A Message From New England Local President Andrea Lyman

Dear members,

We had a spectacular Annual Membership Meeting last month in Boston. The meeting opened with an engaging member-led conversation moderated by Nichole Davis of WBZ-AM and featured panelists Matt Shearer of WBZ-AM, Tiffany Chan of WBZ-TV, and actor Michael Tow discussing how they use social media to elevate their careers.

Massachusetts State Representative and SAG-AFTRA member Tackey Chan addressed the members and spoke about two important bills he filed in the House to protect an individual’s right to their likeness and voice. HB74 Digital Replicas and HB1615 Right of Publicity, have been assigned to committees and hearings will be held in the months ahead. It is imperative that all Massachusetts-based union members reach out to their state representatives and senators and ask them to co-sponsor these two bills. Keep up to date with the progress of these bills through emails and the local Facebook page.

In her remarks at the meeting, National Vice President of Mid-Sized Locals Michele Proude spoke of the SWOT training (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) that was held at the National Committee of Locals meeting in Los Angeles last October. Following this session in L.A., our own New England Local participated in an energizing and highly productive SWOT analysis with staff and local SAG-AFTRA leaders, including local board members, local members who serve on national committees, and local committee chairs. 

Let me take a moment to shout out all of our volunteer leaders, from those who serve on local or national boards and local or national committees, to those that participate in wages and working conditions meetings, advocate in support of our sibling unions, or turn out when called to support our union. Thank you for your energy and your time!

I attended the April National Board meeting in Los Angeles, where we approved the new commercials contract. A summary of the updates on the contracts are here so you can review and vote, if eligible. The National Board recommends a yes vote to ratify this new agreement. A lot of hard work went into these negotiations.

Congratulations to so many of our local members who have been expanding their roles as filmmakers. Several member-produced films are touring film festivals and winning awards. Our members have also been acting in student and independent films which have gone on to film festivals throughout the world. Congratulations and keep being creative!

Our local staff is absolutely amazing and I want to make certain that we are reminded. They have been overseeing contracts, engaging in efforts to keep our union and sibling unions strong, working with legislators to emphasize protections needed for our members and continuously putting out information so that our members know about auditions, skill-building workshops and classes and updates on contract changes. Thank you.

I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming SAG-AFTRA New England Conservatories and events.

Sincerely,

Andrea Lyman

SAG-AFTRA New England Local President