Tag Archives: meeting

Another Virtual Union Meeting (or Getting Ready For What Is To Come)

Posted on May 17, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Virtual Union Meeting (or Getting Ready For What Is To Come)

I have tried to stay as involved with my union as much as I can for quite a bit of time. It hasn’t always been easy and I regret not doing it sooner, but I’m very glad for all the things I have been able to be a part of since I decided to be involved. Some of the meetings I have been able to attend are small groups or committees, which are nice to get to know people who have similar interests. And others have been big meetings like the LA Local Membership meeting which all members in the LA local are invited to attend.

The LA Local Membership meeting used to be a big in-person event that can be fun but also can feel overwhelming. And since the pandemic, it became a virtual event with everyone on a giant Zoom. As much as I love the in-person meetings because I get to meet new people, it is nice to watch the meeting from home so I don’t have to drive to get somewhere and I can be comfortable. And these meetings tend to be several hours long, so being home and able to move around and stretch or get some water and snacks while still watching is a nice bonus.

We had another Membership meeting this past weekend. Because of confidentiality, I can’t share much about what we specifically discussed. But there were a few main topics that came up quite a bit. The meeting started with the reports by different local officers, which is standard. The building that the union headquarters will be moving into was discussed in more detail than what we previously had. But the biggest things that were discussed over the 4 hours of the meeting were the upcoming elections, the current strike, and our upcoming contract negotiations.

The upcoming elections were gone over a bit with the dates and deadlines to keep in mind. But because we are almost in election season, things had to be discussed carefully so they weren’t considered electioneering. I don’t know how many members who were on the call were interested in running for union office, but I’m glad the information was shared because the more informed members are, the better.

The current strike took up a good amount of time because that is one of the biggest things affecting the industry right now. And I’m proud that SAG-AFTRA has been standing with the WGA and the union has been so great at getting information out to all the members about different picket lines and events we can be a part of. I still haven’t had the chance to go on a picket line, but I’m trying to figure out when I can take a little time away from work to do so. Because the WGA contract is not our contract, we don’t know when the strike might end, but we know why it’s happening and why it’s important.

Obviously, the WGA strike discussion lead to a discussion about our upcoming contract negotiations and if our union will strike. That is a decision that hasn’t been made yet and will have steps before it can happen. The leaders who ran the meeting went into the process that will be coming up with the negotiations and what steps would happen if we were to go on strike. I know there have been a lot of members confused about what happens before a strike, and it’s good that was cleared up. And I know others were worried that not enough would happen before we would go on strike or we wouldn’t know when that might occur. I know we get a lot of information via email, but people miss those. There aren’t a lot of other systems to get information out to thousands of people quickly, but I think discussing that everyone should check their emails will help more people to open them and maybe even have members reach out to other members to remind them to do the same.

The meeting was supposed to be 3 hours long, and it was over 4 hours long before it had to end. I was hoping to have a chance to ask a question during the Q&A, but there were too many other members ahead of me in the line so I didn’t have a chance to do so. But I’m ok with that since I have friends who can help me get the answers so I won’t be wondering. And I can share what I learn with other members through social media and other ways if necessary.

Overall, it was another really good and informative meeting to attend. And I think more people attended with it being virtual than could have attended if it was in-person. There are a lot of moving parts happening right now in the industry, and this was a great way for a lot of us to get on the same page with what is happening and to keep us all informed as things change. And I hope that all the members who attended will feel motivated to continue to be informed and educated so we can continue to strengthen our union.

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Another Virtual Board Meeting (or I’m Glad I Could Join This Time)

Posted on April 18, 2023 | Comments Off on Another Virtual Board Meeting (or I’m Glad I Could Join This Time)

Before the pandemic, I was pretty good about attending the SAG-AFTRA local board meetings as an observer for a few years. I’m a little disappointed that it took me so many years to prioritize going to those, but I was glad that I finally got into the routine of attending and being much more involved in the union. And during the beginning of the pandemic, the local board meetings continued, but they didn’t allow observers into the Zoom meetings. It was sad to see something that I had grown to look forward to and appreciate not available anymore, but I understood that everyone was doing the best that they could.

