The Alphabet Soup of Actors' Equity Governance

One of Equity’s most enduring statistics is the paltry member participation in officer and council elections.  Last election, despite the ability of the membership to vote electronically, fewer than 15% of our almost 50,000 members even returned a ballot. This is a typical number for the last decade.

Some cite narcissism and apathy as the causes, but Equity members have historically hurled themselves into worthy causes, great and small.  Whether saving whales or demanding civil rights, we are an active and vocal society.  How then to explain the lack of involvement in our own organization that seeks to improve our own condition?

Rather than being apathetic, it is likely that most of us just do not know how our union’s government works.  If this describes you, you are one of many.  Equity does little to engage the member into voting.  Most of us don't know any of the candidates unless we or our colleagues have worked with them or seen their work.  All the candidates write blurbs saying things that just about everyone will agree with.  Also, most of us only know, in a general way, what we are electing these people to do.  Here are some basics:

First, you should know that the boss is you, the member.  It probably does not feel like it, but Council is beholden to our wishes.  There are many ways to exert your authority.  You can attend a membership meeting.  Write to Council (all letters must be read and attached to the minutes, as per our by-laws) You can join a committee.  You can run for Council.

Did you know that any member in good standing can observe a Council or Regional Board meeting?  (And please do.  They meet every month and Council members always notice when the boss is in the room.  Contact your region’s office.)

There are two components in the running of our union.  The first are your electeds – the Officers and Councillors, who set policy.  The second is the staff, who carries out the will of the membership as expressed through Council.  The former are volunteers; the latter are paid employees.

Acronyms demystified

Like any organization, those who work day-to-day at the union use their own shorthand.  While acronyms serve to save time and breath, they often alienate those who are not in the inside - i.e. the Members.  Here goes...

Council debates and sets policy nationally. Regional boards set policy locally. The country is divided into three discrete regions: Western, Central and Eastern.  Each Councillor serves 1) in a national capacity and, simultaneously, 2) as a board member in his or her region of residence.

Staff (Appointed and hired by Council)

Hence, a Councillor in the Central region will attend the monthly CRB (Central Regional Board) meeting.  We recently hired Sean Taylor (on staff as the Central Regional Director or CRD) to run the Central Region office.  In addition to Councillors from this region, there are members who are Non-Councillor CRB members (and who do not attend National Council meetings)

The Los Angeles office is run by staffer, Ralph Remington, the Western Regional Director (WRD), who is in charge of operations there.

The Eastern office houses the ERD, Tom Carpenter.  Tom also serves as our General Counsel (i.e. our in-house lawyer).

In addition to the Eastern offices, New York houses the National office for which Mary McColl, our ED (Executive Director) supervises national affairs.  She's staff, too.  The head of all staff in the country, as a matter of fact.

Electeds

There are 5 elected Officers: We have one President (currently Nick Wyman) and three national Vice-Presidents.  The 1^st VP works chiefly as a Principal Actor; The 2^nd VP mainly as a Chorus performer; and the 3^rd VP is a Stage Manager.  (Paige Price, Rebecca Kim Jordan and Ira Mont, respectively) The fifth officer is the Secretary/Treasurer. (currently Sandra Karas)

Each region has its own Vice-President, too.  Besides the Eastern Region Vice-President (ERVP - currently Melissa Robinette) there is the CRVP (Dev Kennedy) and WRVP (Doug Carfrae).  They serve as Chairs of their respective regional boards (see above) and each have 3 Vice-Chairs, who are elected internally, (i.e. not by you and me) serving alongside.

The 75 Councillors-At-Large are segregated into categories: Principals, Chorus and Stage Managers.  There is cross-pollinizations between these groups:  There are chorus Councillors have have worked under principal contracts; Principals who have worked as stage managers, etc.  All Councillors vote and consult on all issues whether they be specifically germane to their category or not.

Again, I reëmphasize: No one on Council receives a salary.  They are all volunteers.

There are also 9 Councillors Emereti, given that status for meritorious service to the Association.  The Emereti provide insight and discuss issues, but do not vote.

The real engine of the union is its committees.  The committees do the hard work and the draw-down of what they argue and decide about goes to Council. There are committees for just about every area of interest to Actors and Stage Managers.  There are contract committees, like Production, L.O.R.T. and Stock. Other myriad committees include: Equal Employment Opportunity; Member Education; Senior Performers.  There are region-specific committee as well as national committees. Some of these are Councillor only. (National Public Policy, House Affairs, Organizing, for example) This is due to a need for confidentiality.  Confidentiality is vital when Council is debating policy ahead of bargaining with our producers, for example.  

Most committees, however, are open to the membership.  Some have membership criteria like place of residence, but most are open to any member in good standing. There is no need to have any prior knowledge of parliamentary procedure.  What is required is passion.  Again, no pay here - just satisfaction at fighting the good fight.  To volunteer for a committee, call the office for your region. Everyone can participate, each to his or her own strength, and in every capacity.

Get to know your Council.  Here's a list (current as of March 2014) of the people who represent you.    For more, click on the “About Equity” tab at the top of the Equity’s home page.