Local President’s Report

Dear Members,

Living through history is exhausting, isn’t it? We have all been impacted on so many levels, as a country, as individuals and, yes, even as a union. 

Yet we are so resilient. Overall, COVID-19 numbers are down and vaccinations are up. Work is starting up and SAG-AFTRA remains strong. During these strenuous times, our union has managed to implement safe working protocols that have kept us going. 

Staff continues to work diligently in all areas, from residuals processing to contracts to the all-important set safety, to name a few. We’ve rolled out a new, speedy and very timely agreement: The Micro-Budget Project Agreement. CLICK HERE to learn more about this contract designed for the fast-moving nature of our industry.

On both a national and local level, elected board members continue to meet virtually and discuss ways to keep our members informed and engaged. During these times, when we are unfortunately unable to get together in person, online resources, informative webinars and events are the best way for us to stay connected. You can find many of these happening through the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, and the President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach & Engagement. You can always catch up on events you’ve missed on the Foundation’s website and at sagaftra.org/videos.

The New Mexico Local Communications Committee’s goal is to put out a local newsletter quarterly to stay connected at the local level. If you have ideas for articles or news features, please feel free to reach out to them at nm@sagaftra.org.

For those of you who missed our virtual general membership meeting on March 30, the event took place via Zoom and was attended by around 65 New Mexico members. The Local Board members introduced themselves and welcomed everyone to the meeting. We discussed our union’s ongoing effort to address many challenging aspects of our changing needs. A recap of this previous year's events, both on the national and local levels, was provided. Included was a presentation that informed members about current SAG-AFTRA initiatives. 

We then had the good fortune of being joined by Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon. On the minds of most New Mexican members at this time is how best to engage with our community in furthering the interests of the New Mexico film industry as a whole, while promoting our union’s place in the industry. Insights were provided on the need for consistency in state incentives, and she made a clear case for the importance of forming relationships with all stakeholders. 

Attendees took part in an informal Q&A session, where members’ questions were addressed by Local Board members, our National Board representative and staff. Topics included new media productions, low budget films, and union rules and regulations.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that our market recently got some national kudos: Movie Maker Magazine listed TWO New Mexico cities as the best places to live and work as a filmmaker. Albuquerque was ranked No. 1 in the Big Cities category and Santa Fe was ranked No. 2 in the Small Cities and Towns category. We already knew this, but isn't it terrific that others are learning this too?

Best,

Marc Comstock
SAG-AFTRA New Mexico Local President