Here's what I have from my scribbled notes. I'm sure if I'm missing something, or interpreting something wrong, others who were there could help fill in the blanks. I've put a (?) where I failed to write down a specific and am going off of memory/uncertainty.
As we know, the Tiers were officially created as "experimental" in the 2004 negotiations. In the most recent negotiations, 2008, they dropped the experimental status and they are full fledged.
Initially 6 Tiers were created, B (the highest) through G (the lowest). However, they found that E, F, and G were rarely if ever used. By the time a production got to where they would qualify for those tiers producers were opting out and choosing to license the show to the non-Equity markets (chiefly NETworks and Troika). So the bottom three tiers were split off to become the basis of the SETA contract.
Tiered Production Contract
To qualify to use one of the Production Contract Tiers the producers must meet three requirements
1. The majority of the itinerary must be engagements of 1 week or less.
2. The entire traveling company, and that includes all staff, not just AEA members, must number 41 or higher.
3. The guarantee charged to the presenters could not be more than $350,000.
If all three of these are not met then the show must go out under the Full Production Contract.
There are several factors that could be counted as a "credit" against the guarantee. Shipping/trucking costs, and total number of company members above 61(?), again taking into account all show staff, not just AEA members.
Per Diem/Housing on the Tiers
$114/day in all cities
As with the full contract, the producers must offer a choice of two hotels/housing options. Unlike the full contract, the lower priced of the two options must average $71 or less/per night over the course of 26 weeks. If that average is higher than $71 then the producers must pay out any overage. That payment is made every 13 weeks.
Overage Participation
With the Tiers all Equity members have a stake in the Overage.
The overage is calculated from the net box office gross, i.e. once the presenters have paid out the guarantee plus 10% of the box office to the producers and then subtracted their own fees (salaries, local costs, etc). Whatever is left over is the overage, which the local presenter then splits with producers in some way (usually a 60/40 split, with the producers, of course getting the larger chunk). All Equity members then receive 0.25% of this profit. As they said, some weeks there is no payment, others it may be just a few dollars, and then some weeks it could be a couple of hundred dollars.
Once the show recoups the actors' share jumps to 0.325%. Minimum salaries also jump 17% if this happens.
Pretty much all other working rules remain the same as the Full Production contract.
SETA (Short Engagement Touring Agreement)
Created from the original E, F, and G tiers from the Production Contract. Three lower tiers have been added for a total of 6 tiers.
Qualifications
1. A majority of the itinerary includes engagements of 1 week or less
2. Average guarantee not above $200,000(?)
3. Total company of 21(?) or more. Unlike the Production Contract, only AEA members are counted for this purpose, other staff (crew, musicians, etc.) are not taken into consideration.
Housing/Per Diem
The Producer pays for housing. All provided housing must be AAA Double Diamond rated or better.
Per Diem rates as follows:
If the actor chooses to have a single room - $41/day
If the actor chooses double occupancy - $51/day
If the actor opts out of the Producer provided housing - $84/day
Travel
3 hours on a 2 performance day
7 hours on a 1 performance day
10 hours on a day with no performances
Once every two weeks they are allowed a 12 hour travel day on a non-performance day
Baggage
200 lbs max that the Producer is responsible.
Producer pays for one checked bag equaling 50 lbs. The other 150 lbs travel in trunks.
Twice a year (every six months) the producer pays for the shipment of seasonal wardrobe changes.
Itinerary
Lay offs can only account for 25% of the itinerary.
The proposed itinerary must be attached with the contract at signing.
For any lay off weeks that go over the allowed 25% due to cancellations, etc, per diem, health payments, sick leave payments, and vacation accrual are still due.
The Golden Day (no work or travel) on this contract is defined as a full 24 hours, not one calendar day.
There can be up to 32 performances in a 4 week period. This could allow for some weeks to have 9 performances while the next may only have 7.
On this contract 2 ASMs are required for musicals. The 2nd ASM may, as one of their assigned duties, travel with the acting company to assist the company manager with the check in/check out process at hotels. This is most often likely to be utilized if the company is split between two buses, as ATPAM has currently only negotiated one company manager for this contract. For an additional negotiated payment this 2nd ASM may also assist the company manager with making housing and travel arrangements. IF the ASM is providing this function they can not also serve in another capacity such as understudy, swing, or dance captain.
Point of Organization
The Point of Organization has been eliminated in this contract. Housing and per diem payments are made whenever the actor is performing outside of a 50 mile radius from their address that is registered with Equity. Because of this the producer has the right to ask at auditions where the actor is currently living and this address is what will be used for determining when per diem and housing is due.
During rehearsals if the actor's permanent residence is outside of 50 miles but within 70 miles a partial per diem payment is due.
Wow, that just took quite a bit to get down. I'll try to add some of the questions that were asked and the response to said questions after my show tonight.
*Already thought of one more thing to add*
6 Month Chorus Rider
The Tiers follow the same rule as the Full Production. If a chorus member signs the six month rider the only way they can break it is if they are offered a Principal Contract under the Production Contract (Full or Tiered).
On the SETA contract the six month rider can be waived for either a Principal OR Chorus contract under the Production Contract (Full or Tiered).
