president – ACTRA National

Happy Labour Day, ACTRA Members!

1 September 2023

ActraNational

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Dear members,

This Labour Day will mark the 496^th day ACTRA has been shamefully locked out by the Institute of Canadian Advertisers (ICA). Our sibling unions across the border, SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, are on strike. Our industry is at a crucial moment in time. Workers’ rights and the power of collective mobilization is more important than ever.

Since April 26, 2022, ACTRA members have come together, raising our voices in solidarity with other unions across Canada at rallies and on picket lines, standing as one against corporate greed.

Labour Day is a time to appreciate and honour the work of those before us, who fought for fair wages and the safe working conditions we have today. And we carry on that fight.

I encourage you to attend any Labour Day events near you. You may also visit the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) website for an evolving list of activities across the country.

Union Power – Union Strong,

Eleanor Noble

MEDIA ADVISORY: SOLIDARITY RALLY FOR SAG-AFTRA & WGA

23 August 2023

ActraNational

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Categories: News Release, News You Can Use

Graphic with photos of three people. Text reads "ACTRA Solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and WGA", "Downtown Toronto" at the top, and the titles and names of each person: "Michelle Hurd, VP Sag-Aftra National, LA", "Eleanor Noble, President, ACTRA National" and "David Gale, President, ACTRA Toronto"

August 23, 2023 – This Friday, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television Radio Artists (ACTRA) will hold a solidarity rally in support of striking Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) members.

This rally coincides with day 486 of the unlawful lockout of ACTRA performers by the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA) and the brand advertisers they represent.

“ACTRA stands in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. The issues they are fighting are our issues. Advertising Agencies, studios and streamers need to stop their corporate greed, making huge profits at the expense of our livelihoods,” said Eleanor Noble, ACTRA National President. “Enough is enough! It’s time to get back to the table and make a fair and respectful deal with us.”

SAG-AFTRA National Vice President, Los Angeles, Michelle Hurd will join Noble and many other ACTRA Members and sibling unions for this rally in downtown Toronto as ACTRA exposes advertising agencies, studios, and streamers for their corporate greed.

The SAG-AFTRA strike began over a month ago, while writers have been on strike for nearly four months and ACTRA performers have been locked out for 16 months by the ICA.

When

10 am Friday August 25, 2023

Where

Amazon and Apple Headquarters: 120 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5J 0A1

Speakers

Eleanor Noble, Michelle Hurd, other high-profile performers, and union leaders

Broadcast

The rally will be streamed live on ACTRA National’s Facebook Page.

UBCP-ACTRA

will also hold a solidarity rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 11 am PT on Friday. The Vancouver rally will be streamed live on UBCP/ACTRA’s Instagram page.

For more information about the lockout of ACTRA performers and the union’s boycott of union busting brands.

Click Here

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is the union representing commercial performers in Canada. The National Commercial Agreement (NCA) is the collective agreement that preserves minimum rights and protections for ACTRA performers in the commercial industry. For 60 years the NCA has guaranteed fair working conditions, benefits, and competitive pay for on-and off-camera performers in commercial productions in Canada.

Summer Update from National President Eleanor Noble

14 August 2023

ActraNational

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Categories: News You Can Use, President's Message

Hello ACTRA members,

What a summer this has been.

SAG-AFTRA went on strike, taking on the studios just as we were invited back to the NCA bargaining table by the ICA. The good news is that the media interest over the SAG-AFTRA strike has allowed us to shine an even greater spotlight on our lockout. We have done many interviews on all forms of news media outlets (radio, broadcast news, etc.). With each opportunity, we highlighted that ACTRA members have been in a 16-month illegal lockout by the ICA. We will keep doing our due diligence in taking advantage of every platform to get the message out.

On that note, ACTRA Toronto, UBCP/ACTRA, and ACTRA Montreal are holding an ACTRA Day of Action to protest locked out engagers. ACTRA Toronto and ACTRA Montreal dates are scheduled for Tuesday, August 22 with the UBCP/ACTRA date TBD. Please look out for further details on the time and location. As well, we encourage you to share our social media posts to help rally people to these important events for our commercial sector. Friends and family are welcome to attend in support of ACTRA performers and to end the lockout.

We continue to stand in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and the WGA during their strike and are watching negotiations closely. In case you missed it here is the latest update from the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee after returning to the table with AMPTP Friday.

As a sign of our support, we are planning a cross-Canada rally that we hope will take place on Friday, August 25 to show solidarity with the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes. Once again, when the details are confirmed, it would be great if you could share them widely on social media.

We will provide an update on the NCA once we are out of the current blackout. Please visit www.actra.ca/nca/ for the latest updates and FAQs.

Until then, thank you for your continued support and solidarity. These are interesting times, and we are doing everything necessary, at this critical point of change in the evolution of our industry, to protect ACTRA and its jurisdictions in all ways possible.