I think union meetings will continue to be virtual meetings for a while, but I’m glad that they are starting to pick up a bit more recently. I know there are still a lot of union meetings that won’t be done virtually where everyone can attend the way that they could attend in person, but I also know that the union is trying hard to make it possible for as many people as possible to participate in different events.
A big union meeting I used to attend in person was the LA Local Membership meeting. I loved this meeting because it was almost like going to the National Convention. You would see so many members that you usually didn’t get to see. And it always felt like a bit of a reunion or party because everyone was excited to see each other. I also loved the expo that they had at the meeting because I always seemed to learn about a new program or part of the union that I didn’t know before.
As much as I wished they could have made this meeting an in-person event, I understand why they can’t. Especially right now with the cases on the rise again, it’s just not smart to have a big event. And there are advantages to having a virtual event compared to something in-person. I like being able to be a bit more comfortable while listening to a long event. I could walk around, get a snack, and do other things than just sitting while being a part of the meeting. Also, during the Q&A section, it was much easier to raise a hand through Zoom than to stand in line for a microphone.
I don’t know how much I’m allowed to share about what was discussed in the meeting, but I know I can talk about some general terms. It was run and hosted by the LA Local leadership and the main person who was running the meeting was the LA Local President. Different officers and staff members took turns sharing their updates about what has been going on with different aspects of the union or the industry. For example, there was discussion about different committees that are having events coming up or how certain things are returning to in-person events. I’m hoping that the local board meetings return to either in-person again or they have the ability to be an observer in a virtual meeting because I miss the opportunity to do that. But there are other things coming up that I might try to sign up for since I feel like I haven’t had a chance to do much over the past few years.
During the Q&A, I was lucky to be one of the earlier members who could ask a question since the virtual line for it got pretty long. My question was about something that was brought up during the meeting and I wanted some clarification about it (I know I am being vague, but that’s how it has to be until things are officially announced). But a lot of other members brought up questions regarding keeping sets safe. That’s been a huge concern since the beginning of the pandemic. For a lot of people on set, they can keep a mask on while working or try to be spread out a bit more. But for actors, unless the show has a storyline where the characters are wearing masks, we have to be without a mask on set. There were different sides to the argument about how we’ve been doing with keeping actors safe brought up in the Q&A. I know some people feel like we need to do more and some people feel like we have been doing too much. But also, a lot of the guidelines that have been created aren’t just with our union but with other unions that are on set as well. We can’t make major changes on our own, but I know that the agreement with the various unions is going to be discussed and figured out again soon, so we should have some updates on what the plan is.
The meeting was only supposed to be about 3 hours long, but it went a bit longer than 4 hours to allow for all the members who wanted to ask a question to do so. I know that having a meeting run long can be frustrating, but I was just glad that everyone had their chance since that’s not something that always gets to happen with in-person events when we might have to be out of a room by a certain time. And I’m glad I stayed through the entire meeting so I could hear what my fellow members wanted to bring up. I know that it will be election season again soon before we know it and this will help me to know what concerns are the priority for members.
Because things aren’t fully back yet, I’m not sure what my next union meeting will be. It might be another communications committee meeting or maybe there will be a way for me to be an observer at a local board meeting. But I just know that I’m really trying my best to stay involved when I can and I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of the LA Local Membership meeting again.
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