Utah 2007:10

UTAH BRANCH SELECTS NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS

This year all of the committee nominated candidates ran unopposed and no petitions were filed by the deadline. Therefore, congratulations are in order for the following members. Terms of office are for two years, except for alternate members of the council who serve for one year.

Susan Dolan, President & First National Board Alternate

Anne Sward, Vice President & Second National Board Alternate

Jan Felt, Secretary & Third National Board Alternate

Katherine Shelton, Treasurer & Fourth National Board Alternate

Donre' Sampson, Council Member-At-Large

Kathy Jarvis, 1st Alternate Council Member

Paul Mulder, 2nd Alternate Council Member

Molly Ballard , National Board Director

Thank you all for your willingness to serve your fellow members. And a special thank you to Anne Sward, outgoing branch president, for her steadfast work on behalf of all Utah members. Lucky for us Anne isn't going that far, just moving over to become branch vice president, where she will continue to serve us well.

A MESSAGE FROM UTAH PRESIDENT SUSAN DOLAN

I am happy to have the opportunity to serve as your president. Everyone in the film industry has a common goal: we all want to work as much as possible. Every actor I know is thrilled when they have the opportunity to work under our SAG contracts. We are blessed in Utah to have a group of industry professionals that banded together to help promote Utah and bring more film work to our region. The Motion Picture Association of Utah (MPAU) is a community driven organization that recognized the slowly dying infrastructure of the film industry in Utah due to a disconnected community. I know many actors are already members of this fine organization but ALL of us should be. They have kept the cost at $50. The founders of this group have invested personal time and money to lobby the Legislature for incentives that woo productions to our state.

MPAU has organized monthly social mixers that allow us to network with filmmakers, crew, actors and our film industry family. Anne Sward and I attended the August 12 gathering, which was well attended by producers, writers, directors, crew and actors. We are all responsible for building our film community and increasing production opportunities. Please go to the MPAU website www.mpau.org and become a member. A membership forum is October 17, 2007. Check their website for details, get on their email list, get networking and create work! Thank you.

HOW TO CONTACT THE MPAU

If you have questions, comments, or would like additional information about the MPAU, their objectives, membership, or their calendar, please feel free to contact them.

Motion Picture Association of Utah
PO Box 510587
Salt Lake City, Utah 84151
www.mpau.org
(801) 755-4538

You can also contact them via email at: info@mpau.org

NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF ORGANIZING FEATURED SPEAKER AT ANNUAL BRANCH MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Todd Amorde, the national director of organizing, will address the Utah members of Screen Actors Guild on Monday, November 26 at the Salt Lake City Library. Meeting notices will be in the mail soon.

If you ever wanted to know how you can help turn a non-union production into a union one, then you will not want to miss this event. Find out about SAGIndie, One Production Only agreements, the Utah Limited Letter of Adherence for Commercials, and the rest of our low budget independent film agreements.

Mark your calendars for November 26 and make every effort not to miss this important meeting. More details will follow shortly.

HELPFUL HINTS FROM THE MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT

When mailing in dues payments, documents to the agency department, contact information updates or other items to Screen Actors Guild, it speeds up the process if you remember to include an attention line when addressing the envelope. By doing this, the mail item will get to the department faster, allowing the Guild to serve you with greater efficiency.

• If you have an address change, name change, honorable withdrawal request, phone number change, branch change or email change, use: Attention: Membership department.
  (A change request must include your professional signature and SAG ID number or Social Security number.)
• If mailing in a dues payment, use: Attention: Cashier.
• If sending a document to Agency, use: Attention: Agency.

As always, it is important to keep your contact information current with the Guild so you don't miss important notices and news. To update your information, please login to www.sag.org and click on "edit profile." You may also mail your changes to Attention: Data Processing or fax them to (323) 549-6775.

The Guild's website offers other convenient services to registered members such as residuals tracker, dues payment online and of course, access to iActor. If you are not registered with the SAG website, simply go to www.sag.org and click on the "register" link on the upper right hand corner of the home page.

STAR STATUS FOR THE GUILD ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME

Screen Actors Guild is the first labor union to receive an Award of Excellence Star and is only the fifth organization ever to receive a star. The star’s home will be at 7018 Hollywood Blvd., adjacent to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The ceremony will be October 25, starting at 11 a.m.

The SAG Foundation will be honoring the Screen Actors Guild's 75th anniversary by supporting the Award of Excellence Star. The SAG Foundation is accepting donations at www.sagfoundation.org to raise funds for the Foundation, and its programs, as well as the installation and maintenance of the star. Contributions in excess of the amount expended to cover the cost of the star will be used to fund other SAG Foundation programs, including those that assist performers in need.

CAN THE BOSS DO THAT?

Ask-A-Lawyer, Free Web Service Explains Workplace Rights

This article is written for anyone who works outside the industry in a "regular job" in order to support their acting "habit."

Of course, you are protected through Screen Actors Guild whenever you work in our jurisdiction under a SAG contract. This service is for the "other work" you might do outside of acting, in particular where no union contract is in place. It may not always feel like it, but you do actually have some legal rights and protections when you work at this job, too.

Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, is offering its free "Ask a Lawyer" service to help workers understand their rights and determine if a boss is acting illegally. Log onto www.workingamerica.org/askalawyer.

The 1.6 million-member Working America -- a fast-growing progressive organization -- offers workers who don't have a union on the job a powerful voice to weigh in on the policy issues that affect them most. Members receive a number of other benefits, including access to a nationwide network of lawyers who will provide a free, half-hour consultation on a workplace issue, either in person or on the phone.

Working America offers Ask-a-Lawyer as an online way to learn about your rights in the "other" workplace. You can read answers from lawyers, browse topics and send in any question that relates to your job, from "Can I get fired for something I put on my blog?" (Probably, unless you are writing about politics) to "Can I get fired for being a smoker, even if I don't smoke at work?" (Yes, in 21 states.) Although Working America cannot provide specific legal advice or tell you what to do, when you send in your questions about overtime, workers compensation, discrimination and pay and benefits, you will get information from a trusted source to help you better understand your rights on the job.

No identifying information -- like the name of your boss -- is required to ask a question, and none appears on the site. Instead, questions are re-worded to provide anonymity. The requested information appears on Working America's site as the "Question of the Day."

"Having a union is the best way to ensure your rights on the job are protected, but not everyone is lucky enough to work in a place with union representation," said Karen Nussbaum, director of Working America. "For workers who don't have unions, knowing your rights is the only way to ensure that the business you work hard for every day is treating you fairly in return."

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 2007 SCHOLARSHIP

Marcia Smith, executive director of the SAG Foundation, reported that 100 scholarships at $4,000 each were awarded to eligible members and children of eligible members for the 2007 scholarship competition.

The Dales Scholarship Program was established in 1973 to honor John L. Dales, who served as Screen Actors Guild executive secretary for 37 years. Since 1974, 943 scholarships have been granted to eligible members and children of eligible members to assist them in pursuing their educational goals.

The 2008 application will be available November 1, 2007, by going to www.sagfoundation.org or calling (323) 549-6649. The Dales program is open to all eligible SAG members and their children.