Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1352017
14 The Costume Designer Spring 2021 LABOR REPORT UNION LABEL "Awards Season with a Twist" Film Title: Pandemic 2020 Produced by: COVID-19 Directed by: The CDC, WHO, and world governments. Edited by: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites. Production designed by: Federal, state and local governments, mayors and city councils. Costumes designed by: YouTube, Yahoo, and Finder. Casting by: Zoom, Slack, GoToMeeting, and Skype. Starring: All 7.8 billion humans on Planet Earth. Plotline: Pandemic shuts down all human activity worldwide. As the world isolates at home, confused wildlife wander city streets, and toilet paper and hand sanitizer vanish from store shelves, the tech indus- try takes charge of human activity worldwide. Racial division and systematic inequity become the story- line as yet another act of police brutality is caught on film. The clip of George Floyd's death goes viral, setting off mass protests worldwide. To this mix, add the "them and us" politics of the 2020 presidential race, with attempts to deny the rights of Black and brown voters. In Los Angeles, motion picture industry leaders and the IATSE hire health experts to discuss and establish safety protocols for all craft unions. The IATSE Hollywood Locals' leadership meet to determine members' most urgent needs, and create information guidelines for members' safety, job security, lost healthcare hours. Meanwhile, mem- bers spring into action as volunteers, producing thousands of face masks and donating them to hospitals, senior care facilities, and grocery workers. Best Actor Consideration: Activist: Sean Penn and CORE (formed in 2010 to help Haiti rebuild, and dedicated to emergency relief efforts like helping hurricane victims in North Carolina, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas) provide free COVID-19 testing across the United States. Voting Rights Activist: Stacey Abrams, politician, lawyer, and author, battles voter suppression and spearheads get-out- the-vote efforts in Georgia, leading to Democratic control of the U.S. Senate. Capitol Police Officer: On January 6, 2021, Brian Sicknick pays with his life while defending the U.S. Capitol from a mob of pro-Trump insurrectionists, as the full House is in session to certify the Electoral College vote for the 2020 presidential election. Youngest Inaugural Poet: National Youth Poet Laureate, Los Angeles native, and WriteGirl alumna, Amanda Gorman makes history with "The Hill We Climb." Worst Actors Consideration: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart spend millions sponsoring California Proposition 22 in November 2020, which denies drivers' wage, safety, and healthcare benefits by ensuring they are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Media and social media make billions with incendiary coverage of societal division, while reporting less about positive steps to stem the pandemic, develop vaccinations, stop the loss of life, and normalize our relation- ship with the planet. In solidarity, Betty Madden CDG Labor Delegate and LA County Federation of Labor Sergeant at Arms bmadden@cdgia.com