Candidate Statement

After serving as an alternate in every National Board meeting since I joined the LA Local Board, I wish I could tell you that things are fine. Things are not fine. A lot of our entrenched national leadership and staff are out of touch with the realities that rank-and-file members face. That’s why I’ve fought to get contract language for our deals released. It’s why I’m lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit against Actors Access. And it’s why I’ll keep working to reform our union, build power, and increase transparency.

Candidate Bio

I joined SAG before the merger in 2011, but my first experience with the importance of union protections came nearly a decade later -- on March 16, 2020. I was starring in an indie movie shooting at a summer camp in the Angeles National Forest. We were already one of the last productions still shooting in spite of the rapidly unfolding pandemic. Then, a blizzard hit and our power went out. The director and producers decided to force the cast and crew to spend the night in the unheated cabins in below freezing temperatures so we could finish shooting over the next few days rather than letting us go home.

I called my SAG-AFTRA set rep, and he drove up the mountain in the snow, but despite the pandemic and numerous OSHA violations, his boss wouldn't let him shut us down. The only way I could get the cast and non-union crew off the mountain was to threaten to leave, as they couldn't complete the picture without me. Once I did that, the production wrapped, my manager sent the fire department to plow the roads, and everyone got to drive home.

I'll never forget the helplessness I felt, or how empowering it was to realize how much individual members can do if we act with bravery and conviction. And I'll never forget my set rep driving up those frozen, winding roads to try to do his job to protect a small group of union members.

I love our union, because the union is the membership. Each of us has equal power in the decisions we collectively make, and each of us has one vote in this election. I hope you use your vote to elect me and the entire Coalition slate.