A Note from Our National Board Member

Moving Forward

SAG-AFTRA is a union, not a club or social organization, and the Nevada Local is an integral part of our union.  We need your expertise and dedication to unions in Nevada.  We also face the tasks of forming, adjusting and setting the foundation for our future. Budgets, structure, logistics and staffing are still a work in progress, with a great deal already behind us.

Volunteer services help to give value to the union, educate the membership, attract future unionists and help us maintain a social connection so we can work together when our talents are needed the most. But they are not the core of why unions exist nor of how your dues money is used (benefits, contracts, enforcement and future work).
Many groups once only active in Hollywood may now  form as committees, task forces or groups at the local level. You are needed to make this expansion of presence and services a reality.

Consider working on legislative, organizing or other committees close to the core of unionism. You need not run for office to give back to your union and help it grow. Elections for a new union are around the corner, as is the first-ever SAG-AFTRA Convention in September.

Unions exist to protect and advance the rights of those who work within the areas of union jurisdiction. Contracts, working conditions, organizing and the overall wellbeing of our membership are at the heart of the union mission. Our union requires dedication from all members to the coast-to-coast battle ahead, and to our new merged-union, SAG-AFTRA. We are under attack by forces with deep pockets and a solid union-busting agenda. Only with solidarity, your time and resources and pulling together into one strong team can we hope to succeed on behalf of everyone who wants to feel safe at their workplace, and be paid on time and well for their talents and time.

Service should not be about competition or ego. It should be about doing your best to advance the wellbeing of all members, in any way you feel qualified to do so. An example of this policy is the achievement of a tentative commercials agreement that we will be voting on soon. It is an achievement that can only occur through our collective action and is part of our core mission.

The business of the union will take time and strong continued dedication. Your support of local activities is key to our growing a strong local with a strong case for continued or increased support from our brothers and sisters nationally. With your support, we are in a strong position to represent, defend and move forward in a very hostile environment for labor and those who work contract-to-contract, day-to-day in our industries.

Staffing, offices and financial support are continually discussed and lobbied for at the national level. The newly formed Committee of Locals, which replaces the three-division system of former SAG, will still represent the specific needs of our local membership.  Already services from the union and affiliated organizations are increasingly available coast to coast, with even greater outreach planned for the near future.

Loose lips do sink ships. There is much about the inside workings of your union that must be kept confidential, for legal and logistical reasons. In the past, work behind the scenes earned Nevada expansion of zones, an office, a local executive and improved communication with membership. A greater focus on organizing and growing at a local level occurred in small private meetings, confidential committee discussions and the well-played chess of labor negotiations.

Relationships, experience, history and vision are needed to support the Nevada Local and Committee of Locals in fulfilling the union’s mission from coast to coast. Help us in building and reinforcing these relationships with Hollywood, New York and the entire country. Together we represent talent and unionism in very powerful and high-profile industries.

Most meetings and research I am involved in on your behalf are confidential, with legally imposed limits on who has access to any discussion or information distributed. While I learn a great deal and act on well-researched data, that information may not be shared outside of the National Board of Directors. There is a reason. With the birth of a brand-new union comes major contract negotiations with powerful employers, strategic planning well into our future, and a press eager to report it all because we are a union whose membership includes celebrities and whose jurisdiction includes the very cutting edge of media itself.

An informed, active National Board keeps on top of the issues, concerns, contracts and the direction and growth of our union on a national and internal level that affects us all. It takes many hours of calls, meetings and reading, plus a strong belief in our membership and our mission, to debate and cast informed votes on a wide range of issues and actions. It takes trust and earned relationships with other board members and key staff.

You can make a difference. Members and those who ally with us are working to create the competitive playing field that come from film incentives, to encourage local work and local contracts to attract union work to our state and make sure we maintain our membership while increasing earnings. It is my hope that members continue to step forward and volunteer for committee work, for special projects, to run for office and do all they can to turn potential work union in Nevada.

We are the union.

I feel that you have a strong local, working on many projects for our membership. We have a strong executive in Steve Clinton, and strong support from many key players in the community. SAG-AFTRA benefits have never been easier to access or to take advantage of as a member. Everything from insurance options to help for young performers, workshops to film passes, Union Plus discounts to tools to help productions use union talent are available online, via phone, and in person through SAG-AFTRA and affiliated organizations. The AFTRA-SAG Federal Credit Union understands actors and has affiliate agreements with local Nevada Credit Unions to provide full-service banking, including financing of loans, and of initiation fees for those who are eligible and should join our ranks.

If you have not been doing so, add yourself to the SAG Foundation, SAG-AFTRA Facebook, SAG-AFTRA Twitter and SAG-AFTRA mailing lists. Events, live and via the Internet are plentiful with many to fit your interests and needs. Often, they are also archived to view after the event. SAGindie has interviews as well, plus lists of productions casting and other resources worth taking advantage of.

On another note, recently I worked several projects under the ultra-low agreement and student contracts. With “current film,” “demo reels” and other tools becoming essential to work in the field, I encourage all members to learn how to make it easy for producers to use union talent, to become your own signatory and build your own “resume” of video and audio credits.

We have the talent and we have the numbers, if we step to the plate and swing at the opportunities out there for us. Nevada is powerhouse of qualified union talent. Let’s find ways to put it to use!

Solidarity.

Art Lynch
National Board Member
Nevada

This item was originally featured in the April 2013 local newsletter.