Tag Archives: union

Union Committee Work (or Continuing To Be More and More Involved In My Union)

Posted on November 23, 2021 | Comments Off on Union Committee Work (or Continuing To Be More and More Involved In My Union)

Each year that I’m a union member, I seem to find new ways to be involved or new ways to be involved in things that I’ve already been doing. Being a delegate has been part of that. Running for the local board is another part. But I’ve also been working on being more involved with different committees.

It’s not always easy to get onto committees in the union. There are only so many spots for committee members and a lot of people apply for each one. But the more I’ve been involved in the union, the more people know who I am. And having people know who I am has been helpful with getting onto committees because they are aware of my past union service and what I can bring to the group.

It’s been a process with getting more involved in committees. After the election in 2019, I was an alternate for one national committee and a member for a local committee. And I tried to be involved in the meetings and events, but because of the pandemic, the opportunities were more limited than they normally are and there weren’t as many meetings so I know I wasn’t as informed as I probably should have been about the committees I was a part of.

But when the applications came out this year for both national and local committees, I knew I wanted to apply again and hopefully get back on the committees I was a part of before and possibly be added to additional committees if possible. We haven’t heard back from the local committees yet, but I’m hoping I’ll be asked back to the one local one I was on before. And I was asked to be an alternate again for the national committee I was an alternate on last time.

But this year, I also found out some exciting news about one of the national committees. The Health Care Safety Net committee is all about providing information for different health care related opportunities and helps to organize things such as health fairs, clinics, and screenings. And not only was I asked to be a member of this committee, I was asked to be the Vice Chair!

As Vice Chair, I will help the Chair to run the committee and meetings and make sure that we are accomplishing all of our goals. I had my first training with the union recently and I learned a lot about how the national committees work and what we need to do behind the scenes to keep a committee running smoothly. It was really informative and I understand the process that the committees go through a lot more now. As the Vice Chair, I don’t pick who is on the committee, that was already done. So I know who is on the committee and our staff liaison will help us contact all the committee members when we have our first meeting (which will likely be around the beginning of the year).

I will have other trainings about running meetings and other union rules and policies, but I’m already really excited to be even more involved with the union than I have before. I never thought I’d be asked to be one of the leaders of a committee yet, I was just hoping to be a member. But I do know I’ve been working hard the past few years with my union involvement and I guess others are seeing that as well. And while I am a little nervous to be a leader because it is something new for me, it’s very exciting too!

I can’t wait to see what I’m able to do as the Vice Chair and what the entire committee can accomplish during the next year and a half. And as I’ve said every time I’ve gotten more involved in the union, I love that this is adding more ways for me to feel connected to my acting career when so many things about acting are out of my control.

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Default ThumbnailLots Of Virtual Meetings (or Virtual Union Meetings) Default ThumbnailSharing My Union With A Friend (or Continuing To Be Inspired And Involved) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Working Evening (or Doubling Up On Live Streams) Default ThumbnailAnother Union Meeting (or Getting Into The Routine Of Things) Default ThumbnailMore Virtual Union Meetings (or Hopefully We Will Be Back To In-Person Meetings Soon) Default ThumbnailFirst Union Meeting In A While (or Feeling Informed Again)

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

Posted on October 20, 2021 | Comments Off on Not The Convention I’m Used To (or Still Taking On More Responsibility)

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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Default ThumbnailVirtual Orientation (or Still Getting Ready For Convention) Default ThumbnailTime For Convention (or I’m Ready To Get To Work) Default ThumbnailConvention Prep and Recovery (or Sorry For The Short Post) Default ThumbnailPreparing For A Virtual Convention (or My First Task For This Delegate Term) Default ThumbnailA Full Convention Weekend (or Preparation Pays Off) Default ThumbnailSAG-AFTRA National Convention (or I Had No Idea It Would Be Like This)

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I Stand With IATSE (or Union Strong)

Posted on September 24, 2021 | Comments Off on I Stand With IATSE (or Union Strong)

I know a lot of news about the entertainment industry can be very inside baseball and most people don’t know what’s going on or are very concerned about it. Most of the time, unless you are in the industry, you don’t see news updates or understand what things mean if you do see the news. I think the union elections are like that. Even though this past election was making a lot of national news, most people didn’t know what it meant or why it mattered. And that’s ok. And when things do reach a majority of people, like when there was a writer’s strike, most people only saw the surface of what it meant and might have been upset that their shows weren’t happening.

