Tag Archives: election

Late Night Election Results (or All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go)

Posted on August 30, 2019 | Comments Off on Late Night Election Results (or All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go)

Wednesday was the day that the union elections were officially done. The ballots were collected from the post office at 6:30 am and brought to the union headquarters where they were opened and counted by the secure election service that is used (ballots are not counted by union members). I was not a part of the group that was there starting at 6:30 am, but I wanted to be a part of the counting like I had for the other 2 elections.

Both elections I had been a part of previously had very different timelines. The first election took until about midnight for us to get answers on who won and the second election was done before I got to the union! I know that there is no way to know what to expect, but I assumed it would be something in between what the timeline was for the past few times.

Because I have taken a bit more of a leadership role within my slate this election, I volunteered to be in the room for the last shift to watch the count. That meant being there starting at 4 pm until it was done. We were hoping it would be done around 6 or 7, and there was a party for the slate that started at 7 that I was going to go immediately to after. So when I was done with work on Wednesday, I went straight to the union, dressed for the party, ready to watch the ballot count. I knew I’d be there for a while, but I was excited to get the results and get to the party even if I was going to be a bit late.

When I got there, things were moving along and we were hoping that maybe the official information would be announced by 8. We knew it would be later than we were hoping for, but we still wanted to be done in time to go to the party. There were people from the other slate in the room as well and they had a party to get to too. Even though the election wasn’t the most positive thing, the people in the room were positive and we were all getting along and just waiting on things to be counted.

Once all the ballots that could be counted by the machines were done, then it was time to work on the hand count ballots. That’s when things were a bit more interesting for me as an observer. Even though the candidates were not allowed to make decisions on the ballots, we could watch the election committee decide what marks on ballots might have been mistakes or if someone overvoted and then that section of the ballot was disqualified. The hand count took a while, but this was important work. Fortunately, most of the hand count ballots were easy to understand the intent of the voter. The voter might have exed out a mistake and the computer just can’t recognize that. But since people can see that means they didn’t want to vote for that person, it was an easy fix.

While this hand count was going on, the party for my slate was happening and people were texting me to get updates. We were not allowed to use our phones in the room, so I had to step out every so often to check my phone and text people back. Time flew by and went slowly at the same time and before I knew it, it was already 11 pm which was the time the party was supposed to end and we still didn’t have the results.

I knew at this point that no matter how late the party went, I wasn’t going to go. I was a little upset about that because I was really looking forward to celebrating with everyone. I had worked so hard during this election and I wanted a fun night with the other candidates. We tried to have as much fun as we could in the room watching the ballot count, but I really felt like I was missing out on something that I had looked forward to for this entire election. It didn’t help that the last 90 minutes seemed to take forever and there were a few random delays that we weren’t sure why they were happening.

But in the end, we did finally get the election results around 1:30 in the morning. First, I did get re-elected as a convention delegate. I was so worried I wouldn’t get it, but I am glad I did and I will be representing LA actors at the convention in October. I did not get elected to the local board, but I knew that was a long shot and I wasn’t expecting to be elected. Of course, I would have loved to have gotten a spot on the local board, but it just wasn’t my turn this year. I was very excited to see that I did do much better in the local board election that I expected and I was much higher ranked on the list than I ever thought I would be.

Overall, our slate did not do as well as we hoped. I’m trying to not take this as hard as I have been, but it does feel like I am a bit at fault for this. I know that everyone is responsible for campaigning, but I did run our social media and I keep wondering if there was more that I could have done. But I also don’t have any regrets with what we did so that does make me feel a bit better.

But to end on a positive note, the 2 biggest officer positions that were a part of this election were president and secretary-treasurer. For the past 2 elections, my slate won president and the other slate won secretary-treasurer. And this year, it was so exciting to be in the room when we got the news even before the candidates heard.

Both Gabrielle Carteris and Camryn Manheim from my slate won! I’m so excited to have them as the leaders of our union. I have gotten to know them through this campaign and I know that they will be incredible leaders. Every time I have heard them speak or have been able to work with them, I have been inspired and I know they will do the same for the membership. I am so glad the members were able to see that they make an amazing team and elected them together.

While this is the end of election season, now we have to start getting ready for the convention. And I will still have my work with my slate doing the social media. But at least it will be a little less intense than it has been recently. This election has been crazy, rewarding, intense, stressful, and so many other emotions; but it also has been something that I don’t regret at all. If anything, it has pushed me to do this again and to work harder the next time.

