Friday, July 5, 2013

Elect Art Lynch to the National Board of SAG-AFTRA: Experience has its value! References speak volumes.

How to Build work in the Nevada Branch



SAG is top down and national. On the local level you have an executive, Steve Clinton, and elected local president, Barbara Grant. They are the local focus. As a board members my job is to work on national issues, make sure Nevada is funded and gets support and represent the membership at national board meetings. Since over half the board is Los Angeles, their issues get the headlines and take much of the time, but we do go and advocate national, regional and Nevada issues. Thus the expansions of the Nevada Zone  I have helped win, despite no other zone increases or creations on the same contracts. Having a local executive is also in part an accomplishment from the national level, pushing for it and supporting a local executive through relationships with other board members and staff.

Las Vegas is in a RTW state so rules are somewhat different than LA or NYC. 

We have strong local executive who is working on organizing and increasing what work we get. 

I fight for funding and support for our legislative agenda in Nevada, for organizing to grow local and attract national work and to minimize the impact of very real budget and staff cuts on Nevada.

I have strong ideas on local, but the reality is that the President and the council are charged with the local.

Some of my ideas:

Grow membership involvement on committees that actually do the work of the committee.

Gain greater participation by our lead actors, celebrities and those with "juice" or pull in town.

Get real film incentives so that we will regain the production we have lose and perhaps someone will actually invest in a union studio shop.

Increase SAG only benefits in town.

Discourage Taft-Harleys any way that is legal (there are limitations to what we can do in an RTW state). This is our top priority!

Stop listening to FiCore actors who have abandoned their responsibility to other actors.

Enforce Rule One.

Regain an actual office for our executive to work out of.

Continue to fight to keep communications open and improve communication with members and member to member.

Continue to strengthen connections with other unions.

Control the qualified professional talent pool, meaning that union talent must be quality, professional and available for work.

As much as can be done in an RTW state, make sure agents and casting companies play by their agreements in franchises and signatory status.

Continue to expand the zone.

Encourage youth to become involved, since that seems to be the priority in hiring by producers…take away their excuses for not hiring union workers.

Work to undo the Right to Work laws in Nevada.

Continue to support the Conservatory, and other social or educational opportunities to help branch members train and get to know each other.

I believe Barbara Grant, the president, and the council are on the same page on the priorities above.

What I can continue to do no the national level is keep the board and national staff aware of and supporting our needs.

Refer to:




Feel free to contact me.


Crowe.mpg

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Rule One:

Do Not Work Non-Union



We Stand Together: The Screen Actors Guild

Rule One is one of the founding principles and strengths of our union: we stand together as actors and do not work without a Guild contract. 

Reelect Art Lynch to tirelessly represent the Nevada membership.


See what others have to say about Art Lynch

http://www.artlynch4sag.com/
http://www.artlynch4sag.com/quotes.html

Where to go for more information

Go to SAGACTORONLNE.COM


Film, TV,
Theatre,
Acting,
Industry News...


For Daily updates 
go to


http://www.sagactoronline.com

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Resource links (partial)


A New Union: SAG-AFTRA

A New Union: SAG-AFTRA
“An actor is an actor is an actor — on television, stage or radio. The divisions of representation hurt and weaken us, allowing us to be divided, and giving us each smaller pools for insurance and pensions. It’s past time that we come together and hammer out the difficulties of a merger, rather than letting them prevent us.” — Peter Coyote

Welcome to SAG ACTOR ONLINE.

Welcome to SAG ACTOR ONLINE.

Union Stregth, the Arts Gain, Quality Professional Talent, SAG-AFTRA

Union Stregth, the Arts Gain, Quality Professional Talent, SAG-AFTRA

Thank you Amy Aquino for your support in returning Art Lynch to the SAG National Board of Directors


Art Lynch is a friend,
a respected colleague
and fierce representative
for the Nevada Branch


Monday, September 26, 2011

Politics are not just in Washington DC




Nevada SAG moving forward (with your help and support)

It does not make friends, but within the limits of confidentiality I am know for telling the truth as I see it.

