Voice Over Pro Bill Ratner Joins AFTRA National Board Talks with SAG Board September 11

Sept. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- BillRatner.com
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Well-Known Hollywood Voice-Over Talent Bill Ratner Joins AFTRA National Board of Directors Meeting with SAG Board to Determine Cooperation Amongst These Large Unions  

Los Angeles - Bill Ratner, well-known Hollywood voice-over actor and a long-standing member of the Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity, and the American Federation of TV & Radio Artists, joins the AFTRA National Board of Directors meeting with the Screen Actors Guild Board September 11, 2010, to discuss cooperation between these two large unions.  Ratner, who serves on both the Hollywood AFTRA Local and the AFTRA National Board of Directors, will participate in the video conference that takes place starting at 9 am California time in the AFTRA Frank Maxwell Boardroom in Los Angeles, that links at noon ET to the AFTRA Eddie Cantor Boardroom on Madison Avenue in New York City, and then joins the Screen Actors Guild Board.

The unusual session is intended to determine the nature of cooperation between these two large actors’ unions in this year’s pending negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the negotiating body which represents all major Hollywood TV and motion picture studios and producers.   Every three years the expiration of the two actors union’s contracts brings about a face-off with the producers over a plethora of hot-button issues: Internet pay and jurisdiction, actors’ residuals from DVD sales, safety on the set, and more.   The two unions represent and negotiate pay and working conditions for actors who work in motion pictures and television.  

There have been attempts by members to merge the two unions into one, thus increasing their bargaining position with producers and eliminating competition for jobs between unions.   Board members of both SAG and AFTRA are currently holding talks toward another merger vote for members.   Past votes saw majority “yes” votes from members of both unions, but misinformation campaigns aimed at keeping the unions separate caused the vote to fall short of the necessary 60% required to pass major union rulings such as merger.

Ratner, who is also a master storyteller and 5-Time The Moth Story Slam winner, recently returned from a successful Great Upper Midwest and New England Storytelling Tour.  He has a huge following of fans who remember him as “Flint” in GI Joe, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken.  Currently, he is the voice of numerous movie trailers, TV networks, and affiliate stations around the U.S. where he is recognized for his soothing delivery, inimitable charm, and wry humor.  His short stories and essays are published in Pleiades: A Journal of New Writing, Cheng Kung Literary, Southern Anthology, Papier Mache, Nightblade, Spork, Marquee, and Coast Magazine.  He is the voice of Niteblade.com’s first-ever spoken word horror story which he also wrote.  He lives in Los Angeles, CA, and owns three bicycles in various states of disrepair.  More about Bill Ratner can be found at billratner.com.