A Message From the Hawaii Local President

Aloha Hawaii Local Members,

I hope this letter finds you well and you are ready for the holiday season right around the corner. What a busy summer and fall we had here in our local. Congratulations to all the members who participated this past summer in our “August is Actors Month” activities. Keeping your skills sharp and advancing your career is a good step towards being ready when opportunities present themselves. A big mahalo to all of our Hawaii Local Board and committee members who volunteered their time to help run all of the many offerings from talk-story panels with local casting directors to in-person scene study classes on both Oahu and Maui, hosted by our National Board member Henry Ian Cusick and his wife Annie. I think we have a wonderful new summer tradition to build upon in the future for our performer community here in the islands. As always, we encourage your input and look forward to even more member participation in our Hawaii Local, as 2024 races to the finish line and we prepare to welcome in 2025.

I am proud to report that our national SAG-AFTRA union is strong and succeeding in its mission to protect our members and our industry. I recently attended our first in-person union meetings in L.A. since 2020 and COVID, as our Hawaii Local president and also as an alternate for our National Board member, Henry Ian Cusick, during Oct. 18–21. The National Board is our voting body of the union that works with our national staff and members to protect our members’ wages, safety and integrity. In the two days of National Board meetings, I was proud to help represent our Hawaii Local in the important work of addressing a changing industry and preparing ahead for a new landscape of our work. Our union is taking the lead as technology advances and keeping us in the room as employers race to embrace ever-changing and emerging streaming platforms, tech advances such as A.I., and the ever-changing content scene in our industry. I felt encouraged throughout the meetings at the amount of planning and details that go into preparing to bargain for the best wages and working conditions with every union member’s voice being considered and their protection at the forefront. Hawaii Local Board member Sally Kalei Kaniho also attended the Committee of Local meetings with me on Monday, Oct. 21. The CoL meetings also left both of us inspired to refocus on our local members and encouraged even more engagement and involvement to grow our local and its offerings. We ARE the union, and we should be asking what we can do for our union and our fellow members each time we are in a position to be ambassadors for SAG-AFTRA.

A great example of member participation this fall was our members walking in the Honolulu Pride Parade on Oct. 19. Hawaii Local Organizing and Outreach Committee member Shereen Balles captained the march and represented our Hawaii Local along with many other members, including Bill Bartek, Kathleen Roth, Paul Patterson, Becky Maltby, Mickey Graue, Adelina Soares, LeeAnn Ahlo and many more. Representing our members and supporting our vibrant community is a great way to get the word out about our union.

Thank you also to all of the members who have participated recently in committee meetings and our newest pau hana monthly events. Please consider volunteering to help to plan these events, help check in members at workshops, or help set up a meeting. We also strongly encourage you to get involved on a local committee. We are all volunteers whose goal is to support our fellow members and keep our local strong. We encourage you to read your emails from our local, and please follow our new and THE ONLY official SAG-AFTRA Hawaii Local Facebook page.

Currently we are meeting on Zoom and in person to help come up with proposals to strengthen and improve our national Commercials Contracts. Hopefully you have seen the many opportunities to learn and participate in the wages and working conditions caucuses and committees. Mahalo to each of you who have attended so far and to our committee consisting of Ioane Goodhue, Keiki Grune, Ashleigh Domangue, Scott Swartz, Henry Ian Cusick and myself as the chair. There is still time for you to participate and send your suggestions straight on to our wonderful local executive director, Mericia Palma Elmore, for consideration by the local W&W committee.

I hope to see some of you at our upcoming food drive and our cookie exchange at the SAG-AFTRA Local office coming up in December. If you haven’t seen the emails about signing up or how to donate for the food drive, please check that your email on record is up to date on the SAG-AFTRA member portal and you can also check in with Mericia if you aren't receiving them.

Pupukahi i holomua!

Unite to move forward,

Andrea Andy Sikkink
Hawaii Local President