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Union Working Town Hall (or Getting Close To The End Of Election Season)

Posted on August 21, 2019 | Comments Off on Union Working Town Hall (or Getting Close To The End Of Election Season)

Last week was the first Union Working President Town Hall. It was a really great event and I was so glad I got to attend. I knew this was something that they wanted to do for the last election, but it wasn’t able to be done for a few different reasons. But they were able to coordinate it for this election and I was excited to see how it all turned out.

At the last Union Working meeting, all meeting attendees were able to brainstorm to help come up with questions that we wanted all candidates to answer. There would be 5 questions that all 5 candidates would answer (the 3 candidates who were at the town hall and the other 2 would be submitting their answers and they would be posted online). There were lots of different categories that people wanted the candidates to discuss, and I had no idea how it would be narrowed down. Even though I am involved quite a bit with Union Working, I wasn’t involved at all with selecting the questions or with planning the town hall. The only thing I did was help them with the soundcheck the day of because they needed a third person to help test out a microphone. So I was not sure what I would be hearing when I arrived that day.

I am not going to pretend that I don’t have a bias. Obviously, I do and I think that Gabrielle Carteris did an amazing job. She was prepared, had a lot of information in her answers about things that we have done and what we want to do, and she was able to communicate her ideas clearly and eloquently. I was so proud that she is currently my union president and I really hope that she wins reelection because I want her to represent the union for another 2 years.

After each candidate answered the 5 questions that all candidates had (and they had these questions ahead of time so they were able to prepare their answers and have their answers written down and have notes), then it was time for questions from the audience. These questions were submitted ahead of time so they were vetted, but they were not things the candidates were able to prepare for. Again, I thought Gabrielle did a great job. There were some questions that she couldn’t answer because they aren’t things she is directly involved in (like being a trustee to our pension), but she was open to saying she didn’t have the answer. Being able to say that is something I admire.

One of the other candidates, Jane Austin, did a good job as well. While I am not supporting her for president, I thought she had good answers to the 5 questions that all candidates were asked. She brought up some of her personal experiences to explain why she thinks certain things need to change within the union. I don’t feel like she was ever attacking anyone, which I can respect. She also brought up some new ideas that I hadn’t heard anyone else discuss before. I really enjoyed hearing what she had to say and thought she did a great job.

I don’t want to say much about the third candidate because I don’t have much nice to say about them. I will say a few things. They made a few jokes that I am aware of were jokes, but they were not the most tasteful things to say. They were a bit sexist and not something I would want someone who wants to represent me to say. They also joked about showing up to the town hall unprepared. Again, even if it’s a joke I don’t want someone who is going to lead a negotiation for a contract to meet with studios and producers to joke about being unprepared. They didn’t have a lot of concrete examples of things they wanted to do to change things within the union and they did attack specific people. It, unfortunately, ended the evening on a negative note.

This town hall was not live-streamed so I didn’t have to worry about working while at it. That decision had been made by Union Working ahead of time because they knew that some confidential things may be discussed. I was grateful that I didn’t have to focus on that because I was dealing with some horrible nausea while at the meeting. And I was also trying to take notes on my phone when I wasn’t feeling as sick. While there wasn’t a live-stream or any sort of recording allowed, all the candidates put their answers to the 5 main questions on the Union Working website so all members around the country could see them.

I know that some people reading this may have seen the news about things that happened at the meeting or about how someone made a recording even though they had signed an agreement that they understood that no recordings were allowed. I’m extremely disappointed someone decided to go against the policies that Union Working set for the town hall. This event was something they were generous enough to create for all members. We all should respect their rules and policies that they set and I hate that someone felt that they should disrespect them for whatever reason. I hope that whoever made that recording is found out because they should not be allowed at other events that are not open to the public. If they want to break the rules, then they shouldn’t be at meetings that have those rules.

But I want to end this post on a more positive note. The town hall was a big success in my opinion. The members who were there got to hear from 3 candidates back to back and were able to compare their answers to the same questions. Members around the country were able to read those answers. Over 100 members were able to be at this event and be involved in a great evening and get educated on the issues and hopefully be more motivated to vote. And one week from today, we will find out the results of this election.

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It’s Another Quick Post Day (or I’m In Countdown Mode)

Posted on August 8, 2019 | 1 comment

I’ve written about how the election season has been stressful and much more involved than I expected. I love it, but it also takes a lot out of me. My time is stretched thin, I am emotionally drained, I’m tired, and sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy. But all the negatives are worth it because of all the positives I get out of it.

