Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/508104
8 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2015 | SAGAFTRA.org A Letter from the Executive Vice President G A B R I E L L E C A R T E R I S Dear Member, A s I sat in the most recent National Board meeting, the last in-person meeting for this elected body, I was struck by how far we have come in these last two years — how much good work this union and its members and staff are doing, and how much we are planning to do to help build and strengthen SAG-AFTRA for the membership. In contracts alone — the lifeblood of this union and its members — we have negotiated approximately 25 contracts in the past two years, including TV/Theatrical, Network Code and the Animation agreements. We continue to bring audiobook producers and publishers into the fold, signing first-time contracts and negotiating improvements and renewals. One recent victory involved a publisher who fought us. It was only with the support of the members who do this work and the union itself that we were able to reach an agreement. In an arena where we had little density before, we are now at almost 100 percent density of major audiobook publishers and producers. That is a direct result of members and their union having honest conversations and reaching out to their community — and standing together. We are seeing it in the commercials recapture effort (see story page 34), broadcast organizing, community- building in the interactive space and much, much more. During the first strategy meeting of leadership from across the country, we spoke about the need to hear from members about their work, their successes and their challenges. We noted that though we are transparent in our work for members, there is often a disconnect between what the union is doing for them and what we, as members, must do to help our union. We have created, with staff, brochures and pamphlets and wallet cards with department contact information and an emergency on-set 24-hour hotline number. Our brochure, Working for You, which is enclosed in this issue of the magazine, was a direct response to members not being clear about what we do in terms of programs, contracts, advocacy and education. As a result, President Ken Howard created the President's Task Force on Education, Outreach and Engagement. Approved by the National Board just three months ago, the task force has had multiple planning meetings and webinars with leadership from across the country, and it is transforming daily with input from these leaders and members. We speak about SAG-AFTRA being a member-driven union, and this is perhaps one of the clearest examples. We have, as members, expressed our desire for this work in the past, but neither precursor union had the bandwidth to execute it. We do now and we are. Many of our members are just starting to hear about the President's Task Force. For those of you who haven't yet, please read the story on page 22, then get involved. In June, we will be getting ready for the second convention of SAG-AFTRA. We are inviting you to run as a delegate and help us chart your union's course for the next few years. Please make sure you are registered on the SAG-AFTRA website, check out our YouTube channel, and join in our programs. I urge you to stay connected. Check for updates in the magazine and on the website, join us for webinars and share what you are seeing and hearing with other members and pre- members. With knowledge, understanding and hard work, we can and will continue to be the union we aspire to be. In unity and solidarity, Gabrielle Carteris "With knowledge, understanding and hard work, we can and will continue to be the union we aspire to be."