A Letter from L.A. Local President Jane Austin

Dear Los Angeles Local Member, 

With approximately 80,000 members, the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local would not function without member volunteers. From elected officers and the board to the rank and file, the union relies on member participation to support workshops, classes, panels, the annual health fair, the Winter Celebration, the SAG Awards viewing party, labor actions, solidarity marches, NextGen Performers activities, MOVE L.A. and service on all 32 local committees. We are very fortunate to have high member engagement and are appreciative of the small team of L.A. Local staff who do a gargantuan job, working daily on our behalf. However, we still need even more participation to be our strongest. If you are not partaking in SAG-AFTRA, I encourage you to get involved.

Local committees run a two-year term and are populated following the election of a new local board. As Los Angeles Local president, I urge every local committee chair to widen the diversity of committees and enlist new members. Total inclusion not only cultivates the greatest number of perspectives, but grooms future union leaders. Regretfully, not all members are able to sit on committees due to the number of seats, but there are many ways to get involved on every level.

The ultimate form of volunteerism is running as a convention delegate, Local and/or National Board member, or as an officer. If interested, I urge you to observe a Los Angeles Local Board meeting, where you will get a firsthand view of how decisions are made and how your union actually operates. My utmost pride comes from serving as a SAG-AFTRA officer, giving back to my union and assisting fellow union brothers and sisters.

It’s my privilege to co-chair the Los Angeles Conservatory Committee, comprised of deeply engaged member volunteers who produce a robust program. With a variety of ever-expanding classes, the L.A. Conservatory is an incredible craft-based learning opportunity, with a value far exceeding the $45 fee. Registration for the Conservatory’s weekend-long Summer Intensive, held in July on the American Film Institute campus, will open soon. Click here for more details and note that this is another great volunteering opportunity. If interested, please contact the Conservatory office.

As vice chair of the National Stunt and Safety Committee, I am proud to be among the leaders who developed the recently released stunt coordinators guidelines. It has been a great honor to sit on the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Safety, which recently issued a code of conduct in its efforts to shield members from harmful situations. We can all commend SAG-AFTRA for taking a leading role in increasing member protections on and off the set.

As your L.A. president (as well as national secretary-treasurer and co-chair of various local committees), it is my honor and pleasure to serve the SAG-AFTRA membership. I hope you will reflect on ways to give back. Remember the union is you, and you are the future of our union. Please feel free to contact me directly with ideas or concerns that you may have regarding our L.A. Local at la@sagaftra.org.

Stay safe, be involved and book the gig.

In solidarity,

Jane Austin