Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/87061
ROBERTA REARDON "Between negotiation preparation, labor business and policy meetings in Washington, D.C., we've been very busy doing meaningful work on the issues that matter most to you." Dear Fellow SAG-AFTRA Member, S know that summer at SAG-AFTRA has been full-steam ahead. With our union newly ratified, your ummer is vacation time, and I know many of us have enjoyed some well- deserved time off, but you should elected leadership and staff settled in for some more hard work, ensuring that the transition progressed as smoothly as possible, while also handling the ongoing business of our many contracts and Locals. Between negotiation preparation, labor business and policy meetings in Washington, D.C., we've been very busy doing meaningful work on the issues that matter most to you. Commercials contracts negotiations are just a few months away. While the exact start date of the talks has not been set, the Wages & Working Conditions process is underway. I am honored to represent you as the chair of our Commercials Negotiations Committee. This year we have started the process with contract educational meetings across the country, both face-to-face and by webinar. It is an exciting new addition to our preparation for negotiations and presents yet another way for members to show up for their contracts. With formal W&W caucuses and step in Washington, D. C. on Aug. 1. AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka, joined by Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker, presented the new SAG-AFTRA charter to Co-President Ken Howard and me at the recent AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting. Ken and I both serve as vice presidents of the AFL-CIO, and were deeply honored to receive the charter. This marks a new chapter for SAG-AFTRA — a new union with a stronger direct tie to the American labor movement. On the policy front, I had the honor of We experienced another historic meeting and speaking with Tina Tchen, executive director of the White House Council on Women and Girls earlier this summer. The Council was established by executive order in March 2009 "to ensure that federal agencies and offices consider the needs of women and girls in the policies and programs for which they are responsible." Through the Council, the White House has clearly made a commitment to inclusion for women and girls in American life. We're doing the same here at meetings beginning Sept. 10, I hope that you will attend and participate as we develop proposals for discussion and consideration by the committee. Visit your Local's page at SAGAFTRA.org to find meetings in your area or, if you can't make it to a caucus or meeting in person, send your ideas and suggestions to commercialswandw@sagaſtra.org. SAG-AFTRA. Working with organizations like the Geena Davis Institute, we are focused on issues directly affecting the employment of women in entertainment and media. Like most women in the entertainment industry, it's not news to me that while women make up more than 52 percent of the population, we account for only around 25 percent of available onscreen roles. And, it's also no surprise that aſter age 40, those opportunities shrink to just over 10 percent. Bringing greater scrutiny to these issues helps us make a difference, not just in our members' lives but in our culture as a whole. Aſter all, representing the American Scene, in all of its wonderful diversity, is an important part of SAG-AFTRA's mission. Recently, I had the privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion of transformational leadership at the 15th Annual National Principals Leadership Institute at Lincoln Center in New York. I joined several respected academics in discussing what it takes to transform an organization. It was an inspirational event that made me think hard about our own transformation. Our journey — from AFTRA and SAG — to SAG-AFTRA is more than a merger. We are transforming into something new. Each of us has a role to play in helping to create the union we want this to be. We must collectively assess where we are, where we are going and how we can best achieve that. Now is the time for members to take action — join a committee, attend the commercial W&Ws, write an article for your Local newsletter or find out how you can volunteer to be a delegate to your state labor federation or central labor council. Above all, be empowered by your union — and then empower others to join you. This is a time of opportunity, a time for all of us to work together in building our new union on a rock-solid foundation of unity, solidarity, joy in our similarities and respect for our differences. In solidarity, Roberta Reardon SAGAFTRA.org | Fall 2012 | SAG-AFTRA 7