Tag Archives: convention

Not The Conventional Convention (or We Are Having An Intermission For Now)

Posted on October 25, 2023 | Comments Off

This past weekend was the SAG-AFTRA Convention. It was going to be our second virtual convention, but we learned last time that virtual conventions can be just as productive as in-person ones. I hope the next one will be in-person because I love seeing people face to face and there are many fun little things that can’t be done with a virtual convention. But because the union knew while planning this convention that our negotiations might still be happening, it was safer to plan for something virtual. I don’t think anyone expected the convention’s first day to be the 100th day of the strike, but that’s exactly how it worked out.

Because the convention was virtual, there weren’t as many things that I had to plan and prepare for. I did make sure that my work schedule wouldn’t be affected too much, but I also knew I would be able to work while attending the convention again. I didn’t have to change anything with my workouts or plan out outfits in advance, which was nice. I think things weren’t as hectic leading up to the start of the convention due to so much attention being on our strike, but I also think that having a much calmer election season helped too. Even without the usual craziness, I was ready for things to start.

The convention usually has a similar schedule. The first thing we do is elect the last few officers that get elected at the convention and not during the election. Then we work on voting for or against different resolutions that were submitted before the convention started. And on the last day, we have a few speeches followed by using all remaining time for more resolutions. So as expected, once the convention started, we got to work on the officer elections. Things took a bit longer than they were scheduled for, but I think it always goes that way. With a virtual convention, there were some technical issues. But with an in-person convention, there are always technical issues as well. They just are different types of issues for each one.

I personally got to vote for 3 officer positions. Our Executive Vice President, which all delegates vote for, the Los Angeles Vice President, which only delegates from Los Angeles vote for, and the Actor/Performer Vice President, which all delegates from around the country that are actor/performers vote for. I was really excited that the candidates that I voted for were the ones that won those races.

And once all that voting was done, it was time for all of us to have a short lunch break. The break was only supposed to be 30 minutes, but it kept getting pushed back. We knew that the negotiating committee had a meeting during our lunch break, so some people were wondering if maybe that meeting was taking longer because negotiations were going to start again. And when we finally came back from our lunch break, that’s exactly what we found out.

A few weeks ago, the AMPTP had walked away from negotiations and we were just waiting for them to agree to talk to us again. They announced they agreed to meet again while we had our lunch break. And since negotiations were going to start again in a few days and our negotiating committee wanted to have time to prepare so they could be as ready as possible, it was decided that the convention was going to be put on pause. We were going to have our speeches and a quick keynote that afternoon, but voting on resolutions, which were supposed to be on Sunday and Monday, was going to be postponed until a later date.

This wasn’t what anyone expected to happen, but I agreed with my fellow delegates that it was the best thing for us to do. Negotiations haven’t been easy, and that should be the focus right now. And we will get back to voting on resolutions at some point and finish our convention. But hopefully, when that happens we will be done with the strike and we can focus more on the convention and less on picketing.

As I’m writing this post, it’s the first day back of negotiations. I don’t expect us to hear today that a deal was made, but I’m hopeful that we will hear back soon about a possible deal. I think the AMPTP sees how much support we have and they know that what we are asking for is what is fair and nothing unreasonable. I don’t know how long after a deal we will continue the convention, but I hope it’s not too long because I do enjoy working with my fellow delegates on union service like this. I can’t control when I audition or book work, but I can control some of my involvement in union service and I do take my elected position seriously and want to represent my fellow actors the best I can. And finishing out my voting when the convention returns is exactly how I can do that.

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Tagged acting, convention, SAG-AFTRA, union

Not The Convention I’m Used To (or Still Taking On More Responsibility)

Posted on October 20, 2021 | Comments Off

As I mentioned yesterday (and have written about quite a bit), my union’s national convention was this past weekend. This was my 4th time being a part of Convention as an LA delegate. But because this was the first time the convention was virtual, everything felt a bit like it was new to me. There’s a lot that can be done virtually but there were also a lot of things I missed. But since being elected again, I have been so excited to see what it would be like this time.