But right now, there is something happening that I don’t feel is getting the national attention it should and it is very important.

Starting next week, IATSE is going to have a strike authorization vote because of the status of the current negotiations on their contract.

IATSE is the union that covers so many of the people who work behind the scenes on set. They include sound technicians, editors, costumers, hair and make-up, electrical technicians, and so many more. These are all the people who help to make the shows and movies people love look so amazing. They help the actors work by creating the environments we perform in and making sure that we have what we need to do our job. Without members of IATSE on set, production wouldn’t be possible.

In their current negotiations with the AMPTP (the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, who is the same group that my union negotiates with), they are asking for things that I agree they deserve. They want better wages, more reasonable rest periods between work days, making sure everyone gets their breaks and meals, and other things that will make their working conditions better and safer for them. I think they deserve these things and more.

When I work on set, I have long days. Most of my time is sitting around and waiting. But members of IATSE have even longer days. They arrive before actors come to set and they stay after we are sent home. They do not get to rest in a trailer and wait for their time to work because they are always busy and working. I know that I am always grateful for the crew of sets that I work on, but I also know that I can show my appreciation more for them. And standing with them for this negotiation is just the start of what we can all do.

Coming up in about a week, different groups within IATSE are going to vote on whether they would like to strike or not. Each group has to have at least 75% agreeing with the strike for it to go through. And if it goes through, it’s not guaranteed that a strike will happen. But the negotiating team from IATSE will have the ability to call a strike if the negotiations still are stuck. And if there is a strike, everything in the industry would stop. Production is impossible without IATSE, and that proves even more why they deserve what they are asking for.

I don’t think anyone wants a strike to happen. So many people have been out of work due to the pandemic and things are just picking back up again. But at the same time, it’s not fair not to negotiate for what they deserve just because they want to work. They want to work but in safe and fair conditions. And if a strike is what it takes so they can get that, then they need to strike. And I stand with IATSE 100%.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t stand with IATSE. We all see how hard they work when we are on set and the conditions that some people worked in were not fully understood until recently. I know I am guilty of that. But I’m doing what I can to try to help make things better.

Please sign this petition to show your support for IATSE in these negotiations. If you enjoy any tv shows or movies, then you should support the people making them. I stand in solidarity with IATSE because I know they would do the same for us. And I will continue to stand with them even if the strike does happen.

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Having Election Night Alone (or Seeing If My Hard Work Paid Off)

Posted on September 7, 2021 | Comments Off on Having Election Night Alone (or Seeing If My Hard Work Paid Off)

There is so much I stress about during union election season, but sometimes the most stressful thing is waiting while ballots are being counted to see the results. I usually end up having a very late night to see the end of the ballot counting and sometimes I’m so exhausted that things don’t click with me until the next morning. And this year, I knew watching the ballots being counted would be a different thing than normal since it was being done over Zoom.

There were pros and cons to the counting being done online. I didn’t like that I was at home alone watching everything and I didn’t have my friends there to reassure me or to joke with while we wait for everything to be done. But the biggest advantage was that I got to watch while I was working because I could keep the Zoom screen small on my screen while I’m working. I actually was able to watch from almost the start when the ballots were picked up from the post office and brought over to the union. I know it doesn’t sound exciting, but it was cool to see since it’s something I’ve never been an observer for in the past.

I wasn’t able to watch all of the counting process because I was working from 9-5. When I could check the screen, I did. And when people were asking questions on Zoom about the process, I listened. But for those 8 hours, I mainly worked with the occasional check-in on the process. I was also texting and messaging with friends who were watching the entire time.

