it is even worse because many States have no effective Child Labor Laws in the Entertainment Business, and when they do they rarely enforce them. Sub-standard teaching and work rule violations are becoming routine, but parents rarely "officially" report these incidents. Why? What is it about the careers of your children that prevents timely notification of the Guild so something can be done about violations, real or perceived? Why do these reports come to us after the fact? Who is being protected, and why? Picture if you will that proverbial "slippery slope." Those of you who have attended the Guilds monthly Orientations for young performers and their parents (they are free, and open to all members) have heard Dr. Jeannie Russell, our National Chair, make the following statement. "If you dont report violations then we will lose hard-won contract provisions, because the rule is, Use it or Lose it." My friends, California is actively seeking to lower the standards of "studio teachers." Maybe this hasnt happened to you, but many parents are taking cash payments in lieu of illegal overtime. Many parents¬ you, of course&are home-schooling their children so they can declare holidays and make their child more attractive to prospective employers. Some parents are willfully altering their childrens grade point average to obtain a work permit under false pretenses, or declaring themselves residents of other states to avoid California work rules. This is not the same as fudging your true age on an interview. The lessons being learned by your children, whether a part of this distortion or not, are unwelcome&and will affect the next generation of kid actors. Parents new to this Industry are just as naïve and inexperienced as their children. That reality, like the 10 points I listed earlier, is a fact. Everyday we have well-meaning parents being taken to the cleaners by unscrupulous Managers, Photographers and a raft of businesses and "theatrical teachers" claiming to have the inside track. Everyday we have parents being asked to ignore the work rules or forego the education of their children for some illusory advantage. What motivates the 600 families that annually trek to Southern California and install themselves in the Oakwood Apartment at a cost of thousands every month when the odds of success are what theyve always been, about 1 in a 1,000? Something unbecoming has infected our Industry. On Broadway parents are being ushered out of the theater at the 30 minute call. The events surrounding "Annie" didnt just happen. In forty-nine States neither a studio teacher nor first aid are required on Commercials. State Film Commissioners actually attempt to lure Producers by saying "we have no child labor laws." Every parent who trades the welfare of their child for a few dollars in illegal overtime is doing more than teaching a bad lesson to their off-spring. They are damaging all future children in this Industry. Accepting an inadequate or disinterested studio teacher because the job just lasts one day without reporting it to the Guild means that the next child that encounters that bad teacher will suffer, too&and that next child may be on a series. No one is immune. The same parents who allowed their son to work eighteen and nineteen hour days in Illinois while shooting a movie are now at each others throats in New York saying their kid is two years behind in his studies. The movie was "Uncle Buck" and the kid was Macaulay Culkin. Inexperienced parents allowed themselves to be removed from the set of "Apt Pupil" and the next thing they knew their children had been coerced into performing naked with full frontal nudity. What happened to Hollywoods protection? What happened to the 100 adult members of the cast and crew who said nothing while children were put in this position? Parents are the responsible party. In the largest percentage of cases Parents do a good job protecting their children whether in this business or not. But there is no such thing as perfection in human affairs. The bad stuff is happening and we need to know about it. Please help. Sir Thomas Moore pointed out that "silence is affirmation." An incompetent teacher needs to be reported. A request to break the law coming from any quarter should be made known. Producers or Agents who encourage you to avoid the protections built into our Basic Agreement should also be made known. School administrators who treat your child badly just because they work in this business need to be put on notice that this 17 Billion dollar a year business (just in California) depends on children and always has&and will defend its youngest participants. You should be and must be a full participant along with your child if the experiences to be had in the business are to be positive and affirming. Show Business parents are not an appendage, an unwelcome Albatross. We are aware that you are compelled by Law to "be within sight and hearing of your child at all times" even though you arent compensated, or given the respect you deserve. Its a tough job. We know that. The rules are different for children. What you might tolerate or accept in your adult life is not and cannot be the same for children. Never has been. There are consequences when commonsense guidelines are ignored. Hollywood has an eighty year jump on you in terms of experience. Hollywood had a forty year jump on me and my family. The same disadvantages that caused such profound harm to Jackie Coogan back in the Nineteen-Teens when movies didnt have a sound track still exist today. But children havent changed. If you have been holding secrets or keeping your silence thinking this will all go away I urge you to re-think your position. This is important. Each of us, no matter what our age, is connected to his or her childhood. I speak to you as a father of two grown boys, and as an Original Mouseketeer, too. We are not trying to deny you or your children an E Ticket ride, but somewhere in the past twenty years something has gone seriously wrong and unless people start to come forward matters will get worse, not better.
Webmaster's note: Earlier in this message, Paul suggested that you contact him through SAG. Although this is certainly an option, if you are reading this here, you can also contact him through this website. Also, if your child has worked professionally and you want to receive the newsletters from A Minor Consideration, mention this as well. |
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