The Cleveland Council Committee Meets and Will Again

By Joe Gunderman

The Cleveland Council Committee met on April 10. Previously, we tried to get the committee together before the viewing party for the SAG Awards, and were met with a blizzard. A few made that one, but more made this one. The next meeting is coming up on Monday, June 5, and any Cleveland Council member is welcome, along with the committee members.

We had a lot of contract discussion on April 10, so much so that we are going to organize a “Contract Conservatory” in the coming months. This will most likely occur during the annual Cleveland Council picnic on Aug. 20, so please mark your calendars. Thom Allport and Andy Schofield compared experiences of contract issues members were having in casting and on sets. There are issues in some contracts not explicitly covered in others, but which apply can get a bit muddy. It was agreed we all could use a Q&A night with folks from staff who can speak with authority to any question any of you may have.

Of course we always want to encourage all members to have no hesitation to call the local office any time with contract questions. Remember that if you have to leave a message, staff will get back to you promptly (remember, you had to leave a message sometimes when the office was in Cleveland as well). Also know, and this was brought up, calling the office lets your union deal with the problem and doesn’t bring the employer down on you if there’s an issue. If you feel nervous, tell staff and they’ll work with you as discretely as needed. But dealing with employment issues is what you pay dues for. Use your union.

Simply getting together to have face time and chat about what is going on in our business is invaluable. Ideas come from such gatherings, ideas that can solve problems or help the union solve them. That’s the biggest benefit to our Cleveland Council Committee, as it lets people share issues as well as friendship.   

The next meeting, as I said, is Monday night, June 5 at 7 p.m. at Shula’s in Independence. See you there if you’re on the committee or are just interested.

This item was originally featured in the May 2017 local newsletter.