Your union is a union, not a club, conservatory or social networking group.

And we have a very dedicated board of officers and members looking after the business of the Guild in Nevada. This election showcased how the system works, once the membership has a voice.

There are politics underway that I feel need to be addressed. I thank the membership for their votes in this election, selecting candidates who were not nominated by the nominating committee among their choices.

Those who are doing the job, who have the connections and who have the experience, can be heard at the national level. For the first time that anyone can remember incumbents who were working hard and getting their jobs done were not nominated by the nominating committee, the president last year and myself this year, along with two sitting council members, one of whom choose not to run by petition. Local officers endorsed not voting incumbents back into office.

I am not the type to blow my own horn, campaign or ask for help. This year I had to do all three, and I did not enjoy it. I thank all of you who made calls, sent e-mails, donated to the campaign and supported by reelection. I did gather endorsements, but only after knowing the politics behind my not being nominated.

It would hope that our top local officers, as well as Rick Rockne, take the time to allow me to represent the branch on the national level. The local level has always been in the hands of the officers and council. I have one vote and other than advising from experience and the perspective of my office, I carry no more voice or vote than any other member of your elected council. Except for my one year as president, I never have, regardless of the rumors that circulated during the past two campaigns.

As I shared in today's membership meeting, it is my hope that, whether we merge or not, members continue to step forward and run for office, volunteer for committees and do all they can to turn potential work union in Nevada. We are the union.

It is also my hope that the type of backdoor politics I have seen over the past two years comes to an end and that we move forward as a branch proudly into a new union or as the Screen Actors Guild, continuing to put membership first.

I feel that you have a strong council, working on many projects for our branch. We have a strong executive in Steve Clinton, and strong support from many key players in the community.

Solidarity.


Art Lynch
(as a private citizen and member of SAG, not an official correspondence).

In part to support what I indicated above about the nominating committee and the need to keep experience I present the folowing excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter:


"In Nevada, Art Lynch won a contested national board seat. Six other national board seats from the Regional Branch Division were uncontested, and the winners were previously announced: Boston – Bill Mootos; Dallas – Suzanne Burkhead; Detroit – Ed Kelly; Houston – Robert Nelson; Nashville – Cece DuBois; Washington, D.C./Baltimore –Stephen F. Schmidt. All of those are three-year positions, and all of the regional winners are believed to favor merger."

Wednesday, September 7, 2011


Why I serve.


























Art Lynch is an actor
and educator who serves
on the National Board of Directors
of the Screen Actors Guild
representing Nevada.

In his over 20 years of Nevada
based Guild service
he has chaired committees,
served on the elected council,
served as Nevada Vice President
and President. He co-chairs
the New Technology Committee
and has long been active
in other national committees,
including the Young Performers
Committee, dedicated to
helping young talent and
their parents to prepare
for and deal with the needs
and demands of the industry.

The guild does not
compensate members
who serve in offices or on committees.
His work is voluntary and for the benefit
of all talent and future talent.

A veteran of Chicago theatre and both film
and commercial acting,
his belief is that all those who find enjoyment i
n the crafts and take
the time to train and pursue work,
should call themselves actors,
has been at the center of his over
a decade of coaching acting full-time.

Lynch is an instructor at the
College of Southern Nevada,
where his focus is communication
and helping students
to achieve their personal goals.

His voice can be heard on Sundays
over Nevada Public Radio
(based through KNPR 88.9 FM)
statewide as the state voice
of Weekend Edition Sundays and
as on-hair local host from
5 AM to midnight on Sundays.

After two decades living
in the heart of Las Vegas,
he and his wife Laura,
relocated to historic Boulder City
seven years ago,
where he works with the Park and
Recreation District serves on the board
of the Dam Short Film Festival,
31ers. He and with his wife are establishing
a social services life counseling opportunity.

Lynch is currently completing a
PhD in Education
through Capella University.

Art Lynch writes and edits this blog,
along with sagactor and others.

You may e-mail Art Lynch at
art.lynch@artlynch.org