Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/184869
BSC COMMITTEE MEETS IN N.Y. n June 29, broadcast members from around the country met in the Eddie Cantor Boardroom at the SAG-AFTRA offices in New York for the second Broadcast Steering Committee meeting of 2013. The daylong meeting included a packed agenda of union business and industry updates, along with a healthy dose of camaraderie for the group, which included longtime committee members, newly minted members and SAG-AFTRA staff. Then-SAG-AFTRA Co-Presidents Roberta Reardon and Ken Howard opened the meeting with a talk about the important place of broadcasters in the union. The co-presidents reaffirmed their commitment to fighting for strong contracts for this segment of the membership, which plays such a critical role in the media industry and in society as a whole. The committee took up a discussion of the reporter shield law, currently on the floor of the U.S. Congress. After a lively discussion, the committee voted for a resolution in favor of supporting the legislation as a much-needed step in the right direction, but included a statement of reservation that the legislation as currently drafted does not go far enough to truly protect reporters and their sources. A panel of staff members then addressed an unfortunate reality of the modern workplace: layoffs, which have affected many broadcast members, as their stations are bought, sold, consolidated or reformatted. Staff members Pat O'Donnell, Anna Calderon, Peter Fuster and Sean Taylor gave an informative presentation about how the union advocates for members, sometimes even averting job losses that broadcasters were told were unavoidable. It was a powerful testament to the power of a collective bargaining agreement and the efficacy of members and staff working together to protect the interests of broadcasters. STEPHANIE MASUCCI/ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION O SAG-AFTRA, AEA WELCOME FIA SAG-AFTRA and Actors' Equity hosted the executive committee meeting of the International Federation of Actors, also known as FIA, on June 26–27 in New York. The meeting brought together more than 65 delegates from trade unions, guilds and associations around the world. Among the topics of discussion were FIA's ongoing initiatives, an update on the Beijing treaty and a presentation on social media, presented by SAG-AFTRA. FIA works internationally in the interests of actors, broadcast professionals, singers, dancers, musicians and other performers. For more information, visit fia-actors.com CHARTING THE FUTURE OF UNIONS A s part of a concerted outreach effort, thenSAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon, who serves as an AFL-CIO Executive Council vice president, organized a presentation titled Entertainment Labor: Shared Prosperity in the Global Economy, which took place on July 10. The event, a listening session Former SAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon and Senior in advance of the AFL-CIO Advisor John McGuire at an AFL-CIO listening session. convention in September, was one of scores of online, in-person and social media outreach efforts to engage union members, supporters and members of the community. Their feedback will help determine how organized labor should best deploy its resources to increase the relevance and strength of the union movement in today's changing employment landscape. The videoconference panel included Reardon and Senior Advisor John McGuire in New York; SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, Associate National Executive Director of Local Administration Mathis Dunn and recording artist member Hadassa Diaz in Los Angeles; and Department for Professional Employees President Paul Almeida from Washington, D.C. They were joined by Ferne Downey, who serves as president of both the Canadian performers union ACTRA and the International Federation of Actors, along with Cathy Feingold and Celeste Drake of the AFL-CIO. Attendees participated in person and across the nation via phone. SAGAFTRA.org | Summer 2013 | SAG-AFTRA For Members_F1.indd 13 13 8/30/13 1:06 PM