Going into the weekend, I had some responsibilities I was used to and a few new ones. I was one of the leaders from my slate, so other members could ask me questions if they had them and I tried to keep people informed. This year, we did this over text instead of in person, but that didn’t feel too different. I also was a part of a convention committee regarding the voting, but our voting was going to be handled differently than it normally was so we didn’t have the same concerns. The initial meeting I had for that committee ended up being the only time we needed to meet. There were a few other things I helped to be in charge of, but it was mainly around organization and making sure that others knew the agenda for each day, so I was used to that.

The first day of the convention is usually the night before it actually starts when we have the welcome mixer. This year, they did a bit more than just that. Earlier in the day, they had a virtual open house so we could go into the virtual convention website and explore and test things out. They did practice votes so we could learn how to use the online voting system and they had staff and IT help there for any of our questions. I’m glad I dropped into it because I realized the browser I normally use wasn’t the best one for the website. Then in the evening, we had a virtual mixer. It was very different from what we are used to, but I liked the system they used. There were different virtual spaces we could go into and you could move your avatar around. And if you were closer to another avatar, the conversation was louder and you could hear them. So it was like being in a room with a lot of other people. I still missed seeing the delegates from around the country, but at least we were able to connect a bit.

And the 3 days of the convention were filled with a lot of voting and a lot of learning as usual! We started with the different vice president elections, and I was so happy to see the candidates that I was supporting win their seats. But I think one of the most excited VP votes was for our executive vice president. The winner of that was my friend (and boss at my day job), Ben! I know Ben is going to be an incredible VP and I can’t wait to see what he can accomplish in the next two years (and beyond since I know this is just getting started). Even though we weren’t voting in the same room, I was texting a lot with my friends while we were waiting for the results, so I didn’t feel as alone.

A majority of the time was spent on resolutions. I didn’t submit a resolution this time, but I was a co-author on one and was planning on speaking for it. But due to a lot of different factors that took up time, we didn’t make it to the resolution I was going to speak on. It was a little disappointing, but I know that people wanted to debate and have time on other resolutions which took time away from others. We did also have some technical difficulties, but we always have had those when we vote so I don’t think that affected things that much. I wish there had been more time and I know a lot of people tried to speed up the process where we could, but it just didn’t happen.

Overall, I do feel like this was another good convention. It wasn’t perfect, but it never is. There are things I would love to see changed, and that’s why I know I have to continue with my union service. But I did see change happen at the convention and that’s exactly why I do this. I hope that in 2 years, I will be elected again and the convention will be able to be in person. As much as I enjoyed not having to leave my house (and being able to wear comfortable pants), I missed getting to see everyone and the energy in the room. That’s not easy to experience virtually.

But at least we had our convention this year and we are still moving forward as a union!

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Tagged acting, convention, SAG-AFTRA, union

Convention Prep and Recovery (or Sorry For The Short Post)

Posted on October 19, 2021 | Comments Off

Yesterday was the end of my union’s convention, and I will be writing a lot more about this tomorrow. But I made it through and it was an interesting weekend for sure!

I’m honestly exhausted (which is why this is going to be a short post), but I did a lot of my preparation for convention differently this year. I’m used to planning to be in a ballroom for hours each day, so I have a bag of stuff I need with me. I usually prepare to have whatever I might end up needing. This time, I was at home for the entire thing. I didn’t feel ready in a way because I didn’t do my prep work the same way. And even though I was home, sitting at home looking at a screen is tiring. I know that from working too. I don’t know if I prepped enough to be good with doing a virtual convention, but I did my best.

And I had some extra responsibilities this year. I was asked to be a part of a convention committee that is about tracking credentials. In past conventions, this would mean we would decide if someone who might have missed the cutoff to sign back in to vote could vote. But with a virtual convention, we didn’t have a signing in and out, so we didn’t have a lot to do. But I still had to go to a meeting to be prepared for what may come up. I hope I will be asked to be on this committee again in the future because I would love to be a part of it when there is decision-making to be done, but I was honored to be asked to be one of the few committee members this year.

