SAG-AFTRA President on Return-to-Work Agreements

about nine O two one oh. She is today though, president of the trade union representing roughly a hundred and sixty thousand actors, announcers, journalists, news writers and editors, singers and more. It's a big union. Joining us is Gabrielle Carteris. She is president of we said as I said of the Actor's guild SAG after she joins us on the phone in Los Angeles. Gabrielle, it's nice to have you here with Jason and myself. First of all, how are you? How is your world? Oh? First of all, thank you

for having me. I really I love your work, So thank you guys for inviting me. Um. Yeah, I h how is my world? The world has been really crazy? You know, it's uh my world is all of our world, and we are definitely feeling the pandemic COVID nineteen and its effects on our industry. So it's been a it's been a challenging time, a real challenging time, but A I do believe we'll get through it. So that's that's

my hope. And so, you know, Gabrielle in in your world, in your business, I mean, our understanding is that everything just ground to a halt, you know, during most of this pandemic. Like where are we now in terms of any sort of restart? You know, we've talked to some of your sort of colleagues in the acting and directing profession here in New York City as they've been sort

of getting back to work. What is it like more broadly and maybe even more specifically there at the heart of it all in Los Angeles, Well, I would say the heart of it is not just l a actually the heart of his probably now being such a I always call it the movable beast. Our industries everywhere now, but um, you know, uh, the first we were the first really industry to shut down when the pandemic hit,

you know, March fifteenth. Everything shut down and our business was the first one to shut down, and our business was the one where you know, from Washington dawn. People were saying, you know, now that you're at home and you're you know, being sequestered at home, please you know, watch all those Netflix shows that you haven't seen, watched,

you know, stream the news shows. Everybody was depending on our Our workers are members, you know, the broadcasters, journalists are the ones who are giving news day in and day out to inform not just you know, America, but on a global level. So it's you know, they said to everybody, you know, watch and see what's going on. But most of our work, other than a few of our members actually ground to a halt and um and

that was devastating. It was really just like for everybody else, it was just like the ground was removed from underneath us. That being said, the minute it happened, we started working really closely with you know, the other unions, d G A, IoT, the teamsters, as well as you know the ant t P which are employers, and we started putting together, um,

working with scientists and epidemiologists and doctors. You know, what is it that we can do to put together some kind of protocol or guidelines so we can get people back to work in the safest way possible. We've literally had been working every day including weekends, for the last like five six months, and came together finally with protocols that we officially released. UM. I think it was like the September twenty one and um, and now people are

starting to go back to work. UM. So I'm hoping that, you know, as we're ebbing and flowing back in because you know that we're seeing you know, numbers spike in certain places, but the protections that we've put in place to make it a safer way back to work, I'm hoping it keeps the industry open and were able to move forward. But it's been, um, it's really just been an interesting and painful experience to see so many people struggling.

I mean people in food lines, you know, actors. People think that, you know, it's all high pros, but a lot of our our members are really the day in and day out journeyman of this industry and they depend on those jobs. And it's been really it's been really a hard road. And so Gabrielle, I know that there were many probably sticking points, and and and tricky things along the way, But what really sticks out to you?

I mean, what was the thing that once you solved it, you felt like, all right, we're going to get this done. We've got a broad agreement on on sort of everybody being safe and healthy. Well, first of all, everybody agreed when we started we wanted to base everything on facts, right, it had to be on the science, not just on how you felt. So we're working with the epidemiologists, the doctors. What we really recognize the three vital things that we had to make sure it happened. We got testing on

a regular basis. We have tracing because we want to know it's something you know where to occur, where it's coming from. And then of course we have social distancing. We created zones where actors who unlike you know, or dancers or thing or any of our members, they don't get to wear ppe when they work unless they're doing a hospital scene, right, they can't be like some of

the crew could wear masks all the time. So we we actually went and created zones and so we're actors are in the zone a area where nobody can come in and out of that area unless they are also a part of that zone and that's you know that testing takes place three times a week, so we really have found and what's helped us with that. It's been really interesting. I just got off a call. There actually have been a couple of shows where there was one in particular that um I had been talking to somebody

where they literally had been tested. It was one of the leads just before they came on set. If they found out that that person had covid N, team stop that person from going on set and therefore protected the rest of the crew and the other UH performers so that they can continue performing and working, so they didn't have to shut the set down. So that was for us.

We had to we had to find an agreement. And again it was really important that we didn't just do it as bag after it, but that we did it with everybody, because if people don't all buy into it, then you can't you and I can say a million times, look you have to test, and they're gonna say no, I don't you know. But if we we all come to this agreement together, it actually makes it a standard that we all follow. And it's been really thus far.