It was only last week that I had to write about how it had to be a quick post due to time constraints. And I’m in that spot again today. I’ve been working hard with everything that I’ve been doing and that has required me to put blogging a bit on the back burner. I haven’t wanted to do that, but I’ve had to because other things take priority. I wanted to work on my blog posts ahead of time so that I wouldn’t have this time crunch, but I just didn’t have that option. When I thought I would have free time, I ended up having more projects that I had to do. And when I did finally have free time, I just had to crash and not do anything.

I have learned how important self-care is and I am glad that I have prioritized myself during what has become a stressful time for me. I know that if I wasn’t doing that, I would be struggling so much more than I am right now. And I have a lot of things that are helping me stay balanced and sane. I have amazing people on my slate that help me with the workload (even though there are several things that I do have to do no matter what). And I prioritize my workouts and make everything else that I do work around those.

I also have had some other things come into my life that should be taking up my time that I have had to ask for more time with. I hate to ask for extra time because I don’t want to feel like a bother or make something question offering the opportunity to me, but I can’t keep adding things to my plate. Fortunately, everyone has been very understanding and I should be able to wait until the election is done before I put my focus onto those things

And speaking of the election being over, we are into the final countdown! We are telling members that they need to mail their ballots by August 24rd to have them into the post office by the deadline. Ballots are counted on the 28th and we don’t want people to mail them in too late to be counted. So we have just over 2 weeks left for people to mail them back before we are done and about 2 1/2 weeks before it is completely done.

I know that it will fly by and take forever. There is so much work to be done and not enough time to do it all. But also it seems overwhelming to get everything completed. And when it is over, I’m sure I will look back at this time as some sort of fever dream and wonder if this was all real. It has been so bizarre and crazy. It has been exactly what I was expected and not at all what I was expecting. Even though this is my 3rd election cycle, this is the most involved I’ve been and I have seen a very different side of union politics. It has made me want to continue to be involved with my union and I want to be elected to the local board even more now than ever.

If you are a member of SAG-AFTRA, please remember to vote. I am #87 and #373 on the ballot and would really appreciate your vote. And I would love votes for my entire slate as well. Thanks in advance for the support!

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More Election Fun For Me (or I’m Running For 2 Things)

Posted on July 12, 2019 | 2 comments

We are in the middle of SAG-AFTRA elections and it’s been a very exciting and stressful time for me. I love getting to be more involved with the elections and I’m still so honored that the members who are in charge of my slate believe in me enough to run the social media. It’s hard to stay on top of some things and we have some crazy deadlines, but it’s still more fun than stress when I balance it all out. And I’m looking forward to things that I have planned for our social media after the election season is done too!

I knew that I’d be running for delegate again this election. If I get elected it will be my 3rd term as a delegate and I hope that I do win my spot again. I have loved going to the National Convention and getting to play a role in shaping our union and representing my fellow actors. I know that it’s not a guarantee that I will be elected so I am working on making sure I don’t slack off with my campaigning efforts. And I don’t just want to be elected alone, I want to make sure that my slate is elected too.

I love being a part of a slate. I know that not everyone loves the idea of slates (which are like political parties), but for me, it’s something I enjoy. I love the support of having a team working with me for the election season and having people I can turn to when I need help or have questions. And I get to watch how others lead and learn as well. It’s been a great educational tool for me and I still look up to so many people in my slate and can’t believe I get to work with them.

When you are a part of a slate, you have enough candidates for the positions that will be filled. I know realistically that we won’t win every spot, but you want to have the same number running so that you have the most potential to win positions and you don’t want to split votes if you have too many people running for something. That’s the same with national politics too. Each party only has 1 candidate because you don’t want your party to be split voting for 2 people. So when you want to run with a slate, you do have to plan out what you can run for.

The last election, I expressed interest in running for a local board position as well as a delegate. But there wasn’t an opening for me. That didn’t upset me or make me feel unmotivated. I understand the politics side of these elections and know why that decision was made. And I was determined to ask again in the future and I did just that this election season. Because I am more involved in the slate this year, I knew early on that it wasn’t clear just yet if there would be a spot for me to run for local board. I was told to just hold on and they would let me know one way or another as soon as they could.

When the deadline for submitting a petition was getting close, I figured all the spots were filled and I would be running as a delegate. Just like last time, I wasn’t upset or sad. I was determined to do the best I could and help my slate get elected and then in 2 years I’d try again.

