Portland Local President’s Message

Dear Member,

I’m hoping this finds you well. We are halfway through 2018 and so much has happened, not only in our local, but within the labor movement in general. 

At a time when anti-union legislation has made it ever-easier for business to fight unionism, the first fast-food union in the nation to be federally recognized became a reality when workers fought to unionize Burgerville, right here in Oregon (Burgerville Workers Union). This validates the recent surge nationwide showing labor union approval is at 61 percent. We are going to need all the support we can get as the U.S. Supreme Court continues to hand down decisions against the labor movement. I truly feel that there is nothing anyone can do to kill unionism unless it’s made illegal altogether, which is highly unlikely. In fact, I believe resistance will only make us stronger.

I am so pleased with the work your local board has been doing. In April, we had two great events. The first was How to Flip a Job from Non-Union to Union with Howard Keel Award-winner Sheldon Smith, and the second was a Contracts Happy Hour event hosted by the local with a presentation by our contracts administrator, Chris Comte. Both were very well attended, with the contracts event reaching around 90 people. These events were in keeping with our core agenda of education and outreach, and I am proud that we have maintained a solid effort toward that end. We are in the midst of planning a summer event and already have a few planned for fall, as we participate in local film festivals. Keep an eye out for email reminders, but also visit our unofficial Portland actors Facebook page, where we regularly post information and discuss all things union. If you have not joined, please do so and lend your voice!

The thing I have been working hardest on is the issue of travel/local hire. So many members are traveling all over the place and working as “local hires” when it is the obligation of the producer to provide travel compensation to performers working away from their residences. In fact, travel is not a negotiable item and producers who do not appropriately transport performers are in violation of the contract. Performers who work as local hires when they are not, in fact, local hires, are also in violation. We must uphold the terms of our contract and stop traveling without compensation. Believe me, if we stand together and demand that producers adhere to the contract they agreed to, you will have more money in your pocket when you work. I am so happy to say that we have been working very hard with producers known to not cover the cost of transporting performers as they should, and we have been winning that battle — but when performers work as locals where they should not and don’t report it, there is no way to address it. If you are ever told you must work as a local hire when you are not one, please report it so that it can be addressed. Stay tuned for more from me on this issue very soon.

Please stay in touch and let me know how you are doing and if you have questions that need answering. All that we do is based on member involvement, so the more communication we get from you, the more you are involved in shaping our local into what you want it to be. You can always get me at portland.president@sagaftra.org. I look forward to hearing from you!

In solidarity,

— Robert Blanche, for the Portland Local Newsletter