They finally started to let members be observers for the local board meetings again recently. But they are still limited to a specific number of observers just like with the in-person meetings. Because these meetings are announced in emails and I get a lot of emails every day, there have been times I’ve missed the announcement for signing up to be an observer and I can’t even get on the wait list. But after that happened the most recent time, I told myself that I just needed to read all the emails I get as soon as I can to make sure that I’m not missing anything.

And that plan worked because when the most recent local board meeting was announced and members could sign up to be an observer, I did it right away. I’m glad that I was able to get a spot so I could participate in the limited manner we were able to.

Attending a virtual meeting as an observer is a very different experience from going in person. I have the same rules as an observer so I’m not participating in the meeting no matter what. But there is something different about the pre-meeting stuff when you are there with others as well as just sitting in on the meeting with other people in the room compared to seeing people on a Zoom screen. I know that a virtual meeting is better than no meeting, but I still miss the in-person ones. But I do like that I don’t have to worry about traffic and I can dress much more comfortably when I’m sitting in front of my computer.

As with all local board meetings, a lot of what was said is confidential and I can’t really say what we talked about, even in really board terms. But I can share that something that was discussed was how the union just recently bought a building. This has been a discussion for a very long time, but the timing wasn’t right in the past to buy a building. I know years ago when there was a serious search, the good options were all very far from the main part of LA and that wasn’t something the union wanted to do. I think the timing worked out this time because there are a lot more vacant commercial spaces because businesses have been closing or going fully remote. And I’m sure there were other financial factors that came into play that aren’t public that made now the right time to buy and this building the best option for us.

I will have a much longer drive there when we move to the new building since it is in the valley, but I’ll figure out how to make it work when that time comes. And there aren’t a ton of meetings I go to at the union building, so it won’t be that often. I have a feeling a lot of meetings will continue to have a virutal option, so if I can’t drive over there one day, there will be another way for me to attend or participate.

With the other things that were discussed in the meeting, a lot of them were new to me so I’m glad I was able to learn about more things that will be coming up with the union. I really do try my best to stay informed and educated, but it hasn’t been as easy the past few years. There aren’t as many opportunities to be a part of union events or meetings, so I have to take advantage of the few that are out there and make sure I RSVP in time so I can get a spot.

I don’t know when the next local board meeting will be or if there will still allow observers to attend, but I’m hoping I’ll get another change to sit in and learn. And when they do return to in-person events, I’ll be ready and excited to see everyone in person and feel much more a part of what is going on.

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Still Trying To Be More Involved In Meetings (or It Will Be Interesting To See How This Will Work Soon)

Posted on March 22, 2023 | Comments Off on Still Trying To Be More Involved In Meetings (or It Will Be Interesting To See How This Will Work Soon)

Every time I attend the LA Communications Committee meeting for SAG-AFTRA, I wish that I was more involved. I tend to be pretty quiet during meetings for a bunch of different reasons. One is that I just don’t have a ton of ideas for articles, which usually is the bulk of the discussion during the meeting. Also, I know I don’t have a lot of time to research and write articles, so I don’t want to accidentally volunteer myself. But I try when I can and at each meeting I make an effort to speak up if there is something I have to say.

We had our most recent meeting earlier this week, and while I still wasn’t very involved in the meeting, I feel like I spoke up more often than normal. I wasn’t contributing a lot, but I did make sure that I said something when I had something to add or when there was a question among the committee that I had an answer to. It was a busy meeting and we had a lot to discuss outside of article ideas or other things we typically discuss, so I think the change in subject matter helped me have more to say and not feel as fearful about speaking up.

But we are going to have a change in these meetings that might bring my participation back down again. For several years now, all our meetings have been over Zoom. I like this since I have to work at the same time and it’s easy for me to work and stay on Zoom at the same time. Before they were over Zoom, I had to call in and listen via speakerphone, and it was very difficult to hear everything and even harder to contribute to the discussion. Also, since most of the committee members were there in person, there were handouts given that I didn’t always have access to until after the meeting. This was for a different committee than the one I’m in now, but I know that many committees worked the same way.