For all the times in the past that I was an observer for the ballot counting, I was only in the local count room. I was automatically allowed in there because I was on the local ballot (which includes National Board, Local Board, and Delegates). The national count room was for the national president and secretary-treasurer, and to be allowed in that room you had to either be a candidate or listed as a proxy for a candidate. This year, I knew I’d be watching in the local room since that’s the standard for me. But I was selected to be a proxy for one of our candidates in the national room so I was able to be in both (not at the same time, but I switched back and forth).

When I was able to watch, I did try to pay attention to how the ballots were looking to me. The local ballots were harder since there are so many candidates, so I could never tell if someone was voting for me. But on the national ballots, it was easy to see what was happening. And things were looking very close to me. I started to think it might be a split ballot with one slate getting president and the other getting secretary-treasurer. I wasn’t sure if we’d have a very late night or not, but we ended up getting the national results pretty early compared to past years. And I was right, we had a split ballot with Fran Drescher and Joely Fisher winning.

After we knew the results for the national count, we had to wait until the union announced it before we shared the news, but that was easier to do since I wasn’t seeing anyone in person. I switched back to the local count room to see how things were going and to watch the end of those results. When I was back watching the local count, the election committee was working on the questionable ballots and trying to figure out the voter’s intent. Some of these were clear and some were really odd. It’s frustrating when you think that they are voting for the people you are supporting and the election committee can’t agree on what the intent was. I did see the committee debate a few times about votes that they had to decide if the intent was to vote for me or someone else. That was a bit weird.

And in the end, sadly my slate didn’t do as well as we hoped. We didn’t win the local officers and we didn’t get as many board seats as we would have liked. I didn’t get elected to Local Board, which was tough. I knew that it was not going to be easy for me to be elected to the board, but I really had hoped that somehow I would win a seat. But I did win my delegate seat again, so that was good news.

It’s always tough when you don’t do as well in an election as you hoped. And this time, it hit me harder than ever before. Maybe it’s because I did more work for the campaign than in past years. Maybe feelings from the pandemic added to my emotions. Maybe I was affected by watching the count alone at home more than I thought. It doesn’t really matter why, but I honestly was heartbroken when seeing the results. I know that we can’t win everything and having balance is important, but the other side has a significant majority now and it will be harder for us to make an impact in the way we had hoped.

I think I’m still dealing with feeling sad about the results. I know that now it’s time to get back to work and we have to start preparing for the National Convention, but I also need to sit with my feelings and process what happened. The one thing that does help me feel better is that I don’t have any regrets about what I did during this election season. There is nothing I didn’t do that I wanted to do. There is nothing I did that I questioned. I did everything I wanted to do and knowing that I did that made me happy.

And in 2 years when it’s the next election season, I know I’ll be fully in it again and ready to go. And hopefully we will do better then, but now we are just focused on our union service and working hard for all members.

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Now It Feels Like Election Season (or Creating So Many Things)

Posted on August 5, 2021 | Comments Off on Now It Feels Like Election Season (or Creating So Many Things)

For me, election season for my union starts a lot sooner than it really begins. Not only do I do social media work year-round, there are different phases to election season. There is time before the candidates are announced where we see who is interested in running and making sure that we have things in order. Between the time of candidates being finalized and ballots going out, there is a lot of preparation and announcing some candidates and what our platform is. And when ballots are mailed, everything ramps up and there is a lot more going on with making sure people know who is running and sharing who else is running with Unite For Strength.

And since ballots have been mailed and people should be getting them any day, we are fully into election season which means I’m doing a lot of work. And while I will admit that it can be overwhelming and I’m not sleeping enough, it’s also so rewarding. I have learned a lot of new skills in order to make our social media look the way it does. I am not a graphic designer (another volunteer does a lot of that), but I know how to do some basics and then send it to someone else to edit and correct. And I do get to be creative with what we make and how we present different information.

There have been 2 big projects I’ve been doing for our social media recently. First, we wanted to make images for our candidates to have that show their support for Unite For Strength. We did have a template to make these (which made my life a lot easier), but they did all have to be created one by one. But I’m so proud of how they look and I’m so happy to have this on my personal social media accounts.

And I loved seeing how others loved these too! Seeing so many of them come across my social media feed made me happy and I know people appreciated my work.

