By Nick Fondulis
Andrew Garofalo is a relatively new staff member and an even newer New Yorker.
It was a little over a year and a half ago when Andrew started working in the Television and New Media Department of the Los Angeles office, and since coming to the New York Local in August, he’s found ample opportunity to dive deeper into the contracts he helps enforce.
Andrew credits his early baseline knowledge of organized labor to his father, who was a teacher and shop steward for his union, the United Teachers of Los Angeles. However, it wasn’t until Andrew’s second year of law school, while interning with UNITE HERE (a union representing predominantly hotel industry workers), that he gained firsthand knowledge of exactly why unions are so integral. “I got to see the difference between non-union and union workplaces, what that looked like. To me, the most important victory wasn’t just wages or health benefits, but respect and dignity. It was really powerful to see people coming together to organize these workplaces, and that sparked the fire in me.”
Andrew uses that same flame to help enforce the Television Agreement, the Network Code, the Public Television Code, and myriad other television and new media contracts for SAG-AFTRA members. His job is mostly about education, providing guidance to and answering questions from members, agents and producers. He also is responsible for investigating and, if necessary, filing potential grievances to solve disputes. Imparting knowledge is what he finds the most rewarding, and Andrew encourages members to contact his department whenever there is any question or doubt about what is on their paycheck. That can be as simple as wondering what a particular abbreviation on their stub means or how overtime
or travel time is calculated, or inquiring about whether or not they got paid correctly. He’s a big believer that well-informed members can help themselves and others get the most out of the contract provisions.
SAG-AFTRA members don’t have to wait for something to go wrong in order to reach out to business representatives like Andrew. “I always like getting calls from members ahead of time when they think there might be a situation coming down the pipeline, so we can try to head it off or give them the tools to navigate it.”
If knowledge is power, then there is a great responsibility in those who wield it. I, for one, am glad to know our membership has Andrew at the helm and at our backs.
– Nick Fondulis is a SAG-AFTRA New York Local Board member.