This week was another meeting of the Union Working group. Ever since I joined the group, we have been focused on the next contract negotiation for the commercial contract of SAG-AFTRA. Contract negotiations only happen every few years so they are extremely important. We want to make sure that we ask for the things we need and don’t waste time or hold out for things that aren’t as important. And it’s tough to know sometimes what matters and what doesn’t, which is why it is so important for as many actors to participate as possible.
To prepare for our negotiations, we have meetings called W&Ws (or Wages and Working Conditions). Those meetings are when any member of SAG-AFTRA in good standing can come and present something that they would like to see in the next contract. As long as it is something that is allowed, it is considered. Not everything will get into the contracts or be presented at negations, but if you don’t share it during the W&Ws and you are the only person with that concern you know that it will be extremely unlikely that it will be in the next contract.
The past few Union Working meetings have been about preparing for the W&Ws. They can sound very intimidating and members who haven’t been involved in the union might be scared to attend. And Union Working has been working on educating other members on these meetings, what they can expect, and what they need to have prepared if they are going to present an idea. I think that more actors are understanding they power they have as union members and I hope that many people will take advantage of this and go to at least 1 of the W&Ws.
This meeting was another one to prepare for contract negotiations and the meetings that lead up to it. Since we were sharing basic information on what the meetings are like (and not ideas of what we want in the next contract), I was able to live stream a lot of the meeting for our Facebook group.
It’s a pretty easy job for me to run the live stream, but I know that it is appreciated by the core members of Union Working that I do it. And at this meeting, we had several presentations and I was able to ask a question that was asked on the live stream from a member who was watching in Portland. That was actually very exciting because it proved that the live stream is important and the message of Union Working is being shared in our locals and not just in Los Angeles.
And having more actors from the other locals was another big thing that was discussed at the meeting. Union Working is mainly in Los Angeles right now and we don’t want that to be the case. We want members of SAG-AFTRA all over the country to be involved even if they can’t be at the meetings. They can watch most of our meetings on the live stream and I can always work on finding out better ways to keep things interactive with those watching while at the meeting. I would love it if I had to keep track of questions from members all over the country while at the meeting so I could ask them on behalf of those members. I want to make sure everyone can be involved if they want to no matter where they live.
And since we are trying to spread to other locations, we are asking SAG-AFTRA members all over to please follow us on social media. If you are an actor (even if you aren’t in the union yet), please follow our social media to stay informed about things happening with Union Working. A lot of great information is shared and we just want people to know what is going on.
Another big thing that was discussed at the meeting was the idea of influencers and how so many of those projects could be union so those influencers would have the same rights and protections as all actors. Many of those influencers create their own content while partnering with a brand (basically making their own commercials). There have been some steps made toward helping influencers understand what being in the union would do for them, but there is a lot of work to still do there. And the issue of influencers is one that is important to me.
While I don’t have millions of followers on social media, I do get companies approaching me to do sponsored content. I rarely do sponsored things on here or social media, but sometimes I will. But when those companies ask me to do a video as well as a post, I can’t do them unless they are going to make those union. I cannot and will not do a commercial for a brand that is not a union project. That is against Global Rule One and I do not want to work against my union. And I know that the more that influencers know what’s going on and what their options are, the more likely that brands that approach me will understand I will only do video for them if they do it through the union.
While I have been a union member for a few different contract negotiations, this is the most prepared I feel for one. I am trying to work my schedule out so I can attend at least one of the W&W meetings. I don’t have anything to contribute, but I do want to watch it happen and learn what other members are concerned about. And something someone says may spark something in my mind that I will want to bring up. But the most important thing to me is that I show up and make an effort to participate. And I hope that many other members will do the same this year and we have a high attendance rate at these meetings coming up.
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Listening About The Union (or Showing Up No Matter What)
Union Working Support (or Celebrities And Middle Class Actors Unite)
Back To Union Working (Elections, Contracts, and More)
First Union Working Meeting Of 2018 (or Union Strong For All)
Another Union Working Meeting (or Rolling With The Technical Difficulties)
Final Union Working Meeting For 2017 (or A Commercial Roundtable)