And then over the past few days, I worked on our social media voter guides. We do have flyers that announce everyone running with us, but I wanted to create something for social media too. It was easiest to make it on Instagram because of how the restrictions are on other services. But I love how it turned out with the different photo groups for different types of candidates.

I know there is a lot of work I can do on my personal Instagram to make it look beautiful, but I have been able to do so much with the Unite For Strength Instagram account that I really could use for my own. I probably wouldn’t use the same types of grids that I use since I personally would post more photos, but I would like to take a moment when things calm down to see what I can do to make my account look more professional and polished.

And now, it’s all about making sure all members who can vote do so. Just like with national politics, not everyone votes and getting the voter turnout up is something I personally am passionate about. I work on reaching out to all of my friends who I know are members and making sure they vote. And while I do hope they will vote for me and the rest of Unite For Strength, I understand that not everyone feels as passionately about the same issues as I do so they might not vote the same way I would. But getting people involved and voting is so important.

If you are a member of SAG-AFTRA, please vote. I know I ask this every time there is an election, but I will keep saying it every time. I know there are so many people who don’t vote because they forget or they don’t think it matters. But it really does matter. And if you have questions about why I’m running or why I’m a part of Unite For Strength, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to talk to anyone even if you don’t agree with me or decide you don’t want to vote for me.

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Kicking Off Election Season (or Time To Be Busy With Campaigning)

Posted on July 14, 2021 | Comments Off on Kicking Off Election Season (or Time To Be Busy With Campaigning)

I’ve gone through SAG-AFTRA election season 3 times in the past. And my involvement during election season has changed and increased over each election. It’s a stressful time for so many of us, but it’s also very worth it. I am passionate about the direction my union is going and making sure that we have the best union possible for all members. And while I hope that I will be elected to the position or positions I’m running for, I also know the importance of getting others who have similar mindsets elected too. And that’s why I’m so happy to be with the Unite For Strength slate.

Things are only getting started with this election season. We have not announced our full slate just yet, but we will be doing so soon. And that’s when I’ll share more about what I’m running for. But we have announced our candidates for National President and National Secretary-Treasurer. And I’m so excited about those candidates as well as the ones we haven’t announced just yet. I love when I discover other members who have a similar passion for union service as I do and I also love to see people move into more and more leadership positions. I know that one day, my group of members will be the leaders of the union and it’s amazing to see that growth happen in front of my eyes. I don’t know how far in union leadership I personally want to go into, but I don’t think there will be a time that I’m a member of SAG-AFTRA and not wanting to be a part of union service in one way or another. Before my first election, I never imagined doing this. Now, I can’t imagine my life without it.

I am doing the social media work for my slate again, just like I have before. I can’t share a ton of information just yet, but I can’t wait until we announce more and I start posting more. Of course, this can be a bit stressful too, but it’s worth it just like election season is. And even though I know there can be a lot of negativity on social media, especially when it comes to politics and elections, I usually see more positive things online than negative which helps a lot.

Normally during election season, both my slate as well as the other slate campaign in similar ways and they are typically done in person. We pass out information as people are walking into different in-person union events. This year, things will be different. Most of the events that we would be campaigning at are not happening. The main one that I used to campaign at, the Film Society screenings, have not returned yet and I don’t think anyone knows when the next Film Society season would be. I know that everyone is trying to find new ways to campaign and I’m sure I will be doing a lot of it just as I do with campaigning before. And this isn’t the first time we’ve had to do some sort of campaigning without in-person events. We did this for the last contract. And while I will miss these opportunities to campaign in person and meet new people, I know that future election seasons will have that chance when things are safer for us all.

I know the next few months, my life will be a bit crazy and busy with election season, but I’m also very excited about that. I will still try to find ways to be social outside of union stuff because I want to get more of my life back. But having election season here is another thing that feels like the old normal to me, so I’m embracing that feeling. And hopefully I will have some exciting news once all the votes are counted!