But then I got a surprise when I got the email that there was a spot for me to run for a local board position! I immediately filled out my petition and got my signatures so I could run because I didn’t want to miss the deadline. Thankfully because of how quickly those on my slate are with signing petitions, I had the required number within an hour or so! After getting my statement and photo submitted, everything was approved and I am 0fficially running for both a delegate and local board seat for SAG-AFTRA with Unite For Strength!

I hope that I win both the seats I am running for. I want to be able to do more than I have been able to do before. I am so motivated to help my fellow members and to be a source of information when others have questions about what is going on. And I know that I can still do this if I’m not elected, but I can do so much more if I am.

And I love the candidates we have running on our slate this time. Gabrielle Carteris has been doing an amazing job as our national president and she has accomplished so much so far. She is running for re-election and I can’t wait to see what she can do with the next term. And for the national secretary/treasurer spot we have Camryn Manheim. She has been an incredible advocate for members before and she wants to continue doing that and to help make our union the strongest it can be. And for the national board, local board, and delegate spots we have such a diverse group of candidates. We represent every category, age group, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and career level. I know one of the things Unite For Strength takes pride in is how diverse we are, and our candidates show just that.

Election season will be over soon, so I won’t be writing about this too much. But I will be sharing things as they happen because I do want to make sure any SAG-AFTRA members reading this can stay informed. And hopefully, when every ballot is counted, there will be lots of reasons for me to celebrate. But I can’t think ahead just yet. For now, I just want to make sure that all members who are eligible to vote do so. If you have questions about the election, my slate, or anything else; please feel free to ask me. I’m here to help however I can and hopefully, I will win my seats so I can do that even more over the next 2 years.

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And Some More Politics (or Appreciating Social Media)

Posted on June 28, 2019 | Comments Off on And Some More Politics (or Appreciating Social Media)

Besides being involved in my union politics, I’m much more active in national politics. I think many of us became more involved after the 2016 election and I am one of them. While I have always voted, I didn’t know a ton about the various issues before. And I wasn’t paying attention to the multiple candidates until it got down to the last few. I did try to be informed, but I realize now how little I knew and what I was missing.

I know I have watched primary debates before, but again I think I know much more now than at any other time. Before they were more like background noise and now I’m really watching and making sure I don’t miss information. I take a lot of pride in making sure I pay attention and am trying to be informed about what each candidate stands for. Although this year, it’s much harder to be on top of things since there are so many people running for president. I know that the field will be reduced soon, but I still want to be educated at this early stage.

There are a bunch of pros and cons with splitting up the first debate and I don’t necessarily need to go into what I think about them. But it is giving me 2 nights to watch what’s happening and continue my political education. And with many other things that most people watch live, I watch live and enjoy participating on social media while watching. I do most of my posting on Twitter for these things because that seems to be the best place to do that. And it seems like a lot of other people do the same which makes these debates and other live events so much more exciting.

For the first debate, I did do as much live tweeting as I thought I would. The debate didn’t have as many moments that I wanted to comment on. I think the time limit did restrict things a bit too much and the candidates were really focused on saying all of their favorite talking points (I’m writing this post before the second debate, so I have no idea if it goes any better). I also ended up getting some phone calls that I had to take while the debate was happening so I had to pause it. I do sometimes still tweet along with live things even if I’m behind, but I was more focused on paying attention than being funny.

But even when I wasn’t tweeting, I was still following along on Twitter and seeing what other people were saying. A lot of the tweets were funny and snarky like they typically are during events like this. There is a lot that can be made fun of when someone says something that could easily be taken another way. But there were also the more serious and fact-checking tweets. I love being able to see almost immediately if a statement someone says is accurate or what may be misleading about it. I think that it has made it much easier for voters to understand if a candidate is saying something real or if they are changing the truth to make themselves look better. It’s one of the real positives of social media that I think benefits the country.

I have lots of ways that I stay informed and involved with politics even when there isn’t a live event happening. I listen to many political podcasts and follow different news sites and political commentators. I am aware that there is a bias with many people writing about things, but I try to keep that in consideration when using that information. There are seriously so many ways to make sure you know what is happening in the country and in the world and I do want to take advantage of that. I also know that there is a risk of burnout so I try to not go overboard. But there is just so much to know about that I can’t help going down rabbit holes from time to time. But at least I know that within those deep dives I’ll find at least a little political snark on social media.

