Dear Member,
I want to begin by sending good thoughts to all of our members who work for our federal government and may be either out of work or in flux as a result of ongoing reductions in force and downsizing. As a journalist who’s covering the impacts, I know this is devastating for a lot of families in our region.
This Monday, March 24, I hope that you’ll join us on Zoom for our Washington-Mid Atlantic membership meeting. Hear from your local union leadership and from Union Privilege, provider of Union Plus Benefits. This session will be a valuable opportunity to learn about the wide range of programs and services available to our community through Union Plus.
We were excited to take part in the Maryland state and Washington, D.C., AFL-CIO’s Union Night titled Which Side Are You On? on March 10. We gathered on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis as National Board member Towanda Underdue opened the program, which was made up of speakers from a variety of different unions from across the area. Towanda discussed the importance of union membership and how collective action moves the working class forward.
I was happy to join our Local executive director, Pat O’Donnell, and other members of our local for the 34th Radio Television Digital News Association Annual First Amendment Awards on March 6. SAG-AFTRA sponsored a table at the Watergate, with local attendees from ABC, NPR, Al Jazeera English and WRC/NBC to help honor our own First Amendment Award winners: Steve Inskeep, NPR Morning Edition host; Lesley Stahl, CBS News correspondent for 60 Minutes; and Rachel Scott, ABC News senior political correspondent covering the White House and Capitol Hill.
On March 11, the National Public Media Council — over 25 representatives from public media outlets around the country — met by Zoom to tell their SAG-AFTRA stories, including WETA shop steward Linda Carducci, WFAE shop steward Kenneth Lee, and NPR shop stewards Jane Gilvin and Camila Domonoske.
Our Local Broadcast Steering Committee had its first in-person meeting since well before the pandemic on March 8. Big thank you to WRC-TV for hosting us. I am happy to announce that the committee is beginning a Women in Media subcommittee. Anar Virji of Al Jazeera English has agreed to chair it. We are planning some exciting events, so please be on the lookout for announcements in the coming months.
National negotiations continue for the SAG-AFTRA Commercial and SAG-AFTRA Audio Commercial Contracts, and remember, we are still on our video game strike for a fair contract.
Please be sure to join our WMA Facebook page and click the “invite friends” button to share it with other members!
As always, enjoy the benefits that we have fought for and take comfort in your union membership!
In solidarity,
Tracee Wilkins
SAG-AFTRA Washington-Mid Atlantic Local President
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