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First Union Meeting In A While (or Feeling Informed Again)

Posted on April 14, 2021 | Comments Off on First Union Meeting In A While (or Feeling Informed Again)

Before the pandemic, I had a few different union events and meetings I would go to. I went to the local board meetings to be an observer which was about once a month. I tried to go to social events like the holiday party. I went to unofficial union meetings through Union Working. And I was on my first committee with SAG-AFTRA, the organizing committee. I never could attend the organizing committee meetings in person because they were during my work time, but they always had a way for me to attend virtually. It was a little odd to be one of the few people listening in when a majority of the committee was together in person. But I made sure I was as prepared as I could to listen so I didn’t miss anything I needed to know about.

When everything shut down, the union had to focus on what was most needed by members. Those things included departments like safety (since people were working) and residuals (so people could be paid). A lot of the staff had to be furloughed so there weren’t as many staff members as before who could help out with different committee meetings. So the organizing committee wasn’t able to meet. While that was unfortunate, I understood why other parts of the union needed more focus.

But things are starting to slowly reopen here, so that means that things are also starting to pick up again. There are still a lot of things that aren’t back to normal yet, but it’s starting to get there as more and more people are vaccinated. And because they are opening up again, we finally had our first organizing committee meeting since the pandemic.

This time, nobody was at the union for the meeting. Everyone was on Zoom together and I think I preferred that. It was nice to be able to see everyone’s face and to have it easy to know who is talking. And when we had someone presenting information, they were able to do a screen share so we could all see the slides instead of me listening and taking notes (and getting copies of the slides after the meeting). And it was a little easier to hear everyone since everyone was in the same system versus having one microphone in a larger room where some people might be closer or further from it.

But what I liked most about it was that it happened. I have missed feeling like I’m involved in the union. It has become a big part of my life and I don’t know if I really understood that until I didn’t have it. And while I have tried my best to stay informed about what’s going on, I know I haven’t been doing a great job at that. When I’m attending meetings, I’m much more aware of union news than I am when I’m just looking it up on my own. And like with so many things I haven’t been able to do over the past year, I think I didn’t realize how much I missed and needed this until I got to do it again. I didn’t forget about being involved, but there was so much that I was missing that I couldn’t pinpoint anything specific. But after this recent meeting, I realized how much this meant to me and how much I crave it.

There’s no timeline yet for things being back to how they were. I know that there was an announcement that things should be 100% open again in CA by mid-June, but that’s not a guarantee. We’ve all learned over the past year how quickly things can change. But I’m hoping that if things are really able to open by mid-June, that means that we will also be closer to being back to the regular schedule for union meetings. Even if they have to be virtual for a bit longer, I’d love to have these as a part of my routine again.

And while I am waiting for the next meeting, no matter which group or committee it will be for, I want to work on catching up on news and information that I might have missed. I want to find ways to learn and stay on top of the news without the meetings. It won’t be easy, but I know now how important that will be. Maybe this means that by the next meeting I will have things to share. I usually am more of a listener, but I can empower myself to be a more involved and active member.

I’m going to think of this first meeting as the start of things picking up again for me and my work with union service. I hope that is true and I will have more union events to share on here coming up. I love being able to share what I learn and know when I can. And hopefully, I will be able to do that more often between meetings and my own efforts in learning.

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More Virtual Union Meetings (or Hopefully We Will Be Back To In-Person Meetings Soon)

Posted on March 18, 2021 | Comments Off on More Virtual Union Meetings (or Hopefully We Will Be Back To In-Person Meetings Soon)

Over the past year, I’ve done a lot of virtual meetings regarding SAG-AFTRA. Some of them are more official and some of them are unofficial but still related to union service. I’m not sure if I’ve been a part of more meetings than normal since virtual ones are easier to attend, but I know that it hasn’t been as big of a decrease as I feared at first. There are different virtual meetings and events to attend each week and I only have been a part of a small portion of those. But whenever there is a bigger official meeting, I do my best to be a part of it.

There haven’t been a lot of big meetings lately, but there have been a few. There was one last year regarding the health plan that I made sure to be a part of. Even though I’m not eligible for union healthcare, I wanted to understand what was going on so I could try to help other members who had questions. I also like to understand what is going on because then when I’m eligible in the future I will already have some knowledge about the system. I did that before I joined the union. I attended several meetings that were open to non-union members so I didn’t join without understanding a lot of the union benefits and the important people I should know about.