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The Official Start To Election Season (or I Can Finally Share Some Things I’ve Been Working On)

Posted on May 17, 2019 | 2 comments

The SAG-AFTRA election season has finally started for me and my slate! I haven’t been able to put in my petition for delegate yet, but that’s just a technicality. I will be running again and I’m so happy that I will be a part of the Unite for Strength slate again. I love what this slate stands for and the work we have done so far. I really believe in what we are doing and hope that we can continue to do the work we have been doing.

I’ve been able to get a little more involved each election cycle. The first election, I ran as a delegate and while I did do some campaign work I really didn’t do much. The second election I did that plus I helped to run some of the leafletting events. It wasn’t a ton of extra work, but it was more than I had done before and I loved getting to do more and understand the election more than I did before. And for my third election, I’m even more involved!

This time, I’m doing everything that I did before and I’m also helping to run the social media pages for Unite for Strength! It’s been something I’ve been doing for a little while, but now that election season has officially started there is a lot more work to do. I’m really loving helping with social media and making sure that we are sharing important information regarding the election, the campaign, and union matters. I love making our twitter feed a great source of news and information since educating other members is a passion of mine. I’ve also been a part of the design ideas that we’ve been using and I love getting to play with that side of my creativity.

But the look of our campaign is really because of my amazing friend Robert. He is an actor and also a graphic designer and he has worked hard and creating amazing graphics for us to use. We got to share one yesterday when we announced that Gabrielle Carteris will be running for re-election as SAG-AFTRA president.

He has created some amazing art for us to use this election season and I’m excited to get to keep posting them online as we get closer to the election. Plus, getting to work on this campaign with several of my friends makes it more fun. It can be (and I’m sure will be) a very stressful time that can have a lot of negativity. But being surrounded by my friends and working hard on a goal with them hopefully will make it a bit better.

This work has been something I’ve been working on for a few weeks, but primarily over the past week. It’s been taking up a lot of my time, but it’s for something I enjoy so I don’t mind. It’s been a good distraction when I’m not feeling my best because everything I’ve been doing has been encouraging and motivating. I always say how I want to be more involved in the union and this is such a great way for me to do this. I know that not everyone I know agrees with my slate or will be voting for it, but that’s to be expected. I just have to keep working with people that I believe in and know that I’m with a slate that does support the same issues I am passionate about. Being involved is so important and for many people that just means voting and making sure their voice is heard in the union. For me, I’m lucky to get to do even more than that.

I’ve been able to be enthusiastic about the work the slate has been doing as well as what I have had the chance to help with. I just haven’t been able to share it that much since many things have been confidential until this week. And there are still more things that will be shared for the next few months when we can. I’m hoping that my enthusiasm about this will be able to continue through election season and beyond. And I hope that others will get just as excited as I am about all of this.

For anyone who is a member of SAG-AFTRA and has questions about Unite for Strength, please feel free to reach out to me. If I can’t answer something, I can connect you to someone who can. And whether or not you are a union member, if you would like to help the slate we are accepting donations for the campaign. It is not cheap to run a campaign (it costs money to have campaign materials and to get it out to the membership). While everyone who is a part of the slate are all contributing, any extra help is always appreciated. I hope many of you will support me and Unite for Strength during this election season and I can’t wait to tell you more about things as I can share them!

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A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

Posted on November 8, 2018 | Comments Off on A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

I know that on Election Day there were quite a few freebie or discount offers for anyone who voted. Busses and trains in LA were free, ride share companies were offering free or discounted rides to polling places, and there were a couple of fast food or chain restaurants that offered things like free coffee or dessert if you were wearing your voter sticker. I usually don’t do any of the voter freebie offers since they aren’t things I need or want, but this year I did take advantage of one.

One of my headshot photographers, Adam Emperor Southard, posted on social media last month that he was offering free mini shoots for anyone who voted. These would be 10 minute shoots and done quickly and efficiently. This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t look as good as normal headshots do, but it would be done in studio with a single background and with a single look. It’s been a while since I’ve done headshots (right now I don’t have the money for new ones but I look like my current ones enough so it’s ok), so I immediately signed up for a mini shoot!

I was going through my clothes to pick out what I wanted to wear for my shoot. Even though I knew it was just a single look, I was hoping that maybe I could do 2 very similar looks if I made it quick. So I had a black tank top on and brought a sweater and scarf with me. I was hoping that maybe I could do photos in each, but I also knew that I might have to just pick one and that would be ok with me.

