President's Report

Aloha Sisters and Brothers,

As you know, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists finally merged in 2012 to become SAG-AFTRA, a far more powerful bargaining force on behalf of its members than its formerly individual parts. We held our first unified union elections this year, and the elected board members, officers and delegates are grateful for your support and confidence. Of all the 25 locals (including New York and Los Angeles), we had the highest voter turnout.

In our Hawaii Local, our 900-plus active members enjoy film work opportunities as a result of the passage of Act 88 in 2006, the refundable production tax credit enacted through the efforts of the local film industry unions, film offices and industry groups (increased from 15 percent to 20 percent for Oahu; from 20 percent to 25 percent on neighbor islands, with the sunset date extended to 2019). In addition, Act 88’s economic benefit to the wider community is substantial and invaluable.

In response to some apparent confusion about the status of legacy SAG Global Rule One and legacy AFTRA No Contract/No Work Rule in our post-merger SAG-AFTRA world, we sent an email blast to our members with the short answer: Global Rule One is alive and well (see Rule One article in the newsletter).

Following are some of the highlights of the year 2013 events and accomplishments:

• Martin Luther King holiday parade in January
• First SAG Awards party
• ACM table reads
• Ratification of the first SAG-AFTRA national commercials contract
• Inaugural SAG-AFTRA National Convention — constitutional amendments/resolutions; eight national committees populated by Hawaii members
• HIFF/SAG-AFTRA diversity workshop
• Marriage Equality for Hawaii — supported measure that became law in Hawaii
• Hawaii state AFL-CIO convention — resolution relating to the film/entertainment industry adopted

What remains ahead for our SAG-AFTRA local — in addition to our ongoing work of service to our members and to our community and facilitation of major film and television projects — is the organizing of local commercial work that has for many years suffered from a lack of professional quality. The payoff is win/win: advertising that is effective and work for our professional actors.

The future, in short, is extremely promising. Here’s to another banner year in 2014.

In solidarity,
David C. Farmer, President

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