Our committee had a vote before this most recent meeting about how we want to continue meeting. We have the option for in-person meetings which weren’t available to us. And even though I work a different job now and I might actually be able to go in person, it would still be much easier for me to stay on Zoom. We had 3 options in our vote: only do in-person meetings, only do Zoom meetings, or have hybrid meetings with both in-person and Zoom options. And because of my past experience, I voted for only Zoom meetings so everyone would be on Zoom. I was in the minority for that vote and most people voted for hybrid meetings. And I know that a lot of my fellow committee members will be there in person. So being on Zoom may not be a great way to participate.

I really do hope that it will be different from when I called into meetings in the past. Maybe if there are a few of us on Zoom, there will be efforts made so we can see what’s going on and not feel like just an observer. I also think that since it’s being on Zoom and not on the phone, there will be more ability to participate because of the raised hand function on Zoom. But it will still be different from being there with everyone else.

I know other committees and groups will be doing hybrid meetings before my next committee meeting, so there will be opportunities for the union staff to figure out any technical issues that might come up that prevent people on Zoom from being able to fully be a part of the meeting. And maybe I’m wrong and there will be more people attending via Zoom than in person when we do have the meeting. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

It’s been a struggle for me to be as involved as I wanted to be for the past almost 2 years, and this might add a bit more to that struggle. But I’m still determined to be an active and involved union member and get the most out of the opportunity that I’ve been given.

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A Mix Of The Old And New Normal (or Waiting To See What Future Union Meetings Will Be Like)

Posted on February 21, 2023 | Comments Off on A Mix Of The Old And New Normal (or Waiting To See What Future Union Meetings Will Be Like)

Ever since things shut down, all the union meetings and events I’ve participated in have been virtual. I have been in virtual committee meetings and attended a virtual convention. There was no question for a long time that was the way we needed to do things in order to keep people safe. And for union committee meetings, I actually liked the virtual format because I never could attend in person, and being on the phone while most people are in the same room isn’t the best option. So having everyone on Zoom made it more of an equal playing field for all and I have felt much more connected to the meetings and not just feel like I’m listening in my own little world. Of course, I miss going to the local board meetings as an observer while everything has been virtual, but I knew that those meetings would likely return to being at the union headquarters again and I would be able to go in the future.

And recently, things have been starting to open up again. The union headquarters opened and there are some new guidelines for going to things there in person. It was pretty simple for me to do because it was registering through an app to include my vaccination information. There haven’t been any things in person yet for me to attend, but I’m excited to see what will be coming back and what I can be a part of again.

For some reason, when the announcement of the headquarters opening up came out, I didn’t think much about the committee meetings since I’d never attended them in person. But when I was in a recent committee meeting, someone asked the chair when we would be going back to meeting in person so we didn’t always have to be on Zoom.

That idea seemed to get a mixed reaction from others in the committee. Some of us have been happy with these virtual meetings. Not only does it allow those of us who have to work at the same time to attend, but people who don’t live close by also don’t have to worry about a commute to and from the meeting. The chair talked about how they were happy not spending over an hour each way to get to the meeting so they were fine keeping things on Zoom for now. I believe there will be a poll going out soon so everyone can have a say in what we would like to see, but I think that Zoom will always be an option because how many of us don’t have the time or ability to get to the headquarters for meetings and everyone seems to agree that Zoom is much better than just being on the phone.

It’s interesting how I really am excited to have some things back in person but I want to keep other things the way they’ve been the past few years. I still don’t go out in big crowds that often, but I also crave being social because I was isolated for so long. I don’t think everything will ever go back to how they were before, but things slowly have been going back and it’s been a mix of the old and new normal for a while. And I’m sure that as time goes on, more things will be back to the old way. But at the same time, I think we will never really be back to the old way things were and some things will always be either the new normal or a hybrid.

As long as I can continue to be involved with the union, I’m ok with things changing back to how they are or staying the way they’ve been. I think now more than ever, people recognize how some people want to be able to participate but don’t have the same ability to be in person as everyone else. So hopefully there will continue to be some accommodations or better options for everyone.

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So Many Meetings (or I Can’t Do Everything)

Posted on January 13, 2023 | Comments Off on So Many Meetings (or I Can’t Do Everything)

Maybe it was because this week was the first full work week of the new year or maybe there’s no reason for it, but this week I had so many different meetings I was supposed to be a part of. Every single day, I had at least one meeting on my schedule. Some of these were for work, some were for acting, and I also had an HOA meeting. And because there were so many meetings and I had to make sure I didn’t neglect other parts of my life, I just couldn’t make it all work.

