Did you know - contracting deadlines

As of the recently renewed CTA and ITA agreements, new provisions have been added to ensure contracts go out to the artists in a timely manner. These join a number of existing rules for executing and signing contracts. Here are the terms currently in effect:

8. 35:08  Execution of Engagement Contracts
   
   1. (A)  Issuing Of
      When the Theatre confirms to the Artist that agreement has been reached on the negotiated terms for an upcoming engagement, the Theatre shall issue a CTA Engagement Contract to the Artist within ten (10) business days. In any event an Artist must receive his/her CTA Engagement Contract no later than twenty (20) business days prior to the start date of his/her engagement.
      This provision does not apply to activities contracted under Article 56:00 or
      Article 57:00 in which the contracted engagement period is less than two weeks.
      
   2. (B)  Signing Of
      Unless contracts are signed concurrently, they must be signed first by the Theatre. If the contract is not signed concurrently the Theatre may in writing at the time of sending the contract to the Artist notify the Artist that unless the contract is signed and returned or postmarked, by the Artist to the Theatre within ten (10) business days (Saturday, Sunday and holidays excluded) after receipt thereof by the Artist, the offer of engagement is withdrawn and the contract shall be null and void. 

So, the long and the short of the recent changes is that CTA and ITA engagers now have a new obligation to issue contracts promptly following agreement upon terms, and contracts must reach the artist 20 days before the engagement begins. Except for certain small-scale projects, that means no more signing contracts on the first day.

As always, engagers are also prohibited from sending unsigned contracts to an artist for them to sign first. The engager must sign the contract before the artist, in order to confirm the terms being offered.

And, of course, artists have their obligations, too. If the contract is being sent out to you for signing, you may have only 10 days in which to do so and return it. If you don't get the contract back in time, the engager has the ability to withdraw the offer. Note, however, that the engager must specifically inform you of this time restriction; it does not apply automatically.

If you work under agreements other than the CTA and ITA, different rules may be in place. Opera and ballet agreements each have their own deadlines.

Remember, it you are working under the CTA, ITA, ballet or opera agreements and your contract is late arriving to you or your agent, please call staff for assistance. If an engager is not meeting the deadlines, staff can't address the situation unless they know about it.

Update on the Council Focus Survey

Thank you to all the members who filled our Council Focus Survey back in October and November of last year. Your input is very valuable to us and is the basis for our strategic planning.

Council has begun the work of winnowing through the various submissions and assigning them for action. We tackled the first nine topics at our most recent meeting, and would like you to know what's up.

First up are issues focussing on diversity and inclusivity. Council already has a Diversity Committee on the go (Minh Ly is the liaison) and they have been provided with the contact info for those of you who expressed an interest in the subject. Greater opportunity and more diversity onstage were the big topics here, and the committee will also be doing follow up work from last term's Census, turning data into action.

In response to the stage management submissions, Council has renewed the SM Committee (Kate Sandeson will be the liaison), and they expect to be up and running again shortly. If you provided contact info in relation to this topic, that has now been passed on to the committee for outreach. Issues surrounding apprenticeships dominated the submissions, and that will likely be an early focus of their discussion.

There were quite a few submissions dealing with indie theatre, although spread across a range of aspects. Member education and general calls for support were two of the big topics identified. In order to get a bit more focus for any future committee work, liaisons Katey Wright and Jaron Francis will be getting in touch with members who provided contact info, and then report back to Council with a more concrete proposal for action.

Improvement to the insurance plan remains an ongoing topic, and Council has asked staff to prepare a  report on the various topics addressed in the submissions. We'll be reviewing that in February.

Calls for a greater partnership with ACTRA was next up in terms of submissions, and those comments will be shared with the Council committee already dealing with that. The liaison for that group is Allan Teichman.

Not far behind were a range of comments on member engagement and involvement. Sedina Fiati is Council's point person for that work, and contact info has been passed to her for outreach as she gets going on the topic.

