With the IATSE C.A.R.E.S. (Coronavirus Active Response and Engagement Service) program well underway, the International is now ready to roll out the next phase: C.A.R.E. calls.
With C.A.R.E. calls, they are on a mission to check in with every member. In these calls volunteers provide members with information about the various support initiatives available through the international. We will be attempting to sign up more Members In Need for our delivery system and buddy system, as well as drive members to our Financial Aid and mental health non-profit partners.
We expect the first of these calls to go out early next week. If you have questions about these calls, please be assured that these calls are legitimate.

Sisters, Brothers, Kin --

In this time of uncertainty around COVID-19, The Actors Fund is here for all IATSE members.
The Fund is distributing emergency financial assistance to help IATSE members in immediate financial need to cover basic living expenses, to help prevent evictions, and to pay for food, essential medications or utilities and more.

To apply for this assistance online, visit The Actors Fund website at www.actorsfund.org/GetHelp.

In addition, The Actors Fund has compiled a list of COVID-19 resources that may be helpful to IATSE members, and also offers free online workshops, groups and seminars on career, financial wellness, health insurance, affordable housing and more. You can opt-in to receive The Actors Fund’s monthly e-blast for the most up-to-date seminar schedule.

Visit www.actorsfund.org to learn more.


In solidarity,
The IATSE C.A.R.E.S. Task Force
iatsecares.org

Sisters, Brothers, Kin --

The undersigned guilds and unions represent the diverse, professional workforce that, in ordinary times, come together on productions throughout each year to bring our stories to life for audiences across the globe. Now, in this time when the coronavirus pandemic has brought an unprecedented challenge to our industry, our solidarity is more important than ever before.

We come together on behalf of our respective memberships to ensure coordination between our efforts to secure relief, financial support and other critical assistance for the working professionals in this industry. Our members understand the unique power of collective action. Through our unity, we reinforce that power to safeguard our members as much as possible during the extraordinary set of events we face today.

As always, our first concern is your safety and health, and that of your loved ones. We urge members to follow the updated guidance from the CDC and other government authorities in your area. This includes practicing rigorous sanitation efforts and abiding by the “social distancing” directives now in effect across the country. This not only helps to keep you safe but contributes to the effort to bring the pandemic under control, which allows everyone to return to work more quickly. We can all be a part of the solution to this crisis and we hope that each of us takes our role in this effort seriously.

As you know, each of the undersigned organizations has engaged in measures to provide relief and support for our respective memberships. However, it is important that you know that we also have worked together, and with industry and labor allies, in a variety of ways to protect our members. This includes: advocating for the inclusion of our workforce in the direct cash payments and expanded unemployment insurance available in the federal government’s aid packages recently passed by Congress; ensuring as many of our members as possible are included in state assistance programs across the country; channeling urgently needed donations to the industry’s charitable organizations that give direct support to the industry’s workforce; sharing information and ideas on ways to support the sustained financial well-being of our pension and health plans, which are all impacted by the pandemic; and monitoring and addressing, however needed, the steps taken by companies in response to this crisis – steps that directly impact our members.

Importantly, we are also focused on the protective measures that will need to be enacted to keep professionals safe on production sets and other work environments once people can return to work.

We are pleased to report that the above efforts have been fortified in ways great and small by partners and allies throughout the industry, several of which have agreed to find ways to direct resources to our members and to coordinate on various relief efforts. Such measures showcase the best virtues of our industry and are greatly appreciated.

The above steps are significant but we remain keenly aware that even successful efforts cannot end the steep financial challenges most of our members face during this time. If you are in need, we encourage you to apply to the emergency relief funds listed below. If you are able to do so, please consider donating to these relief funds. The need has never been greater and every dollar helps.

As well, each of our organizations has created, and is updating, special COVID-19 internet resources with available guidelines, resources and support to assist you during this time of need. At the end of this communication, you will find links to the key sites.

We do not know when this national emergency will subside sufficiently to allow productions and other elements of the industry to begin opening back up for business. However, we do share a great faith that our industry will return with vigor and present abundant opportunities for our members to work and to reengage in the craft of delivering entertainment to audiences around the world.

Until such time arrives, we stand united as the industry’s guilds and unions to work on your behalf. We stand with you in this crisis, knowing that our solidarity is a core strength that will sustain all of us in the challenging days ahead.

In solidarity,
Ray Hair
International President
American Federation of Musicians

Thomas Schlamme
President
Directors Guild of America

Russell Hollander
National Executive Director
Directors Guild of America

Matthew Loeb
International President
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

James P. Hoffa
General President
International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Gabrielle Carteris
President
Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

David P. White
National Executive Director
Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

Beau Willimon
President
Writers Guild of America, East

Lowell Peterson
Executive Director
Writers Guild of America, East

COVD19 RESOURCES:
American Federation of Musicians: https://www.afm.org/covid-19/

Directors Guild of America: https://www.dga.org/The-Guild