Of course, my work meetings took priority. There is a lot going on right now so I’ve been a part of various meetings to plan and discuss things. Some of these meetings were planned in advance and some were only planned a few minutes before it was supposed to start. I’m grateful my job is mindful of my time and when I put in my schedule when I’m not available, so these all worked within my regular work hours. I know that being a part of some of these meetings is a sign of trust that the executive team has in me and shows my seniority within the company, so I didn’t take it lightly when I was added to a meeting. I did a lot of listening and not as much talking since some of these meetings were mainly higher-ups and I was there to either add a little bit more information or just to hear what is coming ahead.

We also had our belated work holiday party which was a Zoom meeting this past week. That was fun and we had different competitions such as best cocktail/mocktail and best Zoom background. I did make a fun background, but I didn’t win this time. But that’s ok since I won for Thanksgiving.

Also on my schedule this week was an HOA meeting for my condo. This isn’t something I have to go to, but I want to attend as many as I can so I can know what’s going on. Since this meeting is in the evening after most people are done with work, I was easily able to add it to my schedule. And since we just changed HOA management companies recently, I really wanted to hear what everyone else was saying. I haven’t noticed a huge difference with the new management company, but I haven’t had to do much through them since the renovation. And it’s always good to hear what is happening with the HOA dues and what things are being considered. There wasn’t too much discussed in the meeting, but there are some things coming up that I’m aware of now. Mainly dealing with the recycling and upcoming compost (which is required now for us) as well as some possible changes to the equipment in the gym. They also discussed that the roof is in good condition which is important with all the rain. I wasn’t too worried about the roof, but it was good to hear that I really don’t need to worry.

But the meetings I had to be ok not attending were some union/acting meetings that I had on my schedule. I really was looking forward to these meetings and they had been on my calendar for a while, but then other things came up that I couldn’t get out of or had to prioritize such as my work meetings. I know that this is a normal thing that so many people deal with, but it was still frustrating when I worked hard to try to attend meetings that were planned in advance. But I know that people understand when something comes up like this or if someone had to miss a meeting due to an emergency or being sick. But I still didn’t like it.

Having a week like this past week isn’t normal for me and I’m glad it’s not since having so many meetings can be stressful and overwhelming. But I made it through the week with only a few missed meetings and I know for the next few weeks my meetings will be much more spread out so this won’t be something I should have to deal with again for a while.

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Back To My Normal Right Away (or One Last Committee Meeting For This Year)

Posted on November 18, 2022 | Comments Off on Back To My Normal Right Away (or One Last Committee Meeting For This Year)

After getting back from my trip on Sunday evening, I didn’t have much time before I got back to my regular schedule. I got home much later than expected and only had enough time to unpack a bit before I went to bed and had my early morning workout the next morning. It would have been nice to have a day to reset, but it’s also not bad to immediately get back to what I normally do. And this past Monday, that also included my local communication meeting for SAG-AFTRA.

The communication meetings have been happening regularly about once a month, and I have really appreciated having these meetings since I still am not able to be an observer at the local board meetings. I’m hoping that in-person board meetings happen again soon so I can go, but until that point, I just have the committee meetings that I’m a part of. I don’t know if any other committees are meeting as regularly as we are, but based on my past experience I would guess that they aren’t. But it’s possible that things have changed since all meetings are virtual now and it might be easier to organize and set up.

Almost all of the communications committee meetings have similar agendas. We go over any past agenda items to get updates as needed, we go over the articles that are being worked on and the status of those, and then there is a chance for us to suggest new articles and story ideas. I’ve suggested a few articles in the past, but none of them have been included in our newsletters yet. But I know that the staff has been working on one that I’ve suggested so it hopefully will be included in the near future.

I haven’t been the most active committee member, but I wanted to be better for this meeting. So before my trip, I decided to do a little research and see if I could find a good archive of past articles to get some inspiration. I wasn’t able to find the type of archive I was looking for, so that was something I did bring up in this meeting. It turns out, I was looking in the correct spot, but it’s just not organized the way that I thought it would be. So at least now I know where to look when I have a chance to review past articles. It just might take me a bit longer to get through them and see what inspiration I have for follow-up articles or ideas that haven’t been covered yet.

