Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1367665
70 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2021 | sagaftra.org and promoted him to associate national executive director, its No. 2 executive. Three years later, when the Screen Actors Guild Foundation was established, he became its second vice president. In 2001, he stepped into the role of senior advisor, where he continued to work hard for members for the last two decades. In addition to his service on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation board, McGuire also serves as a trustee of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and the SAG-Producers Pension Plan. He has also served as a board member of the Industry Advancement & Cooperative Fund; a vice president of the International Federation of Actors; the vice president and founding director of the Museum of the Moving Image; the president of the Council of Motion Picture & Television Unions of New York City; the secretary of the Motion Picture Players Welfare Fund; and the general vice president of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, among others. Whether it's his work with outside organizations that assist SAG-AFTRA members, representing the union overseas or shaping the contracts, McGuire's contributions have been immeasurable and invaluable, and it's nigh-impossible to sum up everything he's done for members. It is fair to say members have more money in their pockets, enjoy safer workplaces and can look forward to a more secure future today because of McGuire's skill at the negotiating table. McGuire has a reputation as a humble man who doesn't seek the limelight, but over the years, the union couldn't help but recognize his accomplishments. When SAG and AFTRA merged in 2012, McGuire was presented with SAG's last membership card. In 2017, he received another membership card — this time a golden one — in the form of the George Heller Memorial Award. The award was particularly appropriate because it was named for another influential staff member who helped ensure health and retirement benefits for members. In 2018, he joined the ranks of Ron Howard, Spike Lee, Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other past recipients in being presented with a DGA Honor by the Directors Guild of America. The award recognizes distinguished contributions to American culture through the world of film and television. Although he may be departing from the union's day-to-day work, McGuire's presence will continue to be felt, as he will remain an advisor to SAG-AFTRA. His influence will also live on in the contracts, in the union's operation and throughout the industry he helped shape. His legacy continues, also, in the form of the John T. McGuire Scholarship Fund, which was established in February. The scholarship will provide an annual grant of $5,000 to further educational opportunities for people committed to those causes to which McGuire has devoted his professional life, including fair and equal treatment of workers, diversity, equity and inclusion, and worker solidarity. Donations to the scholarship fund may be made at sagaftra.foundation/donate. 1. John McGuire during the 1983 TV/Theatrical negotiations. 2. McGuire with SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris and Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon following the presentation of his gold card at the 2017 SAG-AFTRA National Convention. 3. McGuire kneels at front left with the New York delegation to the Screen Actors Guild general membership meeting, November 1971. 4. Greeting Deputy Staff Assistant of the U.S. Department of Labor, Rae Moore, in his New York office in 1978, as SAG member Judy Cannon Ott looks on. 1 2