For regular headshot shoots, I have someone do my hair and makeup. I timed my hair being done so it was done the day before the shoot. I knew that would make it still look nice and not as frizzy as it can be when I do my hair. And for my makeup, I really just tried my best to do my makeup. I’m getting better about doing it and realizing that I have to almost look overdone when I look in a mirror to actually look good. I think that’s because I don’t wear makeup that often, but it’s still a tough thing to remember that I don’t look like I’m wearing too much to everyone else.

I went to the shoot right after I was done with work on Election Day. Traffic wasn’t as crazy as it could be so I got there much earlier than my appointment time. I figured it would be fine if I had to wait but maybe Adam would be ready to take my photo if there wasn’t someone right before me. He was just finishing a shoot when I arrived so it ended up being perfect timing! And I asked if I could do both looks since it was such a minor change and he said that I could!

I did the look with the sweater first and tried to not think too much about how I look. It was tough because I know that normally the makeup artist is checking to make sure my hair looks good and nothing else is off. I asked to see a preview of a photo and fixed my hair a bit (even though it can be fixed in retouching too) and tried to relax. While I was doing my photos someone else showed up for their shoot, and I let them go after I was done with the photos in my sweater and would do the photos in my scarf after they were done.

When I did my second half of the shoot, I tried to do a variety of faces and looks. But since it was so quick I know that I probably didn’t do as much as I would have loved to. And to finish off the shoot, I decided to do some fun pictures with my voter sticker (which I love that I get since I do a mail in ballot) and those ended up looking very fun when Adam showed me a quick preview of how they looked.

Adam just sent me the photos from the shoot and I will spend some time going over them and seeing which ones I like. With this free shoot he is also including a free retouch, but I can pay for more to be retouched if I want them to. So far, from what I have looked at, they look amazing! My hair isn’t quite what I thought it would look like because there was a weird piece out of place but my makeup is much better than I thought it would be! And of course, since Adam is an amazing photographer the photos are all incredible!

I love that Adam did this shoot as an incentive to get people to vote. I would have voted with or without this shoot, but it was fun to have something awesome as a bonus for voting in this midterm election. And it is a bonus that really is something I needed and will be very helpful with my acting career. This was really just an amazing gift that Adam offered us all and I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it.

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Please Vote (or Seriously, Please Vote)

Posted on November 6, 2018 | Comments Off on Please Vote (or Seriously, Please Vote)

I can’t imagine that there is anyone in this country that doesn’t know we have midterm elections today. I feel like the midterms have been happening since the last election, and that’s kind of the truth. There are many people (myself included) who aren’t happy with some of the things happening in politics right now. And we have been active in seeing what we can do to fix that since the last election.

I’ve written a few different posts about politics and each time I feel like I mention how I try to not write about politics too much on here. And I do try to not write too much about it because I know that not everyone has the same viewpoint or opinions as myself and I don’t want to alienate people. But with how things have been going in our country lately, I can’t help but be political and share my thoughts.

There are so many things right now that I disagree with. I’m upset that there was a tax bill that was approved that mainly benefits people with higher incomes. Because of that tax bill, the deficit went up and some politicians are saying that things like Medicare and social security need to be reduced in order to cover that. Everyone I know, Republican and Democrat, is very upset by this. We pay into Medicare and social security and to call them entitlements and use them to fund a tax bill that most of us don’t benefit from is frustrating.

I do agree that we need to have more control over our borders, but to call the refugees heading north through Mexico an invasion is not right. These caravans have happened several times in the past and a majority of those walking in them do not come to the United States. And those who do make it to our border file for asylum which is a right they have to do.

And I can’t believe that the president has suggested that he should make it so that if you are born in the US you aren’t guaranteed citizenship. I know that some people think that it’s only going to apply to non-citizens who have babies in this country, but removing that right allows anyone to decide that anyone can be denied citizenship because they are born here. Based on the way things have been going and how some politicians call the people on the other side of the political spectrum their enemies, I could see how this could become a situation where anyone who isn’t of the same political party isn’t allowed to make their child a citizen.

Or how LGBTQ rights are being chipped away and maybe some politicians would prefer their children not be citizens. They already are trying to make it legal to allow adoption agencies to automatically deny someone the ability to adopt if they are not in a heterosexual relationship. There are so many kids out there that need homes, but they would prefer that only husband/wife families get those kids and the rest stay in foster care or group homes.

And one of the biggest issues for me is the healthcare debate. For next year my healthcare costs aren’t going to go up too much, but I’m worried about what they will be like in 2020 when fewer healthy people are in the exchanges to help bring the average per patient cost down. I would love to see politicians in office that support the healthcare system instead of trying to destroy it. Right now, there are several politicians trying to sue because of the things that the ACA requires healthcare coverage to include. I can’t see how you support those who need healthcare when you sue to try to make sure insurance companies can skip out on important coverage that most people need.