As with the last term, a range of opera issues have been brought forward, and Peter MicGillivray will be heading up that committee as it gets going.  Contact info has been passed on from those survey participants who asked that we share the info.

Members also flagged a number of issues dealing with work on contract. These have been passed over to staff for the negotiation and review file, and they will also be providing follow-up to Council at a later meeting.

The last topic we tackled was advocacy and lobbying. As with some of the other issues, there was a range of things identified. Council has asked for more status info from staff on current advocacy initiatives, and they will report on that in February.

More to come as we tackle the next slice of survey responses in February. As always, we are open to your ideas any time of the year. If you have any feedback or thoughts on these issues or any other, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

And so we begin!

It was like the first day of school. Equity's new Council met for the first time in Toronto. We had our binder, lots of paper, our hopes, our fears, our areas of utter confusion. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'd hope to make a new friend or two and that there would be snacks. Both goals were achieved!

The first two days were spent with our lively and very well informed instructor, Susan Mogensen of Brown Dog Consulting,  who taught us all about Policy Governance, which is what we use as our governance model. We learned while twisting pipe cleaners into artistic creations, arguing over finer points and smaller group chats. What is Policy Governance you ask? Well, to break it down, it's all about creating concrete vision statements (called Ends) and then making sure all the activities of our organization (called Means) are both appropriate and direct toward achieving the Ends. It keeps us all accountable and making sure what we plan to do fits within the vision for the organization. So, um, now we know how to continue to make Equity great, in theory anyway.

Then the Council business began. Could we new Councillors start to use what we had learned from Susan? Would there still be snacks? The previous Councillors led the way with motions and more motions, and maybe a few emotions. We elected our president (Allan Teichman is back!), 1st Vice President (Katey Wright), Second Vice President (yours truly, Sedina Fiati) and Secretary/Treasurer (Scott Bellis). Our mission, should we choose to accept it, is to get to work. There is so much to do! I know I am reading the reports of the previous term, going over that Council Focus survey and dreaming up ideas for the next 3 years.

If there is one thing I want to achieve, it is getting the members more involved, more than surveys, more than Facebook commenting. It's time get "old school" and start doing things face to face again. I know sometimes we can feel powerless in this industry, but we should all feel ownership over Equity. This is our association and we are a family. Like any family, we don't always have to agree, but to create a healthy dynamic, we should address issues that come up and stand in solidarity with each other. 

This new Council is truly a fabulous group of people who are ready to hit the ground running, so expect some initiatives to start happening really soon. Please keep us accountable by sending us your ideas, feedback and concerns via email, social media, contacting our Executive Director Arden Ryshpan, sending a smoke signal, carrier pigeon or Game of Thrones raven. Hey, even send us a ye olde mail letter or package. I for one would love holiday cookies (the actual cookies, not the cookie tin with sewing supplies), Pot of Gold chocolates (please remove the cherry ones) or your annual family holiday card (bonus points for matching sweaters). I look forward to serving you as Second Vice President. Cheers to a new term.

Sedina Fiati
Equity Councillor (Ontario)
Second Vice President
Lover of Cookies

Council Focus Survey Summary

In prep for the inaugural meeting, Council got its first look at the detailed Council Focus survey results. We still have to work our way through them, but we wanted to share the overall picture with you right away.

304 submissions were received from a total of 213 members, which is almost an identical participation rate from the last time we did this. Up to three suggestions were solicited per response – just less than half of submissions included at least two, and one-quarter included three. About one-third of the respondents indicated that they would be willing to be contacted in regards to their submissions, which means we have access to even more detail, if needed.

Each submission was assigned a short topic heading based on the main point being made. Then, related and compatible categories were combined – the top two suggestions are good examples of this.

Here are the results ranked by frequency.

