Safety, Legislation, Contracts, UpCast and More Discussed at Houston-Austin Membership Meeting

The SAG-AFTRA Houston-Austin Local hosted its annual membership meeting on April 28. The meeting took place via Zoom and included local officers, Local Board members and staff.

Local President Mykle McCoslin welcomed all who attended, introduced the guests and expressed her great desire to be in the same room, face-to-face, with everyone very soon. McCoslin also discussed the member-led collaboration between the Houston-Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth local boards. 

SAG-AFTRA Assistant National Director, Locals, Linda Dowell, who has been acting as the interim executive director for the local, provided updates on SAG-AFTRA staffing and legislation with the Texas Motion Picture Alliance. Dallas-Fort Worth Local Manager of Contracts and Member Outreach Katie Wallack provided information on relevant contracts, including the Texas Regional Commercials Code, the Micro-Budget Project Agreement, Corporate/Educational Codes 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 Houston-Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth locals. 

In her report, National Board member Pamela Weaver made a brief presentation on how SAG-AFTRA, working with the DGA, IATSE and the Teamsters to create the return-to-work and The Safe Way Forward COVID-19 safety protocols, which have become the industry standard and allow members to return to set. 
After the reports, attendees took part in an informal Q&A session, during which members’ questions were addressed. A few of the topics included the Influencer Agreement, information on UpCast and COVID-19 safety protocols. 

The evening ended with a presentation by Casting Director Chris Freihofer, who shared insights and experience on auditioning and information about his office’s current projects. Freihofer took several questions from attendees and invited members to reach out.

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: houston@sagaftra.org or dallas@sagaftra.org 
Local Website: www.sagaftra.org/HA
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/houston-austin-local-covid-19-resources