I know that not everyone agrees with me on all of these things. I have some friends happy that the requirement for healthcare insurance is gone because they don’t like the idea that they must have it if they don’t use it. Those people also haven’t dealt with health issues like I have so if they needed care it was always something minor or if they wanted insurance they could get it without an issue. I know other people who believe that anyone trying to come into this country, legally or illegally, needs to be turned away until we have the FBI investigate them. I also know other people who think that if the Republicans are no longer in power of every branch of government that all of their rights will be taken from them and given to others.

And everyone has the right to think what they want. I don’t believe that thinking hateful things about other groups is right, but you have the right to do that. But if you take actions to ruin the lives of someone you don’t like or agree with, that’s when I have an issue. When people are killed because of their religion, sexual orientation, lifestyle, gender, or any other reason; that is wrong and I will never agree with it. And yes, we do have freedom of speech in this country, but that protects you from the government punishing you for what you say. If you say something on social media (which is a private company) that they don’t like, they have the right to remove it since you do not have a legal right to participate in private companies. It’s a privilege that they have the right to revoke at any time.

And since this is my personal blog, I can say what I want. You don’t have to agree with me and if my blog hosting company feels it’s inappropriate, they have the right to remove it. But I will not be silenced. I will share what I feel is right as long as I can. And today, the way I’m going to do that is by voting. I will vote for what I believe in and I hope that you will all do the same. If you do not vote, you are giving up your right to have a say in what happens and are giving others the power to decide for you.

Please don’t do that.

Please vote.

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The Votes Are In (or An Uneventful End To The Election)

Posted on August 29, 2017 | 2 comments

This past Thursday was the end of the SAG-AFTRA election. Technically, ballots had to pretty much be in the mail by Monday last week to arrive in time to be counted on Thursday, so the election season felt like it was over for a bit longer. But it officially ended on Thursday when the ballots were counted.

Last time, it was pretty much midnight when we found out if those of us who were running for delegates got a spot or not. So I assumed it would be similar this year and planning on being at the union late. I finished work around 3pm that day but hung around my house until about 6pm. I figured I would rather kill time at my house than at the union since I expected to be there so long. I liked watching the ballots being counted last time and was excited to get to watch that happen again.

I got to the union just before 6:3opm and started to fill out the forms I had to sign to be an election observer. I was just done signing the first one when a union employee told me that there was no need to do that because everything was done! I couldn’t believe it! I missed the entire counting process. I was handed some printouts that had both the national and local election results and the first thing I did was scan down the delegates list to see if I made it. Everyone is listed in order of how many votes we got and if it says Convention Delegate next to our name that means we were elected. Toward almost the very bottom of those who had the designation next to their name, I saw this.

I was elected again as a delegate! I was really nervous I wouldn’t get it but I’m so glad I did. I was about 9 from the bottom of who got a spot so I know I’m very lucky. Unfortunately, several of my friends who were running for delegate spots didn’t get them, but they were happy for me.

Since the ballot counting was done, I headed over to the restaurant next to the union where my slate was having a gathering. It was an interesting dinner since the election didn’t really swing to one slate or the other. It was a mix which might be a great thing for the union. Hopefully the slates can come together to work hard for the union as a whole and politics won’t affect things as much.

And while I was still sad that some of my friends that I helped to get into union politics weren’t elected, one friend said something that really made me feel better. He thanked me for getting him involved because even though he wasn’t elected he now sees where he can be more involved. He met some amazing people, got to see what union politics are all about, and he’s now looking at what committees he wants to be a part of (you don’t have to be elected to be a part of our committees). Knowing that I helped to get him involved and that he plans on staying involved really made me feel amazing. And he’s already said that he will be trying again in 2 years to be elected.

Since we all knew what the results of the election were at the gathering, the energy was much more upbeat and festive than it had been 2 years ago when we spent the time waiting for any results to come in. While there were people upset about not getting elected, overall it was a very positive gathering where everything was so happy for each other. And we are so excited that our national president candidate, Gabrielle Carteris, was elected to be the national president. She has been serving as the president since Ken Howard passed away and I think she’s done an amazing job. I can’t wait to see what she is able to do for the union over the next 2 years.

While I was at the party, I got my official email from the union letting me know that I was elected. Even though I had seen the results and knew I was a delegate again, it was nice to have the email to make everything feel even more official.

