As I write this article, it feels like the dark cloud of 2020 is finally beginning to lift. Vaccinations will hopefully soon be available to us all, and many of us are making the personal choice of going back to work. With production kicking up, it seems like our local industry is making up for lost time since production shut down in early 2020.
Your National Board has been hard at work this past year, even during the shutdown. Since the start of the pandemic, the Executive Committee and National Board have met through Zoom numerous times. Key business has included approval of The Safe Way Forward protocols for returning to work safely and successfully, approval of COVID-19 dues relief extensions, making difficult decisions to keep the organization’s budget balanced, addressing jurisdictional issues that arose with our sister union AEA and many other important items.
The pandemic hit SAG-AFTRA and our entire industry with a severity we have not experienced before in our lifetimes. Most of our performing work was wiped out, and our broadcast members experienced unprecedented political attacks on the free press, often finding themselves in dangerous positions while covering protests amid unrest. Through it all, the union has focused on its essential core functions in order to make sure members are paid, safety remains a priority and our contracts are enforced.
One thing I would like to highlight is the approval of the brand-new Micro-Budget Agreement, which was developed by the National Low Budget Committee, on which I serve as vice chair. This agreement is for live-action (scripted or non-scripted) projects with budgets less than $20,000 that employ our members, including many projects that members produce themselves. “Micro” offers fast turnaround time, an easy online signatory process, and terms that make it easier than ever for our members to create their own content or be featured in someone else’s.
As we move forward, in what will hopefully be the final months of this pandemic, the National Board will continue to do the things it has been doing since merger in 2012: approving proposals to keep our members working, fighting for diversity in the workplace across all our contracts, ensuring safety on set, organizing to create more work, and providing members opportunities to enhance their skills through free virtual programs offered by the President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach & Engagement.
As the future hopefully continues to brighten, please take care of yourselves and stay healthy. If you need assistance, check out the union’s website for COVID-19 resources. And for your craft, keep abreast of events and programs offered through SAG-AFTRA and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
Bill Mootos
New England National Board Member
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