UPDATE  posted 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 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 April 3

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