I do miss attending the Local Board meetings. I was doing really great with attending those each month. And while they are doing those meetings over Zoom these days, they are not open to observers like the in-person meetings are. But as soon as those are able to have observers again, I plan on being back there and being as active and involved in the union as I can.

But last week, there was another big official meeting. The LA Local Membership meeting is an open meeting to all members of the LA Local. Normally, it’s held in a big room and there is an expo before the meeting so members can learn about different committees and services that the LA Local has. And during the meeting, there is a lot of information given, like how things have been going for the union and the progress of things coming up. And for the second half of the meeting, it’s a Q&A where you can ask the local leaders questions about anything union-related. Some people have questions about contracts, some ask about the health and pension plans, and some are more general questions.

Something I love about the LA Local Membership meeting is getting to see so many of my friends. I usually am socializing before and after the meeting. Sometimes a little socializing during the meeting too. But I usually am trying to pay attention and see what new things are happening that I need to be aware of. It’s a long meeting and full of information, but it’s always something I am glad I attended.

This year, obviously they couldn’t have the meeting the way they usually do. So it was done on Zoom with only the leaders being seen. There were presentations about a few things, but not as many as they have done during the in-person meetings. I don’t know if they were trying to keep more time open for the Q&A or if there wasn’t as much to present. But I’m glad they did keep the Q&A time because I know I had a lot of friends that had questions. I had some questions I wanted to ask too, but I couldn’t stay on Zoom the entire time and I didn’t want my turn to come up when I wasn’t on there. So I just listened to what other members asked.

And most of the questions were things that I expected to hear about. Some of the same questions that we are used to hearing at these meetings and some that are specific to this time. Being safe on sets and at auditions is a big concern for everyone, but the union has been doing a great job and creating guidelines for how to accomplish that.

While I didn’t get to meet anyone new in person like I normally do, I did connect to someone through social media after they asked a question that I was able to help with. I’m glad I was still able to help a member, but it was weird having to find them on social media and hope they were ok with a random person messaging them. Fortunately, they were ok with me doing that and I was able to get them connected to others who I thought they should know.

While this was still a really great and productive meeting, I was a bit sad that it was done virtually. So much of what I love about union service is meeting new people in person and connecting with them. You can’t really do that over Zoom. And I think most of us are ready to be done with virtual meetings and seeing people face to face again. But we can’t do that just yet. Things are getting safer, but they aren’t safe just yet. And I don’t know what it will take for meetings to be in person again, but I do trust that whatever the union decides to do, there will be a lot of thought behind it. So I am ok with them not rushing back, but at the same time, I can’t wait for it to happen.

Hopefully, this was one of my last big union events that will be done virtually. I know there is some chance of things coming up that will be virtual, like the National Convention, but that’s also half a year away. Nothing has been decided yet and so much can change between now and then. All I can do is continue attending the things that I can and try to find ways to still be involved and make connections. And I’m sure it won’t be long before I am back to attending things in person and maybe I’ll even start missing the time that I attended things virtually.

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A Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much)

Posted on December 22, 2020 | Comments Off on A Virtual Holiday Party (or Missing My Union So Much)

I’ve been getting more and more involved with my union. A lot of my involvement has been related to union service, such as being a delegate and attending board meetings. And being involved with union service is important since the members are leaders of the union. Even though we have staff, so much of what the union can do is because of the membership. So being involved in union service is something I try to do a lot of and try to encourage others to do so as well.

But I also have been trying over the years to do more fun things with the union too. And there are normally a lot of fun opportunities, such as going to screenings and attending classes and Q&A interviews. And a few times a year, there are big social events for the union. The biggest one in my opinion is the annual holiday party!

I’ve attended the holiday party for the past several years. I haven’t always been able to attend, but I always try my best. And it’s just a good fun time. It’s all about being social with other members. There is food, lots of photo opportunities, and lots of time to just talk to each other. Since there is no real agenda for the holiday party, it’s a great time to catch up with union members I haven’t seen for a while and to meet new members. Since most of the members I know are also involved in union service and a lot of members aren’t involved, it’s always been a time that I get to meet a lot of new people.