I think a lot of people were in a holiday mindset already because there weren’t a lot of new articles brought up in the meeting. But that also could be because there are so many that are currently in the works, and everyone is focused on those. And at the end of each meeting, we set the date and time for the next one. As I mentioned, typically they are every month. But with the holidays and a few other national meetings happening, our next meeting is being pushed until after the new year when there is a bit more time and availability with everyone. I don’t mind having a longer break. I know my schedule is probably going to be a bit weird for December with the holidays. And this will give me extra time to review the past articles so I can hopefully have more to present at the next meeting.

There are a few other union meetings that will be coming up between now and the next committee meeting. I’m hoping I will be able to attend them, but there are a few that currently conflict with other things in my schedule. I’m seeing what I can do to make sure I can attend as many as I can, but I know I can’t go to everything. But at least I’m trying and I know that I will have another committee meeting in the new year to keep me feeling connected to my union.

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Continuing With Regular Union Service (or Starting To Think Of More Ideas)

Posted on October 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Continuing With Regular Union Service (or Starting To Think Of More Ideas)

I had another LA Local Communications meeting for SAG-AFTRA this week. I know I always say how grateful I am that this committee has regular meetings because I haven’t been able to be a part of a lot of other union things that I am used to doing. So having these happening every month or so has been nice and something that I can look forward to so I can continue to feel connected with my union.

Our last meeting was more of a presentation regarding the union archives. I really enjoyed that meeting and learning about something I really had no idea about with the union before. I hope that in the future, the committee has more presentations like that because I know there are so many things I don’t know about. But this meeting was more of a regular meeting and had agenda items that we typically have.

Most of the committee meetings go over the most recent newsletters and what articles were included in them. And there are always updates on things we went over before and the status of different projects and requests. And after that, we go over the different articles that are in process of being completed. I haven’t written anything yet, but I have suggested several articles and one is being worked on by the staff. I’m ok with not writing the ones I suggested because they do involve things that the staff has better access to so they will have an easier time completing them.

I feel like one of my main responsibilities on this committee is helping to think of newsletter articles and ideas since that is one of the big things we are in charge of. And even though I have suggested a few in the past, many of them were not right for what we are supposed to do (for example, they would be better for the national newsletter and not the local one). But for the past few meetings, I haven’t had any new article ideas to suggest. I know that’s ok and we have a lot of articles in the works right now, but I also want to feel like I’m involved with this committee and an active participant. And the biggest thing I can do would be to have more ideas.

I was thinking about the articles in the works during the meetings and trying to see what might be missing or if something would spark an idea in my head. Unfortunately, during the meeting, I didn’t have any new ideas that I could suggest. I was pretty quiet for this meeting, which is common for me since I also am working at the same time as in Zoom. But I do wish I had something I could really contribute to the group.

When the meeting was done, we set our next meeting date. It’s about a month away, so that gives me a lot of time to keep thinking of article ideas. I’m hoping that something will hit me so I can present ideas at the November meeting. I know I can’t force inspiration or anything, but I can make a more conscious effort to look at what I see in the acting world and what might be helpful for other members to be aware of.

Maybe that will work, or maybe it will take being in the next meeting and hearing someone else’s ideas for me to feel inspired. But I really am setting a goal to try harder with being an active committee member outside of attending the meetings and hopefully when I am in the meeting next month, I will have more to contribute than I have before.

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Still Learning More About Being A Homeowner (or Observing Another HOA Meeting)

Posted on September 29, 2022 | Comments Off on Still Learning More About Being A Homeowner (or Observing Another HOA Meeting)

I know there is a ton to learn about being a homeowner and I’ve been slowly learning things. I’ve always been pretty handy with little repairs around the place and I used to fix things on my own at my rentals if they were really easy because it was normally simpler for me to do it than to wait for someone to come. But I have had to learn more things now that I don’t have a landlord since I don’t want to pay for someone to do things that I can try to do on my own. For example, I’ve had to learn some basic plumbing things to try to fix a slow drain. I’m also looking at replacing a bathroom faucet since that wasn’t done in the renovation, but that will need to be done by a handyman since that is a bit more involved than what I’ve been figuring out.

