Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/33797
A LETTER TO MEMBERS From National Executive Director DAVID WHITE Dear Member, many members who have approached me about the issue of merger, this action is clearly a welcome development. Our goal now is to put together a plan that takes the best of the traditions from both organizations and weaves them into the fabric of a single union. Then we will put that plan before you and it will be up to you, our members, to decide which way we go. We want this to be a transparent process with as much communication as possible with the O “ For the first time in history, producers can now sign up to employ SAG members in their projects through a simple, safe, easy-to-use and entirely online process.” membership of both unions. I hope that you are able to attend the listening tour and other informational events that occur throughout the country over the next year. In addition, be sure to visit our website, SAG.org, where we will post updates whenever we have them. Smart Operations On the operations front, this is a time of great excitement. Aſter many months of planning, design and development, SAG debuted our new Production Center and online signatory application. For the first time in history, producers can now sign up to employ SAG members in their projects through a simple, safe, easy-to-use and entirely online process. Users can begin the signatory process, upload their documents, review their project status and receive approval for their projects using this online application. The application is currently available for five of our most popular agreements, and we are already looking at ways to expand the tool. The Production Center also has comprehensive, step-by- step tutorials and videos to ensure that the producers who want to hire you can navigate this system easily. To complete the tool kit, we’ve also added fast access to online Station 12 cast clearance and to the Actors to Locate function. The results of our efforts were immediate and have been extremely gratifying. Although we are still in our “beta test” period, more than 300 producers have already signed their productions to SAG using our 100 percent digital, online process. We are receiving rave reviews about the breadth and depth of information in the Production Center. It all adds up to simpler and quicker ways for producers to put SAG actors to work. We have also instituted a paperless billing option last quarter and I want to send a special thanks to the nearly 5,000 SAG members who made this a successful launch. Going green helped reduce waste, conserve energy and save dues dollars. We hope to be sending many more paperless bills in the next dues cycle. Member Events SAG has sponsored several great events over the past several months. From the high-energy, full- house success of our black entertainment panel with Don Cheadle, Marla Gibbs, Taraji P. Henson, Wayne Brady and others, to the captivating protests that occurred in Wisconsin (where several well-known SAG members were invited to speak and many other members attended in support of working families) to the premiere of the new media project ElfQuest: A Fan Imagining, which we held at our national headquarters, we continue to serve all of our members with programming and career tips and tools from the best experts in the industry. And there is more to come, so make sure you’re registered at SAG.org to ensure you don’t miss out on a single event. In unity and looking forward, n April 30, our National Board of Directors unanimously voted to create a formal merger task force and approve a mission statement to help guide the creation of one union for SAG and AFTRA members. Two weeks later, AFTRA’s Board approved similar resolutions. For the David P. White 10 SCREEN ACTOR - Spring 2011 SAG.org