It can be a little overwhelming being in a big crowd when you don’t know everyone, but I’ve never regretted going. Sometimes I don’t stay too long, but I always go when I can and I always leave feeling so happy.

So with everything going on this year, missing the holiday party was just another thing that couldn’t happen. But that didn’t mean that it was completely gone. Normally, the holiday party is for the Los Angeles Local, so it’s only members from LA that are a part of it. But this year, with everyone getting used to having virtual hangouts, they made the holiday party a virtual one! And it was with union leaders from all over the country!

There were different videos that were included in the virtual party that highlighted different Locals within the union. And it was very positive and upbeat about how we have made it this far during the pandemic and soon things will be going back to how we are used to having them. Film and TV have started up again but at a very reduced capacity. I think everyone is ready for the entertainment industry to be back up and running and all of the leaders were very encouraging about that happening soon. We can’t control when the pandemic will end, but we can be prepared for when it happens so we can get back to work.

There was also some entertainment at the virtual party. Since our union covers singers too, we have amazing singers in the leadership. And there was even a short video with a cooking demonstration. It was really cute and I loved what they were able to put together.

I did miss out on seeing my friends and meeting new people, but that’s how I’ve been feeling about this entire year. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before we can all be together again. And I know I will appreciate it even more. And I hope that next year, they can do both the in-person and virtual holiday party. I love the in-person one because I get to meet so many members that live in LA. But I loved the virtual one and how it included members all over the country! That feeling of unity was wonderful and I want to continue feeling that.

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens next year with the party (or parties). But I’ve got my fingers crossed that we will have 2 parties in a year!

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An At-Home Labor Day (or The Unofficial End To A Weird Summer)

Posted on September 8, 2020 | Comments Off on An At-Home Labor Day (or The Unofficial End To A Weird Summer)

I think most people will agree that Labor Day is the unofficial end to summer. Some schools don’t start until after Labor Day, but I think most start before now. But even with school starting before Labor Day, the long weekend still seems to designate the end of summer for so many people. I think the 3 summer holidays are the markers for summer. Memorial Day is the start, the 4th of July is the middle, and Labor Day is the end.

Even though LA is experiencing the worst heat wave that I can remember, it does feel like we are out of summer and heading into fall. But at the same time, I don’t feel like we had a summer at all. I know there were people who went out and did more things than I did, but so many things that are summer traditions in LA didn’t happen this year. There were no shows at the Hollywood Bowl. Beaches were closed for a lot of the summer, and when they reopened things weren’t really the same. Most restaurants were closed for the summer. And even though it’s safe to do things outside, most outside things that would have a crowd didn’t open. In a way, it doesn’t feel like this summer existed.

I’ve been feeling this way for a while. We are almost 6 months into being told to stay at home and it doesn’t feel like time has moved. I feel like my life has been frozen in time since March. I do feel like others have moved on and I’m the only one stuck, but I know that’s just what I’m seeing on social media. Most of us staying home aren’t posting about it. The few who are not staying home are the ones posting. So the posts I see are from the small portion of the people that I follow who aren’t staying inside.

I know that having a summer spent inside my house was for the best. I have been very lucky with not getting sick or even worried that I could get sick. I didn’t have any moments where I got the call that I was around someone who tested positive. I know a lot of people who weren’t as lucky as me. I have so many friends who tested positive, even if they thought they were doing all the right things such as wearing a mask and only leaving their homes for essential errands. I know people who have died. I know more people who know someone who died. I’m glad I took this seriously even if I feel like I lost my summer.

Labor Day was spent pretty much like any other day the past 6 months. I stayed home. I tried to keep myself busy. I found things to do so the day didn’t drag on too much. And because Labor Day is all about unions and workers’ rights, I took some time to be grateful for my union and all the benefits we have in this country because of what unions have gained for everyone (like 40 hour work weeks and weekends off). 3 day weekends don’t mean much to me normally since I have Mondays off work. It means even less to me now that I’m really not working at all. But I am still going to appreciate what the day means and that’s what I did. And I tried to not be too upset that now it feels like the summer ended and that I didn’t get to experience it at all.

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