National Board Member Report

by Randal Berger

There has been positive progress since my last communiqué. In October, I attended our quarterly National Board meeting in L.A. Also, as a member of the national negotiating committee for the Network Television Code contract negotiations, I traveled to L.A. in August, November and December for meetings related to those negotiations, including the December National Board meeting, where the negotiated package met with overwhelming approval.

Although I’m feeling a bit like a skipping record, it is a good “song.” After hearing various reports at the National Board meeting, I believe we are continuing to move in a very positive direction. We heard updates on union operations from National Executive Director David White, including a report on core functions and priority initiatives.  He also reported on union organizing in broadcasting and other areas.  We heard a financial report from Secretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino and CFO Arianna Ozzanto, and they noted that first quarter financial results are trending to plan. 

I also attended the Local Presidents’ Forum in place of our local president, Bob Davis. It was an excellent opportunity to hear about the variety of issues other locals are experiencing. Regardless of a local’s size, whether small or big, we have a responsibility to be aware of the challenges other locals face and be there for them when and if we can. I believe it is a two-way street that we need to take seriously, if we expect the same in return.

Following are brief committee reports. If you desire more detail, please contact me at TwinCities@sagaftra.org.

Initiation Fee Committee

I served on this national committee, and after review of the current structures, we developed guidelines for a fair and consistent initiation fee structure for freelance members across small and medium locals. Under the new formula, the Twin Cities Local’s initiation fee will drop from $1,708 to $900, effective May 1, 2015. This is great news for those ready to join SAG-AFTRA locally for their next career phase.

Communication Sub-Group

I continue working as the leader of the Communications Sub-Group, and would greatly appreciate input from local members. Please contact me if you can offer some insight on improving communication within the union.

Convention Review Committee

I served on this national committee that evaluated the last convention and reviewed positive changes that could be implemented for our next convention in the fall. Our local will be electing delegates to the upcoming convention, so watch for the election notice and consider running for a spot. You will gain invaluable perspective on how we function nationally, and you will have an opportunity to have a direct impact on SAG-AFTRA’s future direction.

Twin Cities Local Co-Ed Waiver

As one of only three locals that recently crafted a special contract waiver approved by the national Co-Ed Committee, we will be an important model for the country. My thanks to the local committee members who worked to get this accomplished!

Network TV Code Negotiations

As noted above, I served on the National Network TV Code Negotiations Committee — it was an extremely interesting process and very successful. There is a saying that in a good negotiation, no one goes away happy. I felt some of that, but I also felt pretty darn happy. The negotiations were conducted in an extremely respectful — albeit strongly felt — fashion by both sides. I believe the needs of both sides were addressed. If one thinks about it, one side really can't function well without the other. Still, our negotiation team was clear, listened intently to affected members, some of whom visited the negotiations to provide valuable insights, and most of all, were passionately strong. Our main staff negotiators — David White, Ray Rodriguez and Joan Halpern Weise — were just brilliant to work with and watch.

As noted above, the National Board overwhelmingly approved the negotiation package. While there were obviously areas where we would have liked more success, I really am happy with the results. I want to express my appreciation to those members across the country who gave up personal and family time to help with this process, and especially to staff who worked incredibly long, hard hours to accomplish this. I realize we pay our staff to do their job. but they not only do their job, they sincerely care about us — there are few industries where I feel this as strongly as I do in ours.

Cheerio until the next time,
Randal

This item was originally featured in the February 2015 local newsletter.