Comments for Stephen Diamond

Comment on Barack Obama’s Visit to the Other Ayers House by joshua

joshua — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:32:28 +0000

A commen sense question that comes to mind is “Who is behind Dohrn and Ayers to have made it so easy for them to get back on their feet and have a relationship with a future president?”

Comment on Is the audit of the SAG pension and health plan really “much ado about nothing”? by Lucky Happy

Lucky Happy — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:13:22 +0000

I worked at the Plans. When Karimi left the company, the CEO put out an email and said Karimi left for “family reasons” in 2008 and now everyone knows that is not true. The emblezzment had to be close to 10 mill or even more but it’s very difficult to track. At the time I was there, Karimi was locking up these huge IT contractors with vendors for millions and millions of dollars and had over paid IT contract workers every where. In fact, after he was let go, he was probably still collecting because SAG used the same vendors. The IT dept had the largest budget of all depts now we all know why.

EDITOR: I have recommended that this commenter report any allegations to the Department of Labor.

Comment on Is the audit of the SAG pension and health plan really “much ado about nothing”? by Cliff Emmich

Cliff Emmich — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:22:27 +0000

Just returned from SAG-Aftra’s so called information meeting.Lots of scripted propaganda spewed forth from a dais holding the power and pretentious pro merger speakers but little,if any,information.I brought up the issue of the reported embezzlement of anywhere between 5 to 10 million dollars in SAG’s pension plan.A trustee of the plan ,on the dais,was adamant that the 5 to 10 million dollar figure is a fabrication put out by bloggers .He stated in 2008 two million was embezzled and insurance coverage put the lost money back in and this is old news.

Comment on Is the audit of the SAG pension and health plan really “much ado about nothing”? by Tom Ligon

Tom Ligon — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 23:01:09 +0000

Third, the plan never admitted “weaknesses in internal controls.” It did NOT take Simmons’ letter begging for a settlement to discover the case. It had long been discovered and investigated and paid for by insurance….

EDITOR: This comment has been edited to prevent Mr. Ligon from being accused of slander but not for accuracy. SAG Watch reported that the plan admitted weaknesses in internal controls and as my post indicated, a new layer of controls has been added.

Comment on Is the audit of the SAG pension and health plan really “much ado about nothing”? by Tom Ligon

Tom Ligon — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:49:07 +0000

…. In his article, Diamond mentions the word “routine” four times in his article, emphatically, in a specious attempt to color SAG P&H’s attitude toward the audit as casual or off-hand. Diamond spends half the article taking SAG P&H to task for seemingly SAG P&H’s lackadaisical drift through a ho-hum process. That is NOT what SAG P&H stated at all. Not in the least stated or implied. They said: “Field audits of multiemployer plans of this sort are routine for benefit plans across the country.” They ARE important, and SAG P&H states they have given it appropriate attention, and they HAVE become “routine” in this area.

Secondly, Diamond states: “…SAG went into the merger negotiations with AFTRA at a time of weakness. If the merger is approved there will be very difficult internal battles to resolve the problems that merger does not touch, including the future of the vitally important health care and pension plans…”

Since when is it a “time of weakness” to submit your pension and health plans to intense scrutiny? I would say that, in full confidence of the plan’s strength and integrity, SAG said: “Let’s do this.”

Comment on Is the audit of the SAG pension and health plan really “much ado about nothing”? by Leslie Hoffman

Leslie Hoffman — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 22:40:59 +0000

The audit with the Boston SAG Office is probably due to the fact that SAG P&H have know for at least 2 years that they are not in compliance with the MA State Health Plan requirements. The SAG P&H Staff and the SAG Trustees (ALL OF THEM) have known that this problem has existed and have FAILED to make sure that the SAG Members of MA are properly and LEGALLY covered.

