A Note from Our Local President

Our New Orleans’ Local was featured on page 74 in the Fall 2016 SAG-AFTRA magazine. “Community is key in our local and this was a chance to effect change and connect; two things we value here” was the quote. The article told the story of our local’s enthusiastic efforts to carry out the “Cash and Cans” food drive for Second Harvest in response to the flooding in Louisiana.

President Gabrielle Carteris and National Executive Director David White got to witness some of that “community and connection” when they joined us at our annual membership meeting held at the Loews Hotel in New Orleans on Oct. 17.

“It was the best union meeting ever!”; “I got so much information I can use from [Louisiana Film Entertainment Association President] Robert Vosbein on the progress with our tax incentives”; “Real talk and personal stories by Gabrielle and David set this meeting apart” — these were just some of the comments from members leaving the packed room after the meeting.

I attended an annual President’s Forum meeting in L.A. a few days before our membership meeting, so I was on the same flight to New Orleans with David and Gabrielle. Talking with them in L.A., on the flight and accompanying Gabrielle to set visits the following day, I shared a lot of “real talk and personal stories” about you, your concerns and your needs. Your local has your back!

I was seriously impressed by what I observed in these exchanges with Gabrielle and David: They asked questions, like “When did this happen?”, “How long before it was resolved?” and “What would you like to see instead?” Even more importantly, they listened to what I shared with them. 

At the meeting, members told them what we are doing to keep work going in this market. David praised Shirley Tregre, who explained how after refusing to work on a non-union set, she turned the job into a union job by explaining the New Media Agreement option to the producer. Gabrielle posed by the poster of Protocol: New Orleans, an episode from a SAG-AFTRA new media series with actor/producer Mark Terry, Cherrae L. Stuart and Randal Gonzalez.

Gabrielle told the members about the progress that SAG-AFTRA is making on a national front to fight potential age discrimination in casting. The union lobbied to help convince California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign AB 1687, a law that will help prevent age discrimination in film and television casting and hiring. As of Jan. 1, 2017, IMDb Pro and similar “employment referral” sites will have to remove ages or birth dates if performers are subscribers and request the site to do so. On a personal note, she shared the story of how the Beverly Hills, 90210 producers told her that they would not have hired her to portray a high school student if they had known her true age when she first auditioned.

Actions speak loudly! Gabrielle and David were determined to visit New Orleans and hear from you personally. We are certainly glad they did!

In solidarity,

Diana Boylston
New Orleans Local President

This item was originally featured in the December 2016 local newsletter.