But besides the homeowner stuff that I’ve been learning regarding maintenance and repairs, I’m also learning about being in a condo building and having an HOA. I know other people have complained a lot about HOAs and how they micromanage every little thing, but I think I’m pretty lucky with my HOA. I did have to get their approval for the renovation and it wasn’t the quickest process, but it wasn’t too difficult. And I’ve had to get approval to replace my front door lock since that needs to match the existing lock, but I was able to find almost an identical match and got it approved so I can either try to replace it myself or hire someone to do that. We don’t have a lot of amenities here, but the HOA does a good job of maintaining common spaces like the courtyard. And they do the gardening in the little backyard area that I have.

I know there are a lot of things I can learn about how the HOA works, and I have plenty of time to figure things out, but I want to know as much as I can so I can understand how things get done. And the best way for me to do that is to attend the HOA meetings. I’ve only been able to attend a few of them, including the meeting I attended where they discussed my renovation plans so they could be approved. Sometimes the meetings conflict with other meetings, and I just can’t attend. But just like the different union meetings I try to go to, I make every effort I can to attend the HOA meetings.

So when an emergency meeting was called earlier this week, I made sure to make time in my day to be a part of it. I don’t know if any meetings before the pandemic were done in person, but every meeting since I bought my place has been over Zoom so at least it’s usually easy to attend even if I have other things I need to do at the same time. This meeting was an emergency meeting because the HOA board was looking to hire a new HOA management company after ending the contract with the current management company. There were a few different issues with the current management company, some of which I experienced myself. I had delays with getting my renovation approved because of the management company. I also had delays with other responses I had been waiting for from them. I tried to not be frustrated, but I did want to get faster responses so I could get things done and not keep waiting. And it was actually reassuring to hear that others had the same issues as me so I wasn’t odd for being frustrated with the waiting.

I didn’t really say too much in this meeting since I don’t know anything about HOA management companies. But it was interesting hearing about the different options and what exactly the management company does versus the HOA board. And by the end of the meeting, a new management company was agreed upon and we have all been emailed to set things up with them so we can have a smooth transition. Even though it’s only been a day, I’ve already had a good experience because I asked for approval for something I have been waiting on and it was approved within an hour! So I think this is a good sign of things to come!

I’m sure I’ll continue to learn more and more about home ownership and the HOA as time goes on. I’ve almost been a homeowner for a year now, although I’ve only been living here for just under 6 months. I’ve learned a lot so far, but I can’t wait to see what else I will learn about because I know it will only be things that benefit me going forward.

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Getting Some More Union Education (or Having A Lesson During A Committee Meeting)

Posted on September 2, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting Some More Union Education (or Having A Lesson During A Committee Meeting)

I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a few different committees with SAG-AFTRA. Some of the committees have been national ones and others have been local to LA. And each committee has its own way of organizing meetings. Depending on the focus of the committee, sometimes the meetings are all about news specific to that committee. For example, the National Conservatory Committee usually discussed things regarding the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory with each local and what the national committee could do to support them. And the LA Local Organizing Committee was mainly about sharing industry news and events that we should know more about and could benefit all members to learn about.

The only committee that I’m in right now that has been able to have meetings has been the LA Local Communications Committee. I’m grateful that we’ve had regular meetings because there are a lot of things we want to get done within the committee. I haven’t written any articles yet for the local membership, but I have submitted ideas for several and one is being worked on by a union staff member so it can be published (some articles are written by members, but others require staff to help us and the one I suggested needs staff to work on it). And since we are busy planning articles and other forms of communication that we want to get out to the LA Local, our meetings are typically just focused on that and we don’t have a ton of additional education.

But for the meeting that we had this past week, that changed. We still spent quite a bit of our meeting planning articles and other items, but we also got to have some time to learn about the union archives and what that entailed. I know what an archivist does for museums, but I wasn’t aware of exactly what they would be storing for the union. Before our meeting, we had a chance to submit questions that would be asked during the presentation. And since I didn’t know much about what they would do, my questions were pretty basic and simple. But I figured if I was unaware there probably would be at least one other person who was clueless too. So I put down all my simple questions and hoped that they would be able to be answered.