I have a lot of thoughts about how the convention went this year, but I’ll share more about that in tomorrow’s post. I need to sit with my thoughts a bit and also decompress from the event. Even with it being virtual, I’m so tired and I know I need to rest and recover.

But I wanted to make sure I shared that I made it through the convention and that I am proud of so much of what happened. But I’ll write more about that tomorrow once I’ve gotten some sleep and can really think back on the weekend properly.

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Tagged convention, SAG-AFTRA, tired

Virtual Orientation (or Still Getting Ready For Convention)

Posted on October 5, 2021 | Comments Off

Before each SAG-AFTRA Convention, there is an orientation for delegates to attend so you know what is going to happen and so you can be prepared for the weekend. Normally, this is done in person and with just the delegates in your specific local. So for me, it’s usually just with the delegates from LA. But of course, this year things aren’t really normal. So even orientation was different.

This year, orientation was done virtually, just like how Convention will be. And because the orientation was virtual, it was done with all the delegates all over the country! While I am still sad that I won’t have time with some of the delegates from other locals in person this year, it was nice to see their faces in the orientation Zoom session. And it was nice to get a bit of an idea of what things might be like when we actually have the convention.

We did have a lot of the same orientation information as we have each year. They went over some of the policies of the convention and what we can expect with different types of voting and discussion. And the voting will be similar to what we did before, but this time it will be done from our computers and not with the voting sticks (which I think most of us are happy about because the voting sticks liked to not work just as we were trying to vote). We won’t get to do all of the same networking as we normally do, but there still will be chances to gather in small virtual rooms with other delegates and there will even be a virtual expo!

But because this is the first virtual convention, there were a lot of other things that the orientation went over. We have a virtual convention space with different areas we can go to for different tasks or activities. So the orientation went over the sections of the virtual space and where we will need to click so we can be in the correct area when we need to be voting or listening to the resolutions. We also saw how we can do our voting this year.

It was a lot of information and I was working during the orientation so I couldn’t give it my full attention. So I was glad to see that the orientation will be available as a replay so I can watch it again when I don’t have to keep looking at my work screens. Even though this will be my 4th convention, this one is different from the rest and I don’t want to waste time figuring things out that I can make sure I know how to do in advance. And the staff of the union understands that we all want to make sure we don’t have issues during the convention, so they set it up so we can go into the virtual convention space the day or two before it starts so we can make sure we don’t have technical issues or other concerns. I really appreciate that they thought about that and made sure that we didn’t have to have that additional stress the first morning we all need to be logged in.

The best thing about this orientation was that it really got me excited about Convention. While I do love Convention and look forward to it each time, I have had some hesitations about it being virtual. But seeing how the virtual Convention will work really got me excited to be a part of something that will be a first. And maybe how things go with this Convention will influence future ones so more people can participate even if they can’t be there in person. It’s exciting to think about what this might lead to for the Convention in 2023!

But for now, I’m counting down until Convention 2021 and I can’t wait to see all the hard work we can get done and what new information I will walk away with!

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Tagged convention, SAG-AFTRA

Preparing For A Virtual Convention (or My First Task For This Delegate Term)

Posted on September 15, 2021 | Comments Off

The time between the union election and Convention is not very long. This is the way it is set in our union constitution, so it’s something we know to expect each time. But even though we know it will be a very condensed time frame, it always seems to be a bit of a surprise too. And in that short time, there is a lot to get done before the start of the Convention and I always try to participate however I can.

One of the big things that happens at the Convention is voting on resolutions that delegates propose. These resolutions can be about so many different things. Some are about changes we want to see in different policies. Some are about having recognition for different things that have happened in the past year or two. There can be hundreds of resolutions and each one that is able to be discussed at Convention is debated (some of them have issues such as not being able to be done by the union for legal reasons or not having enough endorsements to be voted on). And part of the prep for Convention usually involves an event for the LA delegates to discuss resolutions and try to get support from others.

