Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/508104
4 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2015 | SAGAFTRA.org Letters to the Editor EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Pamela Greenwalt Managing Editor Damon Romine Associate Managing Editor Leslie Simmons Art Director Yvette Youssefia Senior Writer Tom Leupold Magazine Staff Hope Barkan, Stephon Litwinczuk, Jennifer Lurey, Ulisses Rivera, Ron Thomas, Gwen Walker, Valerie Yaros Editorial Subcommittee Liz Zazzi (chair) Assaf Cohen (vice chair) Joe Krebs (vice chair) Jeff Austin Susan Boyd Joyce Angela Bullock Mike Hodge Mary McDonald-Lewis Woody Schultz Rik Deskin (alternate) John Carroll Lynch (alternate) Jenny O'Hara (alternate) Jeff Spurgeon (alternate) Contributors Richard Baldwin, Anna Calderon, Lisa Caruso, Julie Crane, Becky Curran, Chelsea Danley, Shelley Figures, Marcia Fishman, Melissa Goodman, Deeann Hoff, Krysten Jones, Jane Love, Ilyanne Morden Kichaven, Caroline O'Connor, Bernadine Robbins, Ellen Stoolmacher, Herta Suarez, Linda Swenson Advertising Sales Ron Thomas (323) 634-8144 2014 ILCA Award Winner for Best Publication Design LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must be signed with your full name and local affiliation (limited to 150 words). Selected letters may be edited for accuracy, space and clarity. Every effort will be made to preserve the author's intended substance. This section is not available to sitting National Board members. SEND LETTERS TO: Letters to the Editor SAG-AFTRA Magazine 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, 7th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90036 Letters may also be faxed to (323) 549-6500 or emailed to magazine.editor@sagaftra.org ARE YOU GETTING SAG-AFTRA EMAILS? Your union communicates with members primarily through email and digital newsletters. If you are not receiving emails from us, go to SAGAFTRA.org right now and register online so you don't miss out on any of the happenings at your union. KUDOS SAG-AFTRA I was a working actor for a long time. Through the years, I found the necessity to call upon my union for assistance in contract disputes, non-payment, untimely payment, agent non-payment, work without contract and health issues. Oh yes, and the IRS' illegal confiscation of my residuals. Upon my retirement due to illness, it has maintained me monetarily through health care and pension. Now that I've segued to screenwriting, it's introduced me to iActor, where I have access to my actor friends whom, as an associate producer, I can attach to my project. This is an "atta-boy" to my union, who has made it possible for me to — as actress Ida Lee said in her atta-boy — "learn and earn." God bless SAG-AFTRA. Wayne Storm Los Angeles Local REPORTING VIOLATIONS I heard rumors that if a member complains about a production company to the union, the production company would know who complained and they would put that person on a blacklist. Also, they would spread the news to other production companies, as well, and ultimately that person would be labeled as a troublemaker, and so there won't be any more work for him or her. In that case, we should think twice before making a complaint, otherwise we will be out of work and broke. What is the solution for this dilemma? George Kuttickal New York Local Ed. Note: You should know that your right to bring a contract violation to the attention of your union is protected under federal law and that retaliating against you for exercising that right is illegal. Nevertheless, whenever possible, the union tries to avoid revealing the identity of a performer who brings a claim to us and, in fact, takes every reasonable measure to prevent the producer from inferring the individual's identity. For example, where appropriate we will pursue claims on behalf of the entire cast or on behalf of a group of performers. There are occasions, however, where the individual's identity is unavoidably obvious. For example, if the claim could only possibly benefit one person and there was no way for the union to learn of it except from the performer. In such cases, the performer may need to choose between taking the risk of discovery and not pursuing the claim, though the union will do whatever it can to avoid that circumstance. If you have a concern that a producer will learn your identity as a result of a claim you would like the union to pursue, you should raise that concern directly with the business representative handling the matter. If you do not feel confident that the business representative is handling your concern appropriately, you should contact a SAG-AFTRA manager or call (323) 549-6058 for assistance. - 9