NEXT MONDAY'S GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING  posted 10 July, updated 11 July:
San Francisco's Stay-Safe-At-Home Order still requires that most people continue sheltering in their place of residence (as do orders across the Bay Area). B18's President and Business Agent therefore will hold the July General Meeting online, when that meeting would have taken place: Monday, July 13, at 6:30pm.

Details were sent to all e-mail addresses on file on Friday evening, July 10.
The message included information on how to connect on Monday, either participating using Zoom on your computer, tablet, or smart phone, or by participating audio-only using a phone.

If you didn't get that e-mail (and have checked any junk/spam folder) please contact Member Services at <membership@iatse-local-b18.org>.

Here is the agenda for this online meeting:
   1. Welcome. Directive from IATSE re: maintaining operations
   2. Financial report: income YTD vs. where we would be normally; expenses
   3. Venue updates: what each venue is doing for FOH staff; any ongoing negotiations
   4. Assistance options: discussion and possible vote on a Local B18 fund
   5. Questions.

The Local asks that all who wish to participate be up-to-date with dues, and Standing Rules for these meetings will apply. Please see your copy of the B18 constitution and bylaws for details, or click HERE.

UPDATE from Johnny  8 May:
I am asking all members who can to join IATSE International President Matt Loeb and SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris on
  Tuesday, May 12, at 10:30am
for a virtual town hall discussion with California Congressman Adam Schiff, Hollywood’s representative in Congress.

Representative Schiff is one of the congressional leaders who championed CARES Act relief for freelance and contract workers, who make up a large portion of the entertainment industry. The virtual town hall has been set up to discuss the impact of COVID-19, future relief efforts, and getting the entertainment industry back to work.

If you have questions or comments for Rep. Schiff, please e-mail <PTEOE@sagaftra.org>.

Click HERE to watch on Tuesday via YouTube.

UPDATE from Johnny and Leontyne  20 April:
B18 has been working with the International, SF Labor Council, and other union leaders for other means of financial assistance for our members. Recently, IATSE donated over $2 million to the Actors' Fund, which is set up to help entertainment workers, like us, who are out of work. A minimum of five years of recent entertainment-industry employment with earnings of at least $6,500 for three out of the last five years or a minimum of 20 years of industry employment with a minimum of 10 years of earnings of at least $5,000. If you qualify, click HERE.

LOCAL REPORT from Leontyne and Johnny  13 April:
On the day that a quarterly general meeting would have been held if it weren't for COVID-19 concerns, the President and Business Agent sent out a report to the membership by e-mail. If you didn't get yours, please check any spam- or junk-mail folders you might have. Or it could be that B18 does not have your current e-mail address. If you want a copy please contact Member Services at <membership@iatse-local-b18.org>.

UPDATE from IATSE  10 April:
If you are in the at-risk category for COVID-19, or a caregiver to someone who is, or already ill with the Corona virus, IATSE has put in place a system to have trusted IATSE volunteers help get you what you need, such as groceries or prescriptions.

The service is free, but is available on an as-needed/as-available basis for members. This means that IATSE needs to confirm that one of its volunteers is in your area. The goal is to successfully respond to a member-in-need request within 72 hours.

Please click HERE to learn more about the IATSE C.A.R.E.S. delivery service

UPDATE  3 April
with announcement of the cancellation of the April general meeting

Brothers and Sisters:

On Tuesday, March 31, health officers in seven Bay Area jurisdictions extended previous stay-at-home orders through at least May 3, 2020. Therefore, the Executive Board has cancelled the general membership meeting scheduled for Monday, April 13, 2020. We still hope to be able to hold our July 13 meeting as scheduled.

In lieu of the cancelled April meeting, the local will be making a report to the membership on April 13, to update you on the latest news during these unprecedented times.

B18 has been working with IATSE and locally with the SF Labor Council, and union leaders for other means of financial assistance for our members. IATSE is donating over $2 million to the Actors' Fund, to be set up to help entertainment workers, including us, who are out of work. Further information about these assistance funds will be posted here as that gets to us.

We are both continuing to monitor B18 e-mails from our homes. For members that may have union questions, please feel free to reply to this Member Services e-mail.

Additionally, the union’s attorneys at Weinberg, Roger, & Rosenfeld have put together a comprehensive webinar and powerpoint on the benefits in the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act”.
  For the webinar, click HERE.
  You can view just the powerpoint slides of the benefits HERE.

If anyone requires any assistance during this time, help getting groceries or medication, please let us know. Send an e-mail with subject "COVID help needed". If you are willing to help out with any of these things, please send an e-mail with subject "COVID help volunteer".

If you live in San Francisco, the City and County of San Francisco has created an assistance program for older adults, adults with disabilities, and all those impacted by or exposed to COVID-19. Click HERE to get more information, or call 415-355-6700.

Stay safe everyone. We are all in this together and we will see each other through.

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, President and Secretary-Treasurer
Johnny Moreno, Business Agent
(notification went out on 4/3 to members who provide an e-mail addresses)

UPDATE from Leontyne  17 March:
In light of the new order that we shelter at home, the B18 office will be closed for the foreseeable future. Late fees on membership fees are on hold as of the first week of March, and your patience is requested regarding getting membership cards out and responses to your e-mail.

UPDATE from IATSE  16 March:
The special relief package passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday has emergency paid-leave benefits that won’t apply to displaced entertainment workers (because of the requirements for days worked on a job to qualify). IATSE suggests that all members ask Congress to include such workers in COVID-19 relief.

You can do that by individually contacting your representative in the House and Senators Feinstein and Harris. Or you can click HERE, where you can pretty much do this all at once (and IATSE provides suggested text that you may modify or replace).

UPDATE from Johnny  14 March:
On Friday (3/13), union leaders from various San Francisco locals, including B18, met with the Mayor’s Chief of Staff at City Hall. We pushed for the Mayor to advocate for us and discussed some our needs such higher unemployment compensation, more safety at the workplace (so as not to spread the virus further), and expanded health-care options.

The unions present also decided to meet again on Tuesday to work up a comprehensive and specific list of proposals. After that, we will meet with the Mayor's office staff again. B18 is also working with the SF Labor Council to push for other sources of compensation from our sporting venues and theater affiliates for the loss of wages of our workers.

FIRST ALERT  posted 12 MARCH

As you already know, Covid-19 is a serious matter. And it now directly affects all of us who work for B18 employers, from A.C.T. to YBCA.

• We would encourage everyone to get as much real information as possible and to take every caution to prevent catching, and not spreading, the virus. There are numerous guidelines posted. Probably one of the better ones, from California's Department of Public Health, is HERE.

• San Francisco has set up a text alert service for official updates. If you want that:
   text COVID19SF
   to the shortcode 888-777
The Department of Public Health also has a website that gets updated.

• Finally, we urge those members who are thinking of applying for California unemployment to do so as soon as possible. This can be done online HERE, according to this schedule:
  Monday: 4am - 10pm
  Tuesday-Friday: 2 am - 10pm
  Saturday: 2am - 8pm
  Sunday: 5am - 8:30pm
Claims can also made by phone, Monday through Friday, 8am - noon:   1-800-300-5616.

Not everyone may qualify immediately for unemployment, but it is a good idea to get in the pipeline as soon as possible, and let California decided.

Above all, please stay healthy, care for yourself and your families (however you define family), and know that your Local is doing what it can on your behalf during this difficult period. Stay informed, and check back here for any Union-related updates.

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong, President and Secretary-Treasurer
Johnny Moreno, Business Agent
(e-mail notification was sent to members who provide addresses)

This page was created March 12, 2020, and last updated July 11.

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