Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/94610
A Letter from the Co-President ROBERTA REARDON "SAG-AFTRA is stronger when we are engaged." Dear Sisters and Brothers, H urricane Sandy slammed into the Jersey coast and NYC Oct. 29, and for many of us living along the Northeast coast, life changed overnight. It was devastation on a scale seldom seen, and the effects of the storm will linger for years as communities repair and rebuild infrastructure and recover from massive property damage and economic loss. Like many of our East Coast National Board members and staff, I was stranded in Los Angeles that Sunday night aſter our National Board plenary. I had booked and rebooked numerous flights during the board meeting that weekend trying to get home. With all airports shut down, it became clear that I wouldn't be able to return until sometime aſter Sandy. Faced with sporadic phone and Internet service out of the affected areas, I spent anxious hours listening to radio reports and monitoring the news channels. I realized anew how dedicated our broadcast sisters and brothers are in these situations. heir assignments were difficult — first in the fury of the wind and water, then in the human tragedy of the aſtermath. Many worked around the clock, some sleeping on the newsroom floor, unable to get to their homes. hey performed a vital service for all of us and I am in awe of their professionalism and courage. hank you for keeping us connected. I hope you will read the feature on broadcasters on page 48 and find out more about your fellow members who work in the broadcast industry. here is so much to be done to repair 8 SAG-AFTRA | Winter 2013 | SAGAFTRA.org and rebuild from Sandy, and your union is doing its part. he AFTRA Foundation, SAG Foundation and SAG Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund have provided $250,000 in initial seed funding for the Superstorm Sandy Emergency Assistance Fund. If you need a hand, contact he Actors Fund at (212) 221-7300 ext. 119 or by email at intakeny@actorsfund.org. If you can lend a helping hand in this time of desperate need, please visit SAGFoundation.org, which is collecting contributions to the Superstorm Sandy Fund on behalf of all three organizations. A week aſter the storm, America went to the polls. And the outcome overall is positive for unions. With relief, I can say that a national "right-to-work" initiative will not be pursued by this administration. Make no mistake, this blight on the labor movement will continue to fester at the state level and we must remain vigilant in our efforts to defeat any such laws aimed at silencing the voices of labor unions and working men and women (please see the story on California's Prop. 32 on page 20). Clearly the work of our Government Affairs and Public Policy Committee is vital to our common interests. We are moving ahead with our preparations for the commercials contracts negotiation, scheduled to begin in February of next year. he W&W process has been completed across the country and the W&W plenary convened in L.A. Nov. 17-18 (see page 18). I salute all of you in every local who participated. Negotiating contracts is one of SAG-AFTRA's core missions. his nearly billion-dollar contract provides a livelihood for many of us throughout the country. I am honored to be the national chair for the negotiations and I look forward to working closely with the regional vice-chairs — Sue-Anne Morrow of N.Y., Allen Lulu of L.A., Ilyssa Fradin of Chicago for the mid-sized locals and David Hartley-Margolin of Colorado, liaison for regional and local waivers. We have a hardworking committee for the W&W plenary, and I have every confidence that this will be a successful (though perhaps difficult) negotiation. A clear message emerges from the events of the past several months: SAG-AFTRA is stronger when we are engaged. Our union provides services and that is vitally important. But what really matters most, be it participating in contract discussions and negotiations, storm-relief assistance or activism against union-crushing laws, is YOUR engagement. YOU are the power and the leverage of our union. Our sense of community, of unity and of solidarity is part of what makes us a strong union. We will need that as our industry evolves, as our new union grows and prospers, and as we fight to maintain a strong position for union workers in an oſten challenging economy. I hope that we can bring the same spirit of community and unity to the business of our union and continue to prove that yes, we are one. In unity and solidarity, Roberta Reardon