Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1251534
sagaftra.org | Spring 2020 | SAG-AFTRA 42 leadership are shared via email and social media. Be sure to download the member app (sagaftra.org/app) to find out about the latest news, events and assistance on your mobile device. RELIEF FOR MEMBERS SAG-AFTRA and other organizations that serve the media industry and many members have stepped up during this crisis to offer assistance in many different shapes and forms. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation and SAG-AFTRA Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund created the COVID-19 Relief Fund for those suffering financial distress from the pandemic. The fund was announced on March 16, and in its first two months distributed more than $4.6 million to over 5,000 SAG-AFTRA members. The fund continues to work to raise millions to help those in need. Netflix stepped up with a gift of $1 million and members are taking care of members with big and small gifts to support their own. (To donate, please click here.) The union's Executive Committee enacted a due-date extension and payment plan for those unable to pay dues at this time. The SAG-AFTRA Health Plan waived COVID-19 testing fees and announced a temporary 50% cut to many of the plans' premiums for the current quarter. Behind the scenes, SAG-AFTRA elected leaders and staff extensively advocated for policies ensuring that members were included in federal and state relief efforts. The most sweeping of these was the federal CARES Act, the relief bill that puts money directly in many members' pockets. The lobbying efforts have ensured that SAG-AFTRA members, many of whom don't have traditional employment arrangements, are eligible for the unemployment aid the bill provides. Crucial to all efforts are SAG-AFTRA's rank-and-file members, who reach out C O V I D - 1 9 Amir Abdalla Holly O'Quin Ed Heavey THANK YOU, SAG-AFTRA HEROES S AG-AF TRA members are doing their par t during the COVID-19 crisis. Some are repor ting the latest news to keep the public informed, some are being responsible citizens by staying home and others, such as Amir Abdalla, an EMT, are on the front lines as first responders. "I wish I can say I'm playing an EMT on some T V show, but this is as real as it gets," Abdalla said. "I'm blessed to live another day to help someone in need. Let's do our par t by keeping our distance, washing our hands and staying home if we're sick. To all my SAG-AF TRA family: Please stay strong! It takes all of us to [get] through this." Respirator y therapist and New York Local Board member Ed Heavey echoed those thoughts. "Just be careful. I wish I were out of work, because that'd mean ever yone was healthy. Proud of my fellow health care workers, fear fully braving the pandemic," he said. Stunt per former Holly O'Quin also puts herself at risk for the greater good. "I appreciate the recognition for the frontline workers. However, I do not consider myself a hero for being a nurse working on the frontline. I am a nurse, that is my job. As a nurse, I was there to hold the hand of those that needed someone to keep them from being afraid or alone. That is what I do. During this pandemic, we had to step up and leave our families, but you lef t yours in our care. It was not just the nurses or doctors, it was grocer y workers, firemen, police, deliver y workers, janitors. We all were essential to keep this going. I am honored to have been able to help others. Nursing is not just a job, it is a passion, just like my stunt work. I have been lucky enough in my life to have been able to do both."