Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/964761
SAGAFTRA.org | Spring 2018 | SAG-AFTRA 27 NOV. 17 SAG-AFTRA co-hosts an industry panel with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation in New York featuring Adam Moore, national director, EEO & Diversity; Lowell Peterson, executive director, Writers Guild of America East; and Lydia Dean Pilcher, national vice president, motion pictures, Producers Guild of America. NOV. 14 SAG-AFTRA holds an informational panel for members in Los Angeles. Hosted by President Gabrielle Carteris and featuring fellow members, the panel is moderated by noted women's rights advocate and attorney Gloria Allred. Allred also delivers a 20-minute teach-in on sexual harassment. DEC. 15 SAG-AFTRA joins the newly formed Industrywide Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace. The Commission is chaired by Anita Hill, and both Carteris and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White are commissioners. 1 RULES AND GUIDELINES SAG-AFTRA will develop materials that give members a clear understanding of their rights in the workplace and provide reliable guidance to navigate the unique environments of the entertainment and media industries. We will: • Disseminate and clarify protections for employees, including those that flow from the law, our collective bargaining agreements, applicable policies and other regulations. • Establish a Code of Conduct along with scenario-specific guidance that outlines best practices and offers practical insights for members on how to avoid and/or address sexual harassment in the workplace and related environments. • Communicate clear expectations that members will refrain from harassing conduct. • Provide guidance for members who experience or witness sexual harassment. • Provide information for reporting sexual harassment and the resources to support members seeking assistance. These materials will be developed in consultation with our members and with guidance from subject-matter experts. 2 EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EDUCATION SAG-AFTRA will provide training, expert panels and other educational programming to ensure that members have practical tools available to them when confronting, experiencing or witnessing harassing behavior. We will: • Sponsor panels and member discussions on harassment, suffering and discrimination within the industry. • Create guides and videos to ensure the information is disseminated broadly. • Provide enhanced anti-harassment training for SAG-AFTRA staff to strengthen the union's ability to protect members worldwide. 3 EXPANDED INTERVENTION SAG-AFTRA is reinforcing its capacity to intervene on members' behalf as needed. We will: • Expand our capacity to intervene rapidly and forcefully to protect our members against sexual harassment. • Assess and upgrade as appropriate our intake procedures to address harassment-specific requests for support. • Work with industry partners to pursue technology-based solutions that facilitate safe channels to report harassing conduct, identify predators and stop repeat offenders. • Pursue legislative and policy improvements to strengthen sexual harassment laws and work to advance equity for all SAG-AFTRA members across industries and borders. • Where appropriate, add and/or strengthen provisions to address sexual harassment to our collective bargaining agreements. 4 BUILDING BRIDGES AND SAFETY NETS In recognition of the complex nature of this pervasive problem, SAG-AFTRA will work in collaboration with industry stakeholders and other allies to help achieve a more equitable and harassment-free workplace. We will: • Participate in the efforts of the Industrywide Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, with member-initiated groups, and with other industry stakeholders that are committed to addressing these issues. • Continue to build bridges within and beyond our industry to partner with strategic allies who are focused on these issues, including ReFrame, Time's Up, the AFL-CIO, the International Federation of Actors and others. • Establish a specialized "Trauma Hotline" to support our members in need of advanced intake services and clinical referrals due to harassment and assault-related trauma. • Work with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, in collaboration with sister organizations such as the Motion Picture and Television Fund and The Actors Fund, to provide additional counseling resources to respond to the need for acute short-term intervention. • Work with industry partners to address the extreme shortage of long-term therapeutic resources available to survivors in this industry. What Are the FOUR PILLARS of Change? DECEMBER Carteris and union officials meet with representatives of Time's Up, the movement formed by high- profile performers to fight sexual harassment and provide support for victims.