This is something that is normally done at the union and in-person, but like so much over the past year and a half, this was being done virtually. And it was a good way to get ready for Convention because that will be done virtually too! I am a little sad that we won’t be in person because I love getting to meet delegates from all over the country, but at least we will be able to meet virtually. But that will be a much bigger meeting than the resolutions meeting I had earlier this week. So this was a good way to ease into what it will possibly be like next month when delegates from all over the country come together for a virtual convention.

We will have a Convention orientation coming up, so this meeting was completely focused on the resolutions. Each person had a chance to speak about their resolution and why they felt like it was important. Because there were so many resolutions, each time you were limited to a short amount of time to discuss things. And if you submitted multiple resolutions, you could only talk about them one at a time.

I’ve never written a resolution myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about them. I just haven’t had something I felt passionately enough to want to present to everyone. But I love hearing what other people come up with. And this year, I was given a chance to be listed as a co-author on a resolution that I think is a great one! The resolution I’m listed on is about having a way to designate another address you might want your union ballot to be mailed to because some people miss out on voting because their ballots were mailed to a business manager or someone else who gets their union mail. But because ballots are different than things like union dues bills, some people might want to have a ballot mailed to their home even though they normally mail everything to someone else. I think it’s a great idea and a way to help make sure more members vote. So I was very happy to be listed as a co-author.

And because I was a co-author, I also had the chance to present it at the meeting. The person who wrote the resolution had others that they wrote, so I offered to discuss this one so they didn’t have to do all of theirs. I hate speaking in front of a group, but this was easier since I was just speaking to my screen and I couldn’t tell how many people were watching me. And it seemed that a lot of people who were watching agreed that this was a good resolution and hopefully they will be endorsing it. There is still a bit of time before the cutoff for endorsements, so I’m just going to stay hopeful.

Over the 2 hour meeting, we got to hear about a lot of the resolutions that LA delegates have proposed. It was good to hear more about them than just what we can read online so we understand why someone felt passionate about it. After the meeting was done, I went back to make sure I endorsed the resolutions I liked so they could hopefully get enough support to be brought up at Convention in a month. I do feel like it is important for me to take this process seriously since it’s one of the few responsibilities I have as a delegate. And I think I feel even more strongly about that as things are being done virtually and not in person. I want this Convention to feel just as important and productive as the past ones I’ve been a part of.

I only have a few more things to do before Convention is here. It’s crazy that it’s almost here, but I’m so excited about it coming up!

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Tagged convention, election, SAG-AFTRA

The Convention Gala (or Casino Night And Awards)

Posted on October 16, 2019 | Comments Off

There are a lot of things I love about the union convention. I love being involved in my union. I love getting to meet actors from all over the country. I love (and most convention attendees would agree with me on this one) how much fun we have for the food truck lunch. And I love going to the convention gala.

Not everyone goes to the gala since you do have to pay for it. But since I don’t have to pay for travel, I figure I can splurge a little for a gala ticket. Plus, it’s a tax write-off for me. I’ve attended the gala at each convention I have gone to and I immediately bought a ticket for this year’s gala when they went on sale. Since we are limited with time we can socialize, I do try to take advantage of doing that when I can and the gala is the perfect time for that.

After the work of convention was done on Friday, I got changed into my gala outfit. I don’t dress up that often so I do like dressing up for it. Not everyone changed their clothes between work and the gala, but most people were in cocktail attire or better. And that’s how I dress too.

I’ll apologize in advance that I don’t have a ton of pictures from the gala. I wasn’t focused on that and I only took a few.

The first part of the gala was a casino night! There were different casino games set up for us to play. We all got $500 in fake money to play with and when dinner started we could trade the fake money for raffle tickets. The more money you had, the more tickets you got. I didn’t look too much at the prizes, but there were some fun baskets with union swag, sunglasses, and wine. I’m not a huge gambler and when I do gamble I usually play slots. Slots weren’t an option at casino night so I ended up not gambling and just trading my $500 in fake money for 5 raffle tickets. But I had a lot of fun watching my friends play blackjack. They were awesome and won quite a bit!