Only a portion of our meeting was dedicated to discussing the union archive, but I think the staff that was a part of it did a great job with their presentation and going over several of the questions that we had submitted. I learned that a lot of the items that have been kept have been about the creation of the union or artifacts from the first few years of the union, such as old membership cards. And I don’t know why I wouldn’t have thought of this, but they do keep information related to past elections and contract votes. It’s smart to keep all of that since there have been so many votes regarding contracts and ratifications that are important to remember. And if someone has a question about the changes in a contract, this would provide a resource to be able to see what historically has been in contracts and what was just something that was assumed to be in there.

I do wish we had more time for the archive presentation and to learn more about how we can share more information with other members and maybe some opportunities for people to understand more about it, but I am grateful that we had some time for education about the union. With everything being virtual and board meetings not open to all members like before, I feel like I haven’t had as many chances to learn about union things. I have missed that and even though observing board meetings isn’t really a time to learn, I always had notes after being there of things I wanted to look up and learn more about. So this committee meeting having the presentation brought back a little bit of that feeling and really helped to make me feel more connected to the union again.

And besides getting to feel more connected to the union, any committee meeting or event I’m able to be a part of really just reminds me of what I’m really pushing for in my life. Sometimes it’s easy to just be sucked into the day-to-day with my day job, especially since I haven’t had many auditions lately. It can feel like I’m not really pursuing my career and just working my jobs. But this gave me some time to be a part of what I have striving for and hope to have as my main focus in life one day.

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Missing Some Union Meetings (or Even Virtual Meetings Don’t Guarantee I Can Go)

Posted on June 10, 2022 | Comments Off on Missing Some Union Meetings (or Even Virtual Meetings Don’t Guarantee I Can Go)

I have really appreciated having the union meetings I’ve been attending recently through Zoom. I am almost always working during the time that the meetings are happening, and having them on Zoom allows me to be a part of them. And I’ve been pretty lucky to not have meetings or time-sensitive things I’ve needed to do during the meetings. I can’t always give the meetings my full attention because I’m working, but at least I’m not completely missing out. I have worried that when the meetings go back to being in person they won’t have the Zoom component (just listening to the meetings on a conference call isn’t the same), but I think they may keep Zoom as an option since it has allowed so many more people to participate in union service.

Soon, my work schedule should have some additional flexibility so attending union meetings might be easier, but I don’t have that finalized yet so I’m not exactly sure how it will all work. But I’ve been planning on attending union meetings with the idea that things won’t be able to be moved around and that’s how I probably will continue to plan for them. But of course, all great plans don’t work out every time. And that’s what happened this week.

I was supposed to attend the local communication committee meeting this week and it worked into my schedule perfectly between other things that were time-sensitive, so I was planning on attending just like always. But then, one of my work meetings changed times and was the exact same time as the committee meeting. There was nothing I could do because the work meeting had to be the priority. It’s not ideal, but it’s the reality of my life. It wasn’t fun to miss out on a meeting when I do like to be a part of the plan for union communications. I do take pride in the committees I’m a part of and I know that I need to take it seriously since so many people want to be on committees and can’t. For several years, I wanted to be on a committee and there wasn’t space for me. So I really do appreciate the space I have been given on the committees I’m a part of.

I tried to not feel too down about it because I didn’t have another option. But it was frustrating for sure. And because the information from the meeting hasn’t been shared yet, I still don’t know what decisions were made or what action items I need to be aware of. I know those will come soon, but I don’t like waiting on the information since I missed it when it was announced. I think this is motivating me to do the action steps as soon as I get them because I know I will already be a bit behind in doing the work.

But, I know that there will be more meetings for me in the future and hopefully, they work out with my work schedule. This was the only meeting I’ve had to miss so far because of work since the pandemic, so that’s not bad. I do make every effort I can to attend and my attendance record shows that. And maybe one day in the future, I won’t have a day job to be a conflict (although I might be working on set which would also be a time conflict). But until then, I have to be ok with missing a few meetings if it’s really impossible for me to attend. And I know that doesn’t mean I’m not taking my union service seriously, it just means that sometimes I’m double booked and something else might have priority.

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