Bay Area Delegates Attend National BSC

From left, KDTV anchor Maria Leticia Gomez, Local Executive Director Len Egert, SAG-AFTRA organizer Lauren Renaud and SAG-AFTRA Broadcast Business Rep Jessica Bowker at the BSC meeting in March.

Broadcasters from our local braved the cold in New York City to join fellow radio and television members from across the country for the winter session of the national Broadcast Steering Committee March 5-8. The meeting participants span a variety of job and station types, from recently joined photographers at an Oklahoma TV station to DJs at commercial radio stations, to public radio reporters and longtime TV anchors. Throughout this range, though, are common issues across the broadcast industry that bring these members together.

The morning began with reports from the national BSC chair, SAG-AFTRA’s president and our chief broadcast officer. The reports included recent organizing victories and first contracts at stations in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Diego.

The afternoon included small group breakout sessions exploring how to best communicate with coworkers about the union in our shops. The group sessions included role-playing common scenarios in stations, such as talking to brand-new members, how to explain the importance of the union to well-compensated members on personal contracts and how to prepare coworkers for contract negotiations. Some members brought up timely issues occurring at their stations and brainstormed with the group how to address the problems.

Throughout the meeting, our local’s delegates made important connections with our counterparts in other locals. We look forward to continuing to build these bridges and sharing information with members across the country.

This item was originally featured in the August 2015 local newsletter.