Safety, Legislation, Contracts, UpCast and More Discussed at Dallas-Fort Worth Membership Meeting

The SAG-AFTRA Dallas-Fort Worth Local hosted its annual membership meeting on April 26. The meeting took place via Zoom and included President Gabrielle Carteris Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon, Secretary-Treasurer Camryn Manheim, Local Board members, local officers and staff.

Local President Brent Anderson welcomed all who attended, introduced the guests and expressed his great desire to be in the same room, face to face, with everyone very soon.

Carteris, Damon and Manheim elaborated on a multitude of initiatives the union is working on and highlighted the array of programs currently offered via the President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach & Engagement.

SAG-AFTRA Assistant National Director, Locals, Linda Dowell, who has been acting as the local’s interim executive director, provided updates on staffing and the local office. Manager of Contracts and Member Outreach Katie Wallack provided information on relevant contracts including the Texas Regional Commercials Code, the Micro-Budget Project Agreement, the Corporate/Educational Code and the new Influencer Agreement. Wallack also presented an organizing initiative with casting platform UpCast, which is offering free premium memberships to all SAG-AFTRA members in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Austin locals.

As part of the executive report, National Board Member Hector Garcia gave an update on the recent push for legislation and the work of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance as it relates to SAG-AFTRA Members. Garcia also led a brief presentation on how SAG-AFTRA, in working with the DGA, IATSE and the Teamsters, created the return-to-work and developed "The Safe Way Forward" COVID-19 safety protocols, which have become an industry standard and allow members to return to set.

Following Garcia, National Vice President of Small Locals Suzanne Burkhead discussed how locals’ interests can move upward through the committee process and be heard at the national level.

After the reports, attendees took part in an informal Q&A session where members’ questions were addressed. A few of the topics included when committees would begin to reconvene, information on UpCast and how federal political activities affect local legislation.

Sign up for your free premium profile at UpCast and help bring more union work to Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. It starts here: https://app.getupcast.com/sagaftra.

General Questions & Request for Information: dallas@sagaftra.org.

Local Website: www.sagaftra.org/DFW

Production Center: www.sagaftra.org/productioncenter

Return To Work Protocols: https://www.sagaftra.org/news-events/news/covid-19/safety-first

COVID-19 Local Resources: https://www.sagaftra.org/dallas-fort-worth-local-covid-19-resources