Then we headed into the main ballroom area for dinner. I really regret not taking more photos because the room was beautiful. The ballroom is where the Golden Globes are held and it was so much fun getting to be in there to watch the American Scene Awards (which are awards we give at convention to different employers).

There are also golden cards given to amazing members and staff. This year, they went to people that I knew and that made it even more exciting to watch. I loved hearing the speeches celebrating them and the speeches they gave after they won. It was so wonderful and made me even more passionate about union service. If I’m able to do a fraction of what they have accomplished, I will be a success.

After the awards, the raffle happened (I didn’t win anything) and then it was time for dancing. I was already exhausted from a long day, but I at least wanted to see my friends who were also at the gala. I only managed to get one photo with my friends, but at least it’s a good one.

I didn’t take a red carpet photo this year, but my friend Ben has a new iPhone and the camera takes nice portraits so I have one good photo of me from the gala.

The dress that I wore was something that I bought a while ago and never wore. I usually don’t wear such bright colors and wasn’t sure about wearing it. I was thinking of bringing a backup dress, but my friends convinced me not to do so. And I’m glad that I wore it because I got so many compliments about it! Plus, it’s a very comfortable dress and it didn’t require wearing Spanx or other compression stuff underneath to look good. This isn’t the most flattering photo of me, but it gives you an idea about the full outfit since I didn’t do a red carpet photo.

And just like with every other evening of the convention, I tried to head home early because I knew the next morning would be an early one. I wasn’t out too late at the gala, plus the location was much closer to my house, so I was home earlier than I had gotten home from the other galas.

I’m so glad that I continued the tradition and got a ticket to the gala. It really was a great night and I love getting to have something fun in the middle of all the work that we do. It’s the perfect break during the convention and something that I know I’ll attend at all future conventions.

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Tagged acting, convention, gala, SAG-AFTRA

A Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off)

Posted on October 15, 2019 | Comments Off

This past weekend was the SAG-AFTRA National Convention. It was my 3rd time going to convention as a delegate and it was amazing! Because I had been to 2 previous conventions, I had an idea of what it would be like. But this still had some new things for me because it was the first time that I had a bit of a leadership role within my slate. I also feel like this time I was significantly more prepared for all the resolutions and was more informed about what we would be voting on and what would be coming up.

Convention started on Thursday with the welcome reception. I have always gone to the welcome reception because it’s a great time to get to meet the other delegates from different parts of the country. I wish I had taken a bunch of photos because it was a really nice event. This year, all of the convention was happening at the Beverly Hilton (which was nice because it was much closer to my house), so it was a little different from the past 2 conventions. I spent my time at the reception saying hi to my friends that I knew and the delegates that I had last seen 2 years ago. I also got to meet a lot of new delegates and hear about their stories. It’s always interesting to learn about acting careers in other parts of the country, and I got to hear lots of journeys from my fellow delegates.

I didn’t want to stay too late at the reception because I knew the next day would be an early morning and a long day, but I was having too much fun and ended up leaving much later than I planned. But it did give me a chance to see a lot of people and be social since I knew the next few days would be busy and not have a lot of free time.

Friday was the longest day for me. We started early with convention and I started working my day job from my seat. I’ve done this every convention and it’s something I feel grateful I can do. I don’t take customer calls when I’m working from there, but I can do the online chats. Fortunately, work wasn’t too busy so I could pay a lot of attention to what was happening on the stage, but I did have a few moments where I had to turn my focus to my work to make sure that I did my share of the work.

We did our elections for the Executive VP, Geographical VPs, and Category VPs. My slate had a candidate for each of those and it was very exciting when we learned that we won! Everyone who ran for a VP spot was someone that I have gotten to know quite a bit during election season and I knew they would do amazing work as a leader in the union. When almost everyone else was enjoying their lunch outside, I grabbed my food and ate back in the convention room because I was still working. But fortunately, some of my friends did join me inside to eat and it was another great time to be social.

