Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/48976
ON LOCATION NEW YORK DIVISION In My Opinion: Mike Hodge 2nd National Vice President A s your New York president, I have thought a lot about merger over the last few months and how it should work. I have heard from many of you about your concerns and your particular interests. As a working actor myself, it is important to me that we do everything to make sure this new structure works for as many individual members as possible. And while I know it may be ambitious, I really would like everybody to be happy with the new plan. In this day and age when technology is changing on what oſten feels like a weekly basis and our work can be seen or heard on so many different platforms, it is well past time to update our approach to these industries in transition. Having one union to do all the negotiating, one union to do all the organizing, one union for our employers to answer to when it comes to all things television and film, almost instantly gives us more power. One of the things that I am looking forward to addressing is our lack of a relationship with our ATA/NATR agents, who were once a bulwark against non-union work in our midst. Since losing that relationship, non-union work has soared. I can't wait to begin to address that issue. As for my SAG pension, I have no concern about losing the vested benefits that I've already earned. Federal law protects them. But in light of the current national economic situation and the fact that SAG has lost market share in television, our plan is not as strong as it once was. A merger would bring all work under one roof and strengthen the payout of benefits going forward. There are those who say they won't vote for merger until they know in advance what the benefit plans will look like. They say this even though they know that can't be the order of things. Since each plan's board of trustees is populated equally from producers and the unions, they will not spend money to create a plan before they see that the unions have merged. The fact is, accomplishing merger is the only meaningful incentive that will propel the plan trustees to examine how the plans can be combined. But rest assured that your very professional staffs and your member leaders who comprise the Group for One Union, are a broad and representative group from across the country, across both unions, and across all categories, which necessarily means that all of your concerns are also our concerns. We are always listening, and we will do our very best to create a successor union that will serve us powerfully for generations to come. In solidarity, Mike Hodge LABOR DAY PARADE BRINGS OUT UNION PRIDE S creen Actors Guild, along with AFTRA, AEA and WGAE, made quite a showing at this year's annual New York City Central Labor Council Labor Day Parade held on September 10. The largest contingent of union actors to attend the parade in more than a decade marched up 5th Avenue in solidarity with the city's many labor unions. SAG members who participated received a SAG T-shirt, and the SAG N.Y. Host Committee provided breakfast giſt cards to the first 50 members to sign in. Dual members of AFTRA donned red AFTRA caps, and members who also represented Actors' Equity wore stickers and buttons to show their support of all of their unions. Former New York Division President Joyce Gordon has attended the parade for the past 50 years and was impressed with the turnout. "The wonderful thing about marching side by side in the Labor Day Parade is the sense of camaraderie, of belonging to something bigger than just you, of sharing a sense of real purpose and meaning. Union membership gives us that giſt," she said. "Years back, the parade was on Labor Day and we oſten marched with open cars and flatbed trucks and even music. But the spirit and enthusiasm is just as strong now because we all know union rights are more threatened now than ever." SAG, AFTRA and AEA members march in the NYC-CLC's Labor Day Parade. FOND FAREWELL Beloved New York staff member Ruth Baptiste is retiring this December aſter 28 years with the Guild. As senior manager of Business Administration, Ruth has kept the New York office running smoothly with patience and constancy. For members as well as staff, she is the go-to person for knowledge, wisdom and guidance. Ruth's dedication to Screen Actors Guild is reflected not only in her years of service, but also in her daily two-hour commute (each way!) from her home in Pennsylvania. While Ruth will be sorely missed, we all wish her a wonderful and relaxing retirement. 64 SCREEN ACTOR - Fall 2011 SAG.org