Without class consciousness and “victims of a natural egocentrism” that drives them in each audition, but separates them to fight for their labor rights, in the National Association of Actors (ANDA) are facing the changes in the audiovisual industry and the world of work, says Marco Treviño, general secretary of that union.
In general, actresses and actors “do not see themselves as hard-working people, that is the most important problem.” To the labor reform They arrived unprepared, they managed to legitimize only those collective labor contracts (CCT) that interested them, “but with a big belly,” says the interpreter in an interview in films (After Lucía, 2012), soap operas and series (La negociadora, 2021).
ANDA will comply 89 years in november. “Nearly nine decades of being run by actors, not managers. We need a transformation, for experts to operate it and for actors to direct those experts”. Something in the style of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG, for its acronym in English).
In this years, corruption and disorganization “They have brutally permeated,” he acknowledges. The steering committees have not had continuity or planning, for 20 years the results of the audits have not been conclusive due to the lack of data systematization.
Finances are another big problem. New business models in the entertainment and audiovisual industries have considerably reduced the income of the union, affecting the actresses and actors who earn less.
And, of course, the very nature of his work, which has never fit the prototype of a traditional job. “The Federal Labor Law recognizes us as intermittent workers”, which means that they have several employers at the same time, but that they will not be able to affiliate them with the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).
The union was in the midst of all these problems when the labor reform arrived with rules to democratize unions. Marco Treviño finds that mission plausible, but he points out: “Not all unions are ready for that.”
“We are actors, not politicians”
Marco Treviño has directed ANDA since 2021, “we won twice,” says the actor. The election of the executive committee had to be repeated by agreement of the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration (CFCRL), because in the first the registration was denied to the Verde Oro payroll, led by the actress Laura Zapata. In the first and second ballots, Treviño’s ticket was the winner.
“The union democracy It’s fundamental. And the ANDA has been an example of this, despite our fights and grids. It was founded in 1934 by Jorge Negrete, Mario Moreno, Cantinflas and Fernando Soler, among others.
It developed at a time when union leaders they perpetuated themselves in power, but that did not happen in that organization. “We are actors, not politicians, we are not interested in perpetuating ourselves in a political position”, but in creating a acting careerExplain.
The art of acting also has a social and critical role, but that has sometimes been a disadvantage. “We are aware of the bad reputation of the mexican unions”, which discourages them from participating and defending their labor rights.
The GO It arose to “favor colleagues who have less income or less important characters, because they are the ones who need more protection.” But that has stopped happening.
Initially, after several struggles, they managed to get the producers to hire their cast and pay them through ANDA, which allowed them to retain high amounts in union dues and ensure benefits that companies do not provide.
“It worked very well, because there were few actors and a lot of money came in and everyone had a medical service, for example.” But for many companies it was not profitable to pay salaries that way, so they stopped doing it. The importance of have a CCT it became noticeable.
At the same time, the union grew with members who are not artists, but the leaders accepted them believing that this would bring more income to ANDA. “Then, categories had to be established, from aspiring partner, meritorious partner, active administrator and honorary. Only active members have the full rights” and for this you have to reach a minimum contribution of 100,000 pesos a year.
“Now, those who have less work are those who have fewer benefits.” up close 4,000 unionized people In ANDA, “around 2,500 of us have private medical services and other benefits,” he points out.
The IMSS affiliation It is complicated for several reasons. The model of the pilot program for independent workers does not convince them because it is not tripartite, many actresses and actors reject it because of the quality of the service and “because, being public figures, they could not attend a consultation with peace of mind.”
Marco Treviño has begun to outline a project: propose an agreement to the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) to access medical service through its hospitals. The agreement, in addition to the financial payment, could include agency campaigns in which ANDA actors and actresses participate.
The legitimization of CCT confirmed the apathy
of the close to 50 collective contracts that ANDA has signed, the leadership was interested in legitimizing only 21. The rest were with production companies that no longer exist or under conditions that are no longer in force.
The biggest one is with Televisa. Most of those who make up the union work in that company, which generates 50% of the income with which they pay social security. “Then, 45% is from independent producers, such as Argos MediaPerro Azul, Lemon Films, and many more.
Last may 1 The term to legitimize the contracts or register those that will be legitimized before the July 31st. This requirement, incorporated into the 2019 labor reform, seeks that all workers know the content of their contracts and endorse them.
Again, for the acting union it was quite a challenge. “The logistics were brutal,” as the law ordered that printed CCTs they were delivered to each person affiliated with the union and that the votes were carried out on a previously determined day, place and time.
The difficulty lay not only in the fact that many actresses and actors they are working in different parts of the country or even abroad, or that it is difficult to secure a location.
In this context, he asserts: “We confirmed what we already knew: there is a enormous apathya lack of class consciousness, as I already mentioned, which has been diminishing union activity”.
Marco Treviño laments that “egocentrism overcomes union conscience. We are more busy and worried about being famous, about having the character we have always dreamed of, than about fighting for group rights, and we forget that in a group we are stronger”.