The rest of Friday was working on voting for resolutions. We had a lot and we knew it would take all 3 days. We wrapped up around 5 and then I got ready for the Convention Gala. I’ll write more about the gala tomorrow, but I again had a late night and knew the next day would be an early one.

Saturday was more of the same for me. I did work my job while there, but it was only for the first few hours and then I could just be focused on the convention. We did more voting for resolutions before lunch and after lunch, there were different breakout sessions we could attend. But instead of going to a session, I went to the NextGen Performers meeting. I go to NGP events from time to time, but this meetup was with different NGP committees from around the country. We discussed some of the resolutions that people had coming up so we could brainstorm and give feedback. And we got to learn about the different NGP committees in different parts of the country and see what things we wanted to do for the LA committee. It was a great meetup and I got a lot out of it.

Saturday afternoon was more voting before we concluded for the day. I had been invited to a casual dinner with some of the different NGP people and originally planned on going. But I was tired and knew I needed to get some things done at home, so I had to change my plans and just go straight home. I wish I could have gone, but I really needed to try to get some sleep and I know I made the right choice.

The last day of convention started earlier than the others, but we needed that time to finish the work. We got through voting all the resolutions which was a big accomplishment. There were more resolutions this year than any other year and it’s not easy to get through all of them. We did move quickly, so I was glad I knew a bit about all of them ahead of time so I wasn’t that confused and conflicted about how I wanted to vote. We also got to hear speeches from the Executive VP, Secretary-Treasurer, and President. I have been lucky enough to get to know them each during the election season, but they still continue to inspire me when they speak.

When the convention was done, it was time to take official delegate photos. And then it was all over. It was a very intense long weekend, but just like the past 2 conventions, I left exhausted and encouraged. It was overwhelming, but I loved having all the information presented to the group. I am more motivated than ever to continue with my union service. I want to keep making SAG-AFTRA amazing for those of us who are members now as well as members that will be joining in the future.

I was a bit sad when I looked back at the photos I took and I realized that I didn’t take that many. Most of them were from after the convention was done and I was running around trying to get pictures with my friends. But I have so many memories from the past few days and I don’t need photos to remind me of those. But I am glad that at least I have a few with some of the amazing people that I am lucky enough to get to work with.

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Tagged acting, convention, SAG-AFTRA, union, work

Time For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)

Posted on October 11, 2019 | Comments Off

If you are reading this the day I post it (or the few days after), I’m currently sitting at the SAG-AFTRA National Convention. This is my 3rd convention and I’m honestly so excited about it. I am so much more involved in union politics this time and I have a feeling that if I am lucky enough to win a delegate seat for future conventions that I will be even more involved by then.

For my first convention, I was equally overwhelmed and excited. I had no clue what I was in for, but I was prepared to be there and take it all in. I spent more time sitting and listening and trying to learn than anything else. I didn’t know what else to do, but being there and participating was all I was expected to do.

For my second convention, I wasn’t overwhelmed since I knew what was going to happen, but I still wasn’t doing much more than listening and participating in the votes. I didn’t submit any resolutions and I didn’t get up to speak. Most people don’t have resolutions or speak, so I didn’t feel too bad about that. I think a lot of being a delegate is being a representative for the group you are there to represent (for me, that means for actors in the Los Angeles local) and voting the way you believe is right. And that’s exactly what I did 2 years ago.

This year, I will still probably do a lot of observing and listening. I didn’t submit any resolutions, but I did help some friends with working on theirs. I feel much more informed about what is happening and what to expect. I have been more involved in the preparation for my slate for the convention, which has helped me a lot as well. As I work on things for everyone else, I learn more about them myself. I feel the most prepared I’ve ever been and I am even more excited than I was the past 2 conventions about what is going to happen.

I know that there is so much more that I can do to be more involved, but it’s ok that I haven’t done those just yet. I plan on being in SAG-AFTRA for a very long time so there is a lot of time for me to work on changing things to make sure they benefit all members. And I have been taking more steps to be involved with working on educating myself even more. I am trying to go to more events and meetings which I have found really helpful. And maybe being at those events and meetings will inspire me to create a resolution at a future convention.

