Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1486263
110 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2022 | sagaftra.org On Location Broadcasters Feel the Power of Unionism T win Cities broadcasters are part of the national surge in union organizing victories. On July 28, members at newly organized Minnesota Public Radio music stations The Current and YourClassical celebrated the conclusion of negotiations and the first union contract at their stations. The following day, digital and streaming producers and assignment desk editors at WCCO TV in Minneapolis voted unanimously in an NLRB election to join SAG-AFTRA. With these organizing victories and successful contract negotiations, Twin Cities broadcasters are contributing to a renaissance of the American labor movement and taking a stand on behalf of better wages and working conditions. ● SAG-AFTRA members and staff, from left, SAG-AFTRA organizer Ezra Sholom, Cole Premo, Aki Nace, Jonathan Sharp, SAG-AFTRA Director of Locals Administration Bill Hendrickson, Liz Christy, Steve Swanson, Joan Gilbertson, Jen Mead, Bree Levine and Norman Seawright III. VENKAT ALLAM Twin Cities Avi Hoffman and Laurel Levey in Boxed. NICKOLAS WOLF Thinking Outside the 'Box' T he Miami Local highlighted the importance of the Short Project Agreement at a Sept. 8 virtual event titled Unpacking Boxed: A Conversation About Independent Low Budget Film in Florida. Prior to an online screening of the locally produced 13-minute short film Boxed, Miami Local Board member Laurel Levy and other cast members discussed the making of the film, the process of ensuring it was a union production and how SAG-AFTRA interacted with producers. The Short Project Agreement applies to projects that shoot entirely in the United States with a maximum total budget of $50,000 and a maximum total run time of 40 minutes, not including episodic or animated projects. ● Miami Local Voices Heard at Labor Council Convention I n July, the SAG-AFTRA Seattle Local President Rik Deskin and then-Portland Local Vice President Harold Phillips were joined by Davis Powell — then broadcast manager and labor counsel, and now local executive director — as they journeyed to Wenatchee, Washington, as delegates for the 2022 Washington State Labor Council Constitutional Convention. While there, amid masked delegates, Deskin and Phillips worked together with Powell to determine which resolutions needed their support. Over the course of three days, the delegates heard from various guest speakers, including AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and King County Executive Dow Constantine. The delegates had the opportunity to attend afternoon workshops on organizing, recruiting diverse leaders and the green economy. As an added bonus, Deskin, Phillips and Powell were joined by IATSE 488 Vice President and Washington Filmworks Board member Rebecca Cook for an impromptu meeting with members of the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce about how they can be more film-friendly and how to utilize the increased film and TV incentive program. ● Seattle From left, SAG-AFTRA member Harold Phillips, IATSE Local 488 Vice President Rebecca Cook and SAG-AFTRA Seattle Local President Rik Deskin.