You know, I'm hopeful that we have been able to stop some of the spreading that could have occurred, and that's closed down. Gabrielle carteris president of SAG after she joined this on the phone from Los Angeles, and there is a return to work agreement, uh that the union has negotiated and Gabrielle and you know this better than we do, negotiate something and not everyone is always happy

with it. And so as we've talked to folks, one of the things that has come up is that, um, the premiums are going to have to go up in the health plan and that working spouses are no longer covered. What sort of feedback have you gotten and what are you saying back to your members as they do weigh in on this deal. Well, working spouses are actually still covered, it depends on it unless they are covered by their uh at their work. You know, for instance, my husband

has a job. If he's covered there, then uh, he would take that as his primary But um, yeah, you know what, unlike not unlike what's going on in our country, we're seeing it everywhere. The pandemic has actually, uh, you know, has really been devastating in terms of you know, healthcare.

Not only that you know, outside of the pandemic, we've seen an incredible I mean that the cost for healthcare in this country and the lack of people being able to afford healthcare has been you know, it's been shocking. For these last couple of years, we've seen it going up and up and up and up. So with that pressure and with the pandemic, it has been really his

weight a lot. I'm hoping now that with work going back, people are going to start again with their working, we'll be able to go and um uh be able to be eligible for their health care again. It's really uh, it's something that's very important. I believe people have a right to health care in this country. I want to make sure that people can go and take care of themselves. So as we re enter work with the protocols that we put forward, I think already I'm getting calls from

people saying, yeah, I made my healthcare this year. Um. And so that's really what I hope for everybody. But you know, it's a bigger problem than just what's going on with in our union or in other unions or businesses. We really have to look at what's going on in our country. We work very hard on legislation UM to make sure or that people have protections, and I think that we're going to have to make sure to really address it on a federal level as well as what

we do within our organization than Gabriel. My understanding is that new agreement that you guys signed it, you said, UM September twenty one. I think it goes until April of next year. UM. Is that when you anticipate that things will be more normal, No, when you have no idea, I would never I could, I could never tell you. I think that it was very important though, you know, it's uh for us to be able to have a

look back period. So you know, we're periodically, we're going in every month actually looking at what's working and what's not working in the agreement that we've done. But April, in April, when we get to that point, will reevaluate and we'll see if we have to go and implement it longer or do we want to shift it to be something else. But it's very fluid because this is an unknown universe for everybody, right, I mean, none of

us have experienced what a pandemic is. People out in the beginning, when it first came out you know, it'll just be a couple of months. Don't worry, It'll be you know by June, we'll be back, and we'll be back by August. Well, the truth is, we just don't know, and we're seeing numbers rise. I'm listening to you, you know, your broadcast right now, and we're hearing you know, New York. The numbers are rising around the country. It's rising around the world. It's rising. So I can't tell you I

don't have that crystal ball, but we do have. That's just a place for us to stop for a moment, to say, where are we now? Is this is this working? And what can we do better? Or do we need to continue this? And that's what that is. Do you do you have any eat protocols? Do you have any visibility? Do you think, like I know we were Jason and I have guests on and we think it might be a year from now before things feel a lot more normal.

Do you have any visibility from either the studios that you guys are talking to and your members, any idea in terms when it when it gets more normal where we don't have to be so worried about all these safety precautions, having zones. And you know, look, we're the student dios don't know anything more than we know. We're all working with the epidemiologists and the doctors. We're all hearing the information from the CDC. We're looking to see.

There's no answer, right but you know clearly where everybody's talking about. Is there gonna be a second wave? What does that look like? We want to be prepared if there's going to be again that Evan flow. We want to make sure that people stay at work once they enter into work. So how do we create those safeties? But I just I don't I'm like you, I don't know. You know, they've come out with a vaccine, Well will it be effective when they come out with it? Who's

going to take it? Will? You know? There's too many variables right now. But um, we are doing everything we can to make sure that we can go and keep the industry open and keep people in the safest that's what we call it, a safer way back to work.

We want to make sure that they have protections. All right, We've only got about a minute left, and Gabrielle, I would not be happy with myself if I didn't ask you at least one question, I mean, and a question is really, you know, there are certain shows that just like Resonate and maybe I'm just of a certain age, but what was it if you can distill it down in in forty seconds about that show that has made

it so memorable for so long. I you know, I think that it was true then, and my kids watched it. I have older kids now who watched it recently, and they couldn't believe how they thought it was great. I think it just touches on the real issues that affect young people, and it created an environment where they felt seen and heard, and it allowed parents to have conversations they would not have otherwise had. And I think that people didn't want to just go and be painted with

milk and cookies. They wanted to be real life, you know, scenarios. So I think people I know from my character people would say to me, you remind you know, I'm I'm in Andrea right there. For them, it was that, you know, we all feel a little bit like everybody thinks they know us, that we feel sometimes a little uncomfortable and

as understood. So anyway, alright, well, thank you, thank you for indulging me on that and Thank you for your time today, you're doing incredibly important work on behalf of hundred and sixty thousand plus members there at SAGA after Gabrielle Carterist, Thank you,