I ended up staying at the gathering pretty late. I think we actually were there past the closing time of the restaurant, but we were all so energized and talking about things we are looking forward to in the union and some of the ideas we have that we want to submit for voting at the convention. It’s all so exciting again to me and I can’t wait to be a part of the convention. And this time, I’ve still got a lot of time that I banked at work when I thought I was having surgery, so I might not have to work while at convention if I don’t want to (but I might do it anyway to save the hours for something fun).

I know there will be some slate meetings coming up before convention so we can be educated on what we will be voting on. But until we have those meetings, I’m just going to be happy and grateful that I was elected and that I get to participate at the convention again this year. And hopefully in 2 more years, not only will I be re-elected but my friends will be elected as well.

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Election Campaigning (or Being A Captain And Getting Out There)

Posted on August 8, 2017 | 3 comments

We are officially in the middle of SAG-AFTRA election season! This election season has been very different from the last time I ran as a delegate. But just because it’s different doesn’t make it worse or more stressful. I’m taking on additional responsibilities and that is making me so happy! But there are other things that are making this a unique election season.

The first thing that has made it different is that while we are doing our officer/board/delegate election, we also have a contract vote. I’m writing this before we know the result of the contract vote so I don’t know the outcome yet. But to be out campaigning for 2 different elections has been interesting. The contract vote is done online (unless you request a paper ballot) and the election has to be on a paper ballot. So many people I’ve talked to thought the paper ballot was for the online election and tossed it out because they voted online. I’m glad I talked to them so they could request a new ballot. And then there are the people who have told me they have voted but they only voted for one thing.

I’m hoping that the contract passes because I think it is a move in the right direction for us as a union and by the time you are reading this we will know what happened. My fear is that it won’t pass and that we will have to strike. If we strike, all work will be shut down and it may take time to get things back up and running again. And when there is a strike, that doesn’t necessarily mean we will gain anything extra in the contract. So I’m hopeful that it will pass (or I guess I should say has passed) and that we can move on from this first election.

And I’ve gotten much more involved this year in the officer/board/delegate election. I’ve been trying to be more active in reminding my union friends to vote and it makes me so happy when I get text messages from people showing that I’m the first bubble they filled in.

Our voter turnout was very low 2 years ago and I’m making an effort to try to get the word out so more people will vote. I know that some people think it doesn’t matter (like how they feel about a presidential election), but it really does. 2 years ago, the difference between getting elected or not was sometimes 2 or 3 votes. So literally every vote counts.

I’ve already written about attending the Union Working event (although that is a non-partisan group so that was a one time only campaign thing), but there have been other in person opportunities I’ve been taking to get the word out about the vote and my slate. I’ve done the campaigning at the Film Society screenings before when I was running 2 years ago, and I’m doing them again this year. This is such a wonderful opportunity to talk to members who may not usually vote or don’t have an idea of what each slate represents. They get campaign material in the mail, but it’s so much better to talk to someone one on one.

I normally just go to the campaign events and help out, but this year I was asked to be a captain at some of the screenings! That was a big honor for me because I still feel like a newbie at all this, but this shows that the slate knows how hard I’ve been working to help everyone. Being the captain isn’t too tough of a job, but I did have to get the flyers to provide to everyone else volunteering and just make sure that things were running smoothly. Fortunately everyone is familiar with the rules we have to follow and the shifts that I was captain went really well.

And finally, if you follow me on social media you know that I’ve been getting the word out that way too. Tweeting about the election is important and I’ve been recycling a tweet I used 2 years ago. Since the election is right after my birthday, I say that the slate is my birthday wish list and that that’s what I want people to get me.

I know that not everyone I know is a member of SAG-AFTRA, but I use what I can to get people to pay attention. And saying that it’s for my birthday seems to get people to notice. So I’m fine taking advantage of the timing and hopefully that will get me and my slate a few extra votes (again, every single vote counts!).

Ballots for this election are due in a few weeks so I know I’ll be busy campaigning more this election season. I’m hopeful that I’ll be elected again, but I know it’s not a guarantee. But I’m doing everything I can now so I don’t look back and wish I had done more if I’m not elected.

If you are a SAG-AFTRA member, please vote! And yes, I do want you to vote for me and the rest of the Unite for Strength slate, but to me I really just want to encourage people to vote no matter what. If you don’t vote, you are not taking the opportunity to decide who the leadership of the union is. The leadership will help guide the union over the next 2 years and you shouldn’t ignore the chance to have your voice heard.

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