Message from the President

I am pleased to report that we had a very successful annual general membership meeting on Sept. 15. The evening started off with delicious food and refreshments catered by Da Spot. The business meeting included my report and reports from National Board member Scott Rogers and Executive Director Brenda Ching. Conservatory and communications committee reports were also given, as was a report on the SAG Awards Viewing Party committee chaired by Jean Simon. The committee is considering organizing a viewing party; we will let you know more as the event nears. And as a reminder, make sure your dues are current by Dec. 1 so you can be eligible to vote for the honorees and receive For Your Consideration materials.

Our guest speakers included Robert Lambeth, the recently appointed executive director of the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), who reported on the success of the Creative Lab programs that showcase and connect our Hawaii talent to industry professionals. Chuck Boller, executive director emeritus and now head of the newly created HIFF Foundation, spoke about their exciting new programs. David Cunningham, filmmaker and owner of Global Virtual Studios, shared his experiences as a filmmaker and told us about his new project, GVS Trans Media Accelerators, which provides opportunities in intellectual property creation in film, television and other media.

From left, Robert Lambeth, executive director HIFF; David Farmer, local president; David Cunningham, filmmaker; Brenda Ching, local executive director; and Chuck Boller, director emeritus HIFF.

On the national front, as you probably already know, our membership voted overwhelmingly to approve the new, three-year contracts covering theatrical and television production (movie, primetime and basic cable TV production) under the 2014 SAG-AFTRA Codified Basic Agreement and the 2014 SAG-AFTRA Television Agreement. The vote results were 92 percent in favor.

Highlights of the new contracts, which took effect retroactively to July 1 and run through June 30, 2017, include:

• Gains of $200 million in wages;
• An 8.5-percent wage increase, compounding to 8.7 percent; 2.5 percent in the first year, 3 percent in the second year and 3 percent in the third year;
• Advances in Subscription Video on Demand coverage, including a brand-new residual for on-demand viewing;
• Reduction of unpaid online streaming windows for most shows; and
• An increased contribution rate percentage to our benefits plans and a mechanism to facilitate the merger of the health plans.

Meanwhile, Hawaii Five-0 is back in production for its fifth season, giving our members more employment opportunities. Hopefully, more major film projects in Hawaii will materialize in the second half of this year.

In solidarity,
David C. Farmer
President, Hawaii Local

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