http://www.sag.org/files/sag/documents/Boston_NewEnglander_March2011.pdf

Page 2

SAG Health Plan Update

As we previously reported, beginning January 1, 2011, SAG Health Plan coverage will no longer meet the standards set by the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector (the Connector). Under Massachusetts state law, residents whose insurance does not meet the standards will incur a state- levied fine. Please note that any potential fine will be due April 15, 2012. Tax filings for April 2011, are not affected.
This problem occurred last year. Working with the Plan Trustees, the portions of the plan necessary for Massachusetts members to avoid the state fine were reinstated. This year, however, the new federal healthcare law prevents the Plan from extending the necessary benefits to Massachusetts members without extending those benefits to all members nationwide which would increase the Plans operating deficit and adversely affect benefits for all members.
We then asked the Trustees to offer our members the option to purchase supplemental coverage to meet the state standard. Unfortunately, the Health Plan is not able to offer that solution.
We next turned to the State for a remedy. The Connector was asked to grant a blanket waiver for all 2011 participants. That request was denied. We then pursued the option of state supplemental coverage to meet the MCC state standard. Unfortunately, that too was denied.
Rest assured that our advocacy efforts with the state and with the Fund will continue and we will update our members about our progress. In the meantime, here’s what you should know. Plan I, Plan II, Lower Cost Self-Pay for Former Plan II Participants will not meet state standards in 2011. We believe the Lower Cost Self-Pay Plan for Former Plan I Participants will meet state standards. We are awaiting confirmation of that from the state.
From the Connector we learned that participants may apply for individual waivers from state income tax penalties. The Connector will grant waivers to residents who demonstrate that there is no available affordable coverage as defined by the Connector. The Connector may grant waivers to Plan I participants who do not have dependent children and therefore, have no need for maternity coverage for dependent children. Participants in all SAG Plans are encouraged to apply for a waiver which must be submitted by April, 2012.
If you have questions about state standards, including penalties that may apply and/or if you want to learn more about the waiver process, contact the Connector at (877) MA-ENROLL, or visit the website at http://www.mahealthconnector.org.
NOTE: AFTRA Health coverage is in compliance with the state standards.

Comment on SAG arrest threat story collapses – mea culpa by Michael Arturo

Michael Arturo — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 03:01:45 +0000

Yes, I’m grateful for your diligent reporting on the issue and trying to get to the bottom of it, Mr. Diamond. What is clear is that the women were bullied while protesting with anti-merger leaflets outside of the SAG building. If they were in their legal right to be there and engage in said activity, then by whom they were bullied or for what reason is secondary. Being bullied for dissent is unAmerican.

Comment on SAG arrest threat story collapses – mea culpa by Stephen Diamond

Stephen Diamond — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:17:30 +0000

Actually I think you, “Doug,” are the one engaged in wishful thinking. It actually made me sad to think that senior staff of a major union could be involved in something like this. And of course if you read the original posts on this story carefully you would have understood that I did not report that Crabtree-Ireland had actually made an arrest threat only that a well known SAG anti-merger activist said he did.

There remain several important unanswered questions about the incident. These include: 1) did the building manager threaten Santopietro with arrest prior to the arrival of Samantha Hartson? 2) did anyone from SAG give the building manager instructions to harass SAG anti-merger activists in any manner including a possible threat of arrest? 3) why was Crabtree-Ireland present on the scene at all given that he is never reported to show up at demonstrations, including those against merger, when far larger numbers of protestors are present at SAG HQ?

Unfortunately, because of the misleading statements made when the story originally broke, I have not been able to find out the answers to these questions. In the end, however, this is a problem for SAG members not for me as it is their union that remains in deep trouble.

Comment on SAG arrest threat story collapses – mea culpa by Doug Jorgenson

Doug Jorgenson — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:32:01 +0000

Hmm, that must mean that Hartson or Santopietro is lying about what happened. My guess is M.S., based on her reputation after the petitions fiasco. You fell for it so readily because it made you happy to believe it was true.

Comment on Expert Slams SAG Disclosure to Actors Ahead of AFTRA Merger Vote by Lisabeth Aubrey

Lisabeth Aubrey — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:56:31 +0000

We are afraid to post comments and knowledge. I have loved SAG all my life but it is a greedy, dishonest group who has led them to the kind of inequities that cannont be mentioned here. I am deeply saddened that we have yet to see what we must correct and avoid for our beloved industry to be robust, honest and for the artist. Please be aware. We are led by forces that do not have our interests at heart. Member since 1976.