I’m looking forward to recapping what happens at the convention next week on here. I won’t be able to share everything since some things are confidential, but I do want to share what I can because I feel like other members need to know what we did. And I’m so excited to see what I will learn this time and how inspired I will feel after convention is done.

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Tagged acting, convention, meeting, SAG-AFTRA

Starting My Delegate Term (or The First Of Several Meetings)

Posted on September 11, 2019 | Comments Off

I probably spoke too soon when I said that things would be a bit calmer for me now that election season is done. I’m still doing a lot of work for my slate and our social media, but I knew that would be happening. But I guess I forgot about the prep work for the election taking as much time as it does. I knew there would be a few meetings, but this year there was an extra meeting added in beside the ones I have attended before.

Normally, there is an orientation meeting for the convention and that’s the only main union meeting regarding it. That’s normally combined with a local board meeting so it’s a pretty long meeting. This time, the orientation is going to be a webinar online and there will be a board meeting later that night (and I’m hoping to still attend that as an observer). But they added an extra meeting this week all about convention resolutions.

Resolutions are the different changes to the union constitution that we vote on during the convention. There can be a lot of resolutions to consider and some of them are not voted on if they are something that the delegates don’t have authority over or if they would be breaking a contract or law. But we still go through lots of resolutions that are submitted by delegates around the country. While I haven’t personally submitted one before, I have looked into doing them. But many of the resolutions I have thought of cannot be voted on for one reason or another. Having people in my slate who can advise us if a resolution can be voted on or not is just another benefit to being a part of a slate.

But not everyone has that support or they want to discuss their resolutions with a larger group. So the local officers created a delegate caucus where resolutions could be discussed among delegates and one of our legal representatives could advise about the legality of the idea.

They did cover some things about the convention that I know they will discuss at the orientation such as the basics of the schedule and what events are happening on what day. But I know that information will be explained in more detail during the orientation webinar. There were a lot of people with resolutions to discuss so they wanted to limit convention discussion time to get through as many resolutions as possible.

Some of the resolutions were ones that are already online and can be endorsed and others were new ideas. Nothing official happened at the meeting, it was more of a workshopping of the resolutions. We did raise our hands if we would consider supporting it, but it was not the same as an official endorsement. But it still helped the people working on the resolutions to see what the temperature of the room was for their idea. If they knew that nobody would support it, maybe they would reconsider submitting it. And while we want everyone to submit the resolutions they want to be considered at the convention, the more resolutions we have the less time we have to discuss and debate.

I knew there was a chance the meeting would get political and tense, and it did happen a bit. It wasn’t as bad as the campaign stuff was, but some resolutions were very clearly against one group or person. I tried to not be biased when I listened, but it was hard when I knew exactly what the person was trying to say without actually saying it. It helped that nothing was official at the meeting so I didn’t feel pressured to vote one way or another and know that it would be a real decision. I know I need to research the resolutions before convention before I feel comfortable voting.

All the resolutions have to be submitted this week and then I can take the time to research them before the convention in a month. And I know I have a lot of people I can turn to and ask questions about them if I’m not clear what they mean or what would happen if it was voted up or down. And I do take voting on the resolutions seriously because I know that they are important. I take the time researching and I decide how I want to vote. I do get recommendations from others, but I still decide for myself how I want to vote.

I know the convention will be here before I know it and I know that I’ll be probably doing a lot of work to get ready for it over the next few weeks. I can’t wait for the convention because it really is something that I enjoy and I love getting to spend those days working with my fellow members. Even when it’s crazy and political, it’s such an incredible feeling being in that room. And doing all this prep work is getting me even more excited and ready for it!

Comments Off on Starting My Delegate Term (or The First Of Several Meetings)

Posted in Acting

Tagged acting, convention, meeting, SAG-AFTRA

Enjoying The Gala (or Having An Awesome Friend Date)

Posted on October 11, 2017 | Comments Off

I’ve already written about the SAG-AFTRA Convention, but I left out the gala. To me, the convention and the gala almost seem like separate events. Part of this could be because the gala is a ticketed event so not everyone who is at the convention goes. But to me it was a no-brainer that I’d be going to the gala again because I had such an amazing time the first time!

When you buy your tickets for the gala, you have the choice to get 1 ticket or 2. Last time, I got 1 because I really didn’t want to stress about finding someone to go with me and I was already overwhelmed about everything. But this time, I decided to be hopeful about what has been happening with my online dating adventures and got 2 tickets. And I did try to ask someone who I’ve gone out with a few times if he wanted to go with me, but that really didn’t work out.

So with my extra ticket, I decided that I should make it a really fun friend date! And fortunately my friend Ben was happy to come with me! Ben is also a delegate so he was already at the convention. And he and I have been saying that we were overdue for a hangout so this was the perfect opportunity for us to catch up!

Last time, the gala was at WB studios so I had to drive over from the convention. But this time, it was at Universal Studios and there was a shuttle from the Sheraton Universal to the gate so it was much easier to get to. And the union staff arranged for LA delegates who didn’t have time to go home to change to have a meeting room to use as a changing area. It made things super easy for us and I was ready to go right when the shuttles started.

When Ben and I got there, we lined up to check in and ran into a bunch of friends. And as soon as we passed the metal detectors the first thing we saw was the red carpet. I figured we should do photos while we still all looked really nice so we lined up for photos and the interviews they were doing.

At the end of the red carpet was the open bar. I enjoyed water while my friends got drinks. Even though I invited Ben to be my date for the night, I figured we both be off on our own (which would have been totally fine with me), but we ended up sticking together. It was awesome getting to hang out so much and we seemed to be pretty lucky with things. We went inside to the lobby of the Globe Theater (where the dinner was going to be) to check things out and the doors to the theater opened up right when we were at the doors! So we went inside and managed to get a table in the front and center of the room behind a reserved table.

At our table we had some friends that we knew as well as some new friends we just met. It was so nice having a fun night out where we weren’t worried about the politics of the union and just got to have fun. At the gala, they give out awards and things were split up a bit. We had some awards and then there was a break to go to the buffet for dinner. The food was really good (I think it was better than last time) and there was also a dessert buffet. And after we ate, the awards continued.

It was so fun watching the union honor those who have done awesome things. And having friends at my table was fun because we could chat to each other about the weird and cool things we were observing. And once the awards were done, it was time for dancing. But I was so tired that I decided against dancing. But I wanted to make sure I got some pictures with people while we were all dressed up and fancy!

Ben was leaving around the same time so we headed out together. And then we realized that we never took advantage of the photo booth setup that was near the red carpet. There was no line there so we were able to do a photo with each of the backgrounds they had for the green screen set up. And I think we were both feeling a bit crazy and tired so the photos are pretty weird even for me.

But they were awesome and I’m so glad we took an extra minute to do that before getting the shuttle back to the hotel. And once we got back there, I said goodnight to Ben (who had a meeting for convention that night super late) and I headed home to try to get some sleep before having to get up super early the next morning.

I had an amazing time at the gala. The gala on its own is already great, but getting to hang out with an awesome friend makes things so much better! And like I said in yesterday’s post, I’m already waiting for the next one in 2 years. I know I will be going to the gala again because it is one of the highlights for me for convention weekend.

Comments Off on Enjoying The Gala (or Having An Awesome Friend Date)

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged acting, convention, fun, gala, red carpet, SAG-AFTRA

Tag Archives: convention

Not The Conventional Convention (or We Are Having An Intermission For Now)

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Not The Convention I’m Used To (or Still Taking On More Responsibility)

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Convention Prep and Recovery (or Sorry For The Short Post)

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Virtual Orientation (or Still Getting Ready For Convention)

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Preparing For A Virtual Convention (or My First Task For This Delegate Term)

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The Convention Gala (or Casino Night And Awards)

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A Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off)

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Time For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work)

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Starting My Delegate Term (or The First Of Several Meetings)

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Enjoying The Gala (or Having An Awesome Friend Date)

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