UNIONS
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TELEVISION
AND RADIO ARTISTS (AFTRA)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
JOB OVERVIEW
The director manages and directs the day-to-day
administration, public relations,
and promotional activities, including
negotiating contracts, enforcement interpreta-
tion, budgets, and staff
supervision.
SPECIAL SKILLS
"People skills are the most important above
everything else," says Randy Himes,
"because we work with the good, the bad, and
the ugly. There are people who default
on payments, people who are good payers, and
people who are irate because they
don't like unions. You've got to be able to
think quick on your feet and you need
strong negotiating skills."
A DAY IN THE LIFE
On one particular day, Himes finished looking
over a contract for Jim Owens
Productions, researched new
technolo-
gies to determine what to charge
for
webcasts of The Opry, and worked on
a
student film agreement for Watkins
Film School. "I always have a lot
of
phone calls and contract
negotiations
going on throughout the day. I may
be
giving someone rates or helping to
solve
a problem. There is a lot of
dictation
and follow-up correspondence.
There
are board and committee meetings.
I
sometimes have site visits for film
and
commercial work. I liaison for
perform-
ers with the governor's and
mayor's
board for film, and the city film
com-
mission; whatever it takes to best
repre-
sent performers. There are no set
hours
and no set days. I had a producer
roll
"You've got to be able to do
whatever it takes to get the job
done." Don't be too proud to
start as an intern and then
hustle and be the best intern
anyone has ever seen.
"You've got to be versatile and
flexible. With AFTRA and SAG,
there are no black and white
lines in many areas. You have to
be flexible enough to deal with
that and not become frus-
trated."
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