Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546034
19 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E G U I L D N E W S By Tamar Bihari W hen Meg Reticker and I were e l e c t e d t o t h e b o a r d o f d i - r e c t o r s a s E a s t e r n R e g i o n representatives in December 2022, we both wanted to make a tangible difference to our community here in New York. "It was a big priority for us to reach out to our local membership here, energize them, and give them a voice within the union," Meg said. At the time, the Eastern Region had no region-specific committees. Forming one could jump-start our mission, and the Membership Outreach Committee (MOC) seemed to be one that could represent all committees. So a small group of us focused our energy there. As we quickly discovered, there was a long-inactive Eastern Region MOC that had never officially disbanded. This made the initial process much simpler as we could easily reactivate the dormant committee. Meg was the clear choice to be chairperson; she is outgoing and forthright, and she has a EASTERN STARS HOW A SMALL GROUP REVIVED EASTERN REGION MEMBER OUTREACH contagious passion for union activism. She reached out to member Kate Brokaw, who had recently moved from Los Angeles; Kate caught our attention when she spoke up at a town hall meeting about how difficult it was to prove her new residency. With our input, Kate drafted a successful proposal to the board that streamlined this process. As we worked together, she impressed both of us, and Meg enticed her not only to join our reinvigorated committee but also to become the co-chair. With an initial group that included the three of us, Carrie Puchkoff, and Joey Winterbotham, we quickly developed a structure for our events. Our initial mission statement — to "assist in improving overall communication with the Eastern Region membership through social and educa- tional events, social media campaigns, and one-on-one personal connections" — led to two types of events: social events, which we called "Pop-Ups" and would take place at local post-production facilities, and roundtables, which we dubbed "Cut to the Chase" events. Our inaugural Cut to the Chase event on working remotely took place on February 23, 2023. Kate designed our f irst flyer with the subhead "Member-led meetings tackling the issues affecting us most." Meg describes seeing that slogan for the first time: "I was blown away. I thought, that's it! We need that to be our whole philosophy." The event filled our small conference room at the Guild's New York office in Tribeca, with spillover on Zoom. It quickly turned into a lively conversation, with some mem- bers speaking eloquently about how hard it was to find space in their tiny Brooklyn apartments for monitors and privacy. In contrast, others shared how grateful they were to be in their children's lives while working long hours. We also discussed work-from-home stipends and how to set work/life boundaries when your job is at your dining table or in a corner of your bedroom. Afterward, a group of us went