A Message from the Nevada Local President

To those members (you know who you are) who came to our SAG-AFTRA Nevada Local annual meeting last month: Thank you. We always appreciate your participation. For those who didn’t make it, I really hope to see you there next year. This is not only an informative event, but a fun way to see your fellow union members and a great morale booster for us all! A special note of thanks to Teamsters Local 631 for allowing us to use their hall.  

A few items worth noting from the meeting: Julie Crane, the Locals Administration Staff liaison for our market reminded everyone of what a valuable resource the SAG-AFTRA website is and that it’s more streamlined and interactive than ever. She also reiterated how important it is to have your current contact information — especially email — registered with the union so you can receive national and local updates. Also, remember to set up a free profile on the iActor section of the site to be searchable by casting directors if you haven’t already.

SAG-AFTRA’s new regional set relations representative, Lori Shockley, stopped by the membership meeting and introduced herself to the Nevada Local members. Lori is based in Dallas, but will be visiting sets in markets across the country without staffs or offices where there are clusters of production — this includes Nevada! Her responsibilities involve contract enforcement, building relationships with production staff, providing outreach to performers and covering emergency set visits.

Another issue discussed during the meeting was members’ concerns that the Nevada film incentive program was significantly reduced recently in order to help fund the new Tesla manufacturing plant. The good news though is we hear from several reliable sources that the governor’s plan for 2015 includes replacing these funds.

As many of you know, Nevada has had a few projects produced here using the new film incentive, including Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, the untitled Gerardo Naranjo project and Sin City Saints. Also, as part of the incentive program, our state legislature made it mandatory for every production approved under the program to hold an open meeting in Nevada before shooting begins. I have attended some and saw a number of my fellow SAG-AFTRA members there, as well (I thank you all). These meetings have proven to be advantageous not only to our union members, but to the production company and other industry partners in helping us all work together more smoothly. We will keep you posted on film incentive developments as they progress.

From left, Heart Shapré, Arttours Weeden, Julie Crane, Barbara Grant, Rick Rockne and Kim Reneé. Photo by Anna Wendt

Nevada members engaged in the meeting. Photo by Anna Wendt

For new Nevada residents, if you have relocated to Nevada from another state, welcome! Please do yourself and our local a favor by changing your affiliation to the Nevada Local so that you can receive communications specific to our market from SAG-AFTRA and be counted as one of our members. You lose nothing; you only gain from this.

The SAG Foundation, which conducts workshops in N.Y., L.A. and other cities, recently held two LifeRaft Q&As and several Casting Access Project workshops in Nevada. It was great to see so many of you participated. Please see Anna Wendt’s article for a summary of the exciting events. Good news: One of the visiting casting directors, Jason Woods, the head of casting for Lifetime, History and A&E channels, told me he plans on coming back to Nevada for a conservatory session in the spring.

I also announced at the meeting there is now a Safety Hotline you will all want to program in your phones. The number is (844) SAFER SET (844-723-3773). Use this emergency number any time, night or day, during non-business hours if you have concerns about hazardous work, find yourself shooting in a dangerous location or are concerned about issues involving minors. All calls are confidential. This number is only for safety issues or to report serious working conditions violations. If you have other questions or concerns, please refer to the SAG-AFTRA Nevada Local Support.

I want to sincerely thank Bobbie Wolff for organizing SAG-AFTRA’s participation and sponsorship of the Las Vegas Halloween Parade and for building and designing the float so that members who could not walk the length of the parade were still able to participate. It was a shame we didn’t have more of our union members there this year because it really is a wonderful time and a great way to make our presence known as we march our SAG-AFTRA banner down Fremont Street.

Last, but not at all least, mark your calendars: The SAG Awards Viewing Party will be Jan. 25 at Tommy Rockers on Dean Martin Drive. This party is for union members only (plus one guest) and starts at 4 p.m. Look for an electronic invitation coming soon. Have a great, safe and happy holiday season and let’s make 2015 the best yet for the SAG-AFTRA Nevada Local!

This item was originally featured in the December 2014 local newsletter.