Inclusivity (diversity)	45
Stage management issues	32
Indie theatre	29
Insurance	20
ACTRA (partnership with)	18
Member Engagement and Involvement	13
Opera	13
Engagements (general)	12
Advocacy	11
Rehearsal issues	9
Engagements (terms)	9
Fees	8
Jobs	8
Scale agreements	7
Regional issues	6
Governance	6
Touring	5
Seniors	5
Respectful workplaces	5
Digital Media	5
Auditions	5
Visioning  for the future	4
Communications	3
Career transition	3
Understudy	2
U.S. work	2
Safety at work	2
Promotion of the Artist	2
Professional development	2
Mentorship	2
Joining	2
Engagers	2
Elections	2
Dues	2
Audiences	2
Volunteer shows	1
Staff	1
Showcase opportunities	1
Script development	1
RRSPs	1
Reciprocity	1
Engager education	1
Employment insurance	1
Member Service	1
Benefits and Fundraisers	1

General comments were also requested at the end of the survey, and we received 49 of these.

Council will be reviewing the overall patterns in these results as a priority item and making a determination on which topics to target over the course of the term. Members can also expect to see some committees formed early in the new year to tackle major issues.

As always, we welcome your comment and feedback. You can contact me at president@caea.com, or Katey Wright, Second Vice-president at councilcontact@caea.com, or either of us through the national office.

Equity Council Elections and Focus Survey

Once you've finished casting your ballot in the Federal election, don't forget to cast your ballot in Equity elections! Voting closes October 30.

And, while you're at it, don't forget to contribute to our Council Focus survey. How do we know what's important to the membership? You tell us.

Finally, just in case you might be thinking "Council, what??", here is a link to some useful topics on Council basics. Everything you ever wanted to know, and then some.

Equity work patterns over time - 2015 update

Every year, staff prepares a report on work weeks from the previous year, and a condensed version appears in the EQ from time to time. There are certainly lots of numbers to sift through, but statistics are nothing without context – a comparison of those numbers over time. Are they climbing, declining, or staying steady?

In an effort to provide some of that context, I started charting the workweek numbers a few years ago, and here is what the picture looks like as of mid 2015:

Work weeks over time

Note: the reporting period changed from calendar to fiscal in 2011, and Jan-Mar 2011 is not reflected in this chart.

Over the past thirteen reporting periods, the typical year has generally hovered around and above 70,000 work weeks for our members - that's the bold red line at the top. Contracts under the CTA and ITA make up about two-thirds of that.

It's a bit hard to make out at this scale, but the cluster of lines immediately below the 10K mark are opera, dance and guest artist, all roughly at the same 6-7,000 level. Opera and guest artist have stayed pretty steady, but due in large part to the welcoming of the artists at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens into our membership, the dance number has risen over the past two years. 

Below that group, the orange line represents small scale and indie projects of all types, which have also seen a significant increase in the past several years. 

Finally, the line right at the bottom is actually two lines: amateur and other (a grab bag of miscellaneous engagements), both of which only account for a few hundred work weeks annually.

Although this year is down slightly from last year's record high, the trend is still very positive, and it will be interesting to see what next year holds in store.

Equity Census - Every Member Counts

Council is currently conducting a Census of the membership, and it’s important that you participate.

Back in 2007, Council initiated the most comprehensive survey of our membership that we have ever done. Response was excellent, and Council has been relying on those results to shape our work for close to a decade now.

One of the most critical elements of that research was Equity’s first foray into developing a detailed picture of the rich diversity of our membership, including information on family and dependants, details of heritage and ethnicity, and physical challenges. These are all areas of some sensitivity, and we were delighted with the generosity the membership showed in sharing their details. Members spoke freely to all these topics, and over 90% of respondents agreed to provide us with ethnic and heritage identity information, well beyond our most optimistic hopes.

So, why are we coming back to the membership on the same topics again? Well, two reasons. 

First, that information was a snapshot of the membership in 2007. Since then we have welcomed over 2000 new artists. Our membership is no longer the same membership it was then, and we want to keep our knowledge current.

The second is more forward-looking, and takes us well beyond the realm of snapshots. This new census research asks for your permission to securely store the identity information you provide, so that we can keep our knowledge current on a continuous basis. 

As Equity works to improve how it helps its members face their career challenges, we need to be able to assess, in real time, whether things are improving or not.

As well, every year we make submissions to a range of governmental and other bodies on how to help and encourage the live performance industry to promote full diversity on Canada’s stages. For this work to have its greatest effect, we need to be able to state with confidence how things are now, and how things have changed, and identify specific places where greater effort is needed. Just as importantly, we need to be able to recognise where best efforts aren’t working, and change tactics to suit.

In short, the whole industry needs to move beyond making choices and hoping they work.

Your contribution to the Equity Census will give us those real-time tools, and everybody’s response is needed to provide the fullest possible picture.

The Equity Census closes this Friday. If you haven’t already done so, please take 10 minutes of your time today, to help us help you for the next 10 years.

Visit caea.com for details on how to participate.

Every member counts.

Renewed Reciprocal Agreement signed with ACTRA

Equity Council is pleased to announce an update to the longstanding Reciprocal Agreement with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). A joint committee of ACTRA and Equity Councillors met to sign the updated document on December 8, exactly forty-three years to the day after the original agreement went into effect.

The new version generally simplifies the language and tidies up some loose ends. More significantly, it also removes the reciprocal joining requirement, so that members of one association working in the jurisdiction of the other now have access to the full range of member or permit options that would ordinarily apply to whichever engagement they may be involved in.

Going forward, ACTRA members will be eligible for permit engagement under our joining programme when doing initial contracts in theatre. This change will offer ACTRA performers, new to the professional stage, the opportunity to build experience in live performance and familiarity with Equity engagements before committing to membership. The specific terms of engagement will depend on what is available for the contract in question, and not on ACTRA membership.

Note that some engagement policies, such as the Artists' Collective, do not require joining for non-members to participate. Equity has historically excluded these engagements from the Reciprocal Agreement joining requirement anyway, so the change only serves to formalise what has long been the case.

ACTRA members can get more information on their engagement options for a given contract by contacting either Equity office.

ACTRA and Equity have enjoyed a long and collaborative relationship, and this renewed commitment to reciprocal recognition and assistance is designed to serve our memberships well into the future. Both national Councils have also committed to ongoing discussions aimed at greater opportunities for connection and collaboration, including the upcoming review of our Strategic Alliance, which generally covers all matters of joint advocacy.

Council Elections - Looking for your input

Council is currently in planning mode for the next round of elections this fall, and we have an idea on which we'd like your input. In short, we're considering a return to rotating elections, where we would renew Council over the course of several years, instead of all at once.

The winter EQ should be arriving in your mailbox or inbox any day now, and there is more information provided in that issue. Please give it a read, and get in touch if you have any ideas or concerns you'd like to share.

Nothing is decided yet, but we do need to get moving on any changes within the next few months. It's your association, so please take the time to help us make it better.

Working in an Educational Setting

At its November meeting, Council concluded work on changes to how members may be contracted while working as educators at post-secondary institutions.

Equity has long excluded members working as educators from the requirement of being signed to an Equity contract, since teaching, even by an Equity member, is not within our jurisdiction. In most cases the division was quite clear. For example, a stage manager, SMing a show at a university, was quite clearly doing a job within Equity's jurisdiction, and expected to be hired under an Equity contract. The same member, however, serving as a coach to a student SM on a university show was quite clearly working in a teaching capacity, and could therefore be contracted under a suitable instructor's contract.

When the Directors, Choreographers and Fight Directors Committee brought the topic forward to Council for consideration, they pointed out that members working in those disciplines frequently had to manage both Equity and teaching responsibilities, e.g. directing a show and also doing a scene study class and grading students on their work.

In these dual-nature jobs, the contracting requirement was frequently a matter of some tension with the school. Existing unions within the educational institution, for instance, might prohibit the hiring of instructors on the contracts of another professional association. Or issues of bonding or prepayment might be administratively challenging for organisations that did not work that way for any other hires. In reviewing the matter, Council elected to open the discussion up to cover all disciplines, so that there would be consistent handling of post-secondary educational contracts for all members. 

Beginning this year, when working within the post-secondary educational sector primarily as educators, members may choose to be hired under either an Equity agreement or a teaching contract, letter of agreement or other document provided by the institution that provides at least the core workplace benefits and protections set out in our policies. We anticipate that this will relieve most of the issues. It will ensure that all members have basic workplace protections, and those members able to use Equity contracts will have access to those additional benefits as well.

Councillors and staff will be preparing an information bulletin on this later in year, but we wanted to give everyone a heads up on the change.

RRSPs - Part 2

If you have read my previous post on Equity's RRSPs, you will know that returns on our funds are right up there with others available in our industry. We offer eight options that run the gamut from the very conservative to the very aggressive. Invested in several of them, members would have doubled their money within ten years, and that's including a period that spans the last recession. Not too shabby.

However, it doesn't matter in the least how good the returns are, if:

• We can't deposit your RRSP contributions into your fund; and 
• You don't leave them there.

Every month, we publish a list of members for whom we are holding RRSP funds, but who have not opened an RRSP account. You've seen it, I'm sure. If you are on this list, we are holding onto your money, but cannot deposit it into your account until you fill out the really simple paperwork.

If we cannot deposit your money in your account, it will eventually get donated to the Actors' Fund of Canada. A very worthwhile cause, to be sure, but not the same thing as contributing to your RRSP. If you haven't already opened an RRSP account, please follow these instructions, and fill in this form, and keep what you've been giving away.

Then, leave the money in there and let it grow!

Each year, a truly astonishing amount of the contributions made are withdrawn. I'm not talking about members who transfer their money into some other registered investment. Nor am I talking about members who withdraw some of their money for one of the reasons that RRSPs allow for – lifelong learning, or putting a downpayment on a house, for instance – or to deal with a sudden financial crisis.

I'm talking about members who withdraw their RRSPs in cash, all of it, and regularly.

This is a tough business, and money is frequently/always tight. Even at the best of times, it's difficult to save for tomorrow. So why not make use of the opportunities that exist? The amount of money diverted from your paycheque is small, but the opportunities for its growth are very good. It makes no difference to Equity whether you withdraw money from your RRSP or not, but it sure could make a huge difference to your future. 

And then the next time I post a comparison of RRSP returns, it won't just be some bit of abstract trivia. You'll be able to say to yourself: "Excellent, and I've got a piece of it!"

RRSP Comparison - 2014 edition

Last year I decided to do a comparison chart of RRSP returns after a friend asked how ours stacked up against others available to the industry. Time for an update (results below). I'm pleased to report that our funds continue to perform well.

These results (annualised returns) are from the most recent month end, as provided in member reports. Equity offers eight funds, Association 1 offers two, and Association 2 offers five. Note that some Association 2 funds are relatively new, so they do not show up in all the clusters.

Looking at our slate of conservative, moderate, balanced, advanced and aggressive funds, they continue to perform exactly as one might expect. Conservative and moderate (medium red, green) have some variation over time, but pretty much chug along year after year with fairly consistent results: low volatility, with decent (if modest) returns.

The balanced fund (purple) has a little bit more swing to it over time, but comes out well in the long term. This is our default fund, and accounts for over 80% of all retirement assets, with 75% of participants holding this fund.

The advanced, aggressive and global equity funds (light blue, orange, medium blue) certainly do very well when they do well, but they are also higher risk investments and have much more volatility. The chart above doesn't show annual data, but the down years for these funds tend to be just as pronounced as their up years. As a result, they still end up in the same ballpark as all the others on a ten year horizon. Depending on when you buy in, a member could do quite nicely. Or the opposite. If only one could know in advance when these were going to skyrocket and dip…

The ethics fund (deep red), being comprised entirely of stocks, is also subject to the ups and downs of the market, but has performed very well over time. The lowly money market fund (short, dark blue) is not really an investment fund as such, and is only included here for completeness. It can be useful in circumstances when stability of capital is more critical than growth.

All told, we have 8 different funds so that members at various ages and stages of their career can put together the investment mix best suited to them. Members contribute from every pay cheque, and have the ability to make additional contributions as well.

RRSP season is all year round for Equity members, so if you have questions about where your money is being held, and whether it is the right mix for you, your "retirement" horizon (I use the word loosely) and your risk tolerance, give Great West Life a call and talk to an investment advisor. They can, well, advise you. If you already did that some years ago, don't forget to do it periodically to keep up to date. Maybe do it now before the February RRSP crunch hits.

And of course, the all-important disclaimer: past performance is no guarantee of future results, etc.

Did you know? - Dues remission

Since 1990, Equity has offered dues remission to senior artists within each of its disciplines. Upon application, eligible members may be granted relief from payment of basic (annual) dues. Further details and application instructions can be found here.

The thresholds for eligibility are:

• age 65 for performers, stage managers, directors, fight directors and choreographers
• age 55 for opera singers
• age 45 for ballet dancers 

We've recently completed some bylaw changes to increase member awareness of the option. Commencing later this year, all members newly eligible will receive notice and application information no later than the first dues billing period for which remission would be available. Of course, members who decide not to apply at that point, and quite a few do, can still apply at a later time.

There are a few important things to know about dues remission.

• Dues remission is not automatic - you must apply for it.
• You must be a regular member in good standing at the time of application, and have at least ten prior years of regular membership in good standing.
• Dues remission affects basic (annual dues) only - working dues are still payable.
• Dues remission is not mandatory – many members have elected to continue to pay basic dues in support of their Association.
• Dues remission does not affect membership rights or obligations, nor RRSP or insurance coverage.

If you need to know more about dues remission, please contact either office, and staff will be glad to assist.

Did you know? - Member insurance

What is my insurance coverage?

Such a simple question: five words. Would that it could be answered in as few. Since it can’t, here is the answer condensed into as few words as I could manage…

For all members in good standing, year-round, off-contract coverage looks like this:

• Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage
• 50% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident
• $100 in Miscellaneous Health and Wellness Benefits (the list is on p.4)

If you worked a minimum of 8 weeks at insurance levels 2-4 in the previous calendar year, off-contract coverage also includes:

• 50% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of sickness

To find out if you reached that threshold, log into your profile online. In the top right section, you will see your off-contract insurance eligibility listed. You can also find this info included on your insurance receipt each year.

When you are on-contract, your coverage bumps up to the appropriate level for the contract and premium you are paying:

• Levels 1-3: 85% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident or illness
• Level 4: 100% of eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident or illness
• All levels: disability (income replacement) coverage

Some important things to know:

• Your on-contract insurance level is determined by the performer minimum scale fee for the contract in question (since that also determines the premium), not the specific fee you may have negotiated. More info can be found on p. 2 here.
• If you have a contract with level 4 coverage, on-contract coverage for all subsequent contracts in that calendar year is also at Level 4, even though you may only be paying a level 1-3 premium.
• Treatment that begins on-contract, say massage for an injury, continues at the on-contract rate for the earlier of 3 months following the end of the contract, or 6 visits.
• No coverage is unlimited; various annual maximums apply.
• Paramedical claims are covered at the level of reasonable and customary charges, typically established in the fee guides set by regulatory bodies for the practitioners. You should be aware that practitioners offering "specialty" treatments, or working in spas or health clubs, frequently charge more than will be reimbursed.
• All members in good standing also have access to the Equity dental network at no extra cost.
• For those needing even more insurance coverage, AFBS offers Equity members preferred rates on their Arts and Entertainment Plan.

So, those are the basics, covering the vast majority of situations, in a (very large) nutshell. 

Now, do yourself a favour and click on this link. Read the insurance brochure. It will only take you about ten minutes. It's time well spent before you need to make a claim.

Did you know? - Equity's service standards

Every year, members call and write to the office a few thousand times, for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it's just an information request. Other times, it has to do with an imminent or active contract, where the member needs specific details on engagement terms. Every so often, members contact the office because there is a problem that needs solving. And on top of all these service interactions with members, there are many more from engagers and others with various needs for assistance.

Equity is, at its core, a service organisation, so Council has placed a big focus on doing that well – we have written comprehensive policy to ensure the best possible service standards in all areas.

But service standards are only lip service, if you don't know what they are – what you can expect in terms of service and response times – or how to proceed if those standards are not met. And so, we've made some recent changes to up our game even further.

At the top right of our main web page is a new button labelled "Compliments, comments, criticisms?" If you have a service issue, both Council and Equity's staff encourage you to use it. Behind that button lies information on our service standards and a simple, three-step process to ensure any issue with service receives the timely attention that it deserves.

Most problems are readily solved. But for those that aren't, a formal complaint process is also available. All complaints are addressed promptly by the appropriate staff, or by Council, if the matter involves the Executive Director. But beyond that, they are also logged and reported to Council on a regular basis, so that we can watch for patterns and address them proactively.

In the context of the thousands of service interactions each year, problems are fortunately rare. However, we're all human, and sometimes things do go awry. Council and staff recognise the impact that even minor seemingly issues can have in the context of an individual production or a members' livelihood, and we are committed to identifying problems if they occur and working toward continued improvement.

Please, help us help you better.

Did you know? - Health and Safety Training for Theatre Artists in Ontario

Under an expanded initiative by the Ministry of Labour in Ontario, all workers must take basic health and safety training. Including theatre artists of all stripes. Including employees and independent contractors. In short: including you.

Perhaps the easiest way to take the training is online, where it consists of roughly 45 minutes of videos, information pages, and short quizzes. There is also a paper-based version.

The response from many in the community has been about what you'd expect…

"What a waste of time!" 

"The material is boring."

"The questions are so simple, it would take an utter fool to get the answers wrong."

"I can see how this would apply in an office/factory/construction site/warehouse/etc., but it has nothing to do with me."

Well, it does.

In Ontario, there are three levels of responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.  (I suspect it is similar elsewhere, too.) Business owners have their layer of responsibility. Supervisors have their layer. And workers have theirs. And the law says that you have to know, understand, and live up to yours. In fact, you have had this responsibility for a very long time, whether you knew it or not.

So, if you've managed this long without the training, why should you bother now?

Well, you could learn something about health and safety in the workplace, and your rights and obligations. That wouldn't be so bad. You could learn something about how to recognize an unsafe situation and respond, and save yourself from injury. That wouldn't suck too much, either. You could learn how to save someone else from injury or illness. Probably worth a few minutes of your time, no?

But if learning stuff and staying safe just isn't your thing, then consider the following. One of the owner and supervisor responsibilities is to ensure that all of their workers (including you) have the requisite training, and failure to do so is a huge liability for them. If something goes awry, and an MOL inspector wants to see copies of all the training certificates, the last thing any theatre will want to discover is that they don't have them on file for everyone involved. And so you can expect that theatres will begin to require these as a condition of engagement.

How's that for a reason?

So, invest an hour of your life in acquiring some useful knowledge, and a skill certification. You're going to need to show that piece of paper sooner or later, so don't forget to save or print it at the end of the course. (You don't want to have to watch those videos twice, do you?)

Did you know? - Withdrawal

Most professional associations and unions offer some form of honorable withdrawal from membership, and Equity is no different.

A member may choose to go on hiatus from active membership in the Association by applying in writing to the Executive Director. Full details can be found here. Really, it's pretty much as simple as dropping us a note.

Withdrawal allows you to place your membership on temporary hold, when you know that you will not be working in Equity's jurisdiction for a while. Common reasons are a return to school, new parenthood, absence from the country, etc. Withdrawal does not end your membership.

When you go on withdrawal, you are no longer charged basic dues, saving you $90 per half year. If you come back off withdrawal within one year – to accept a contract, for instance – you will be back-billed for the missed basic dues and any penalties that would have been charged had you not withdrawn. (In other words, withdrawal cannot be used to simply avoid paying your current dues.) However, if withdrawal extends beyond a year, you are not back-billed for those dues, and will owe only basic dues for the current billing period, plus a $25 reinstatement fee, regardless of the length of the withdrawal.

There are a few key restrictions to going on withdrawal.

• You can't go on withdrawal if you are not in good standing, which means that you can't use withdrawal to avoid paying back dues, or avoid any other penalty or disciplinary action.
• When you are on withdrawal, the rules of membership continue to apply, which means that withdrawal doesn't give you the option of working off-contract.
• As a member on withdrawal, you are not eligible to vote on any matter, or attend membership meetings. Your RRSP remains active, but you are not eligible for insurance coverage.

Oh, one other thing. You are not officially on withdrawal until you hear back from the office, accepting your application. It's generally handled within a day or two.

Withdrawal is an honorable approach to placing your membership temporarily into an inactive status, and we strongly encourage members to use it where needed. It can save you a lot of money if you know you're going to be "out of the business" for a bit, and is much less expensive than resigning and rejoining.

If you need to know more about withdrawal, please call either office, and staff will be glad to assist.

Did you know? - Equity's Bylaws

Every so often, Council sends out notice of changes to the Association bylaws. We realise that these updates may be generally yawn-inducing, but bylaws govern the structure of our entire organisation, and it's important that you are aware of them, and any changes to them.

So, for those of you for whom Equity's bylaws are not riveting reading – and that would include pretty much everyone, methinks – here is the Reader's Digest version.

If any topic in this list is of importance to you – and that would include pretty much everyone, methinks – then you can find the whole document right here.

Happy reading!

Definitions

Membership

Membership Classes

Regular Members

Non-Resident Members

Unit Company

Honorary Members

Life Members

Associate Members

Withdrawn Members

Suspended Members

Joining Program

Engagement Permits

Limits on Engagement Permits

Apprenticeships

Stage Management Apprenticeships - Additional
Limits on Apprenticeships

Joining as a Regular Member for Performers in Theatre

Joining as a Regular Member for Stage Managers

Joining Program Fees

Withdrawal

Resignation

Expulsion

Duties Of Membership

Membership Card

Contracts

Address and Discipline

Standards Of Conduct And The Disciplinary Process

Complaints

Filing and Filing Deadlines

Verifiable Communication

Preliminary Review and Resolution Process

Privacy

Timeline for Completion

Review by Council

Hearing Committee

Hearing and Mediation Timelines

Hearing Process

Mediation Process

Appeals Process

Reasonable Accommodation in Process

Notice to Membership

Administrative Penalties

Finances And Dues

Fiscal Year

Initiation Fee

Basic Dues for Regular Members

Basic Dues Remission for Senior Members

Dues and Initiation Fee Reduction

Working Dues for Regular and Non-Resident Members

Arrears

Suspension

Meetings Of Members

National Meetings

Regional Meetings

Special Meetings

Rules of Order

Scale Agreements

Retirement And Insurance Benefits

Registered Retirement Savings Plan

Special Accident and Sickness Insurance

Council

Composition

Officers

Authority

Council Advisory Committees

Regions And Elections

Regions

Elections for Council

Eligibility for Voting and Election

Nominations and Candidacy

Voting

Referendums

Executive Director

Indemnity Of Council Members And Employees

Membership And Organizing Activities

Bylaw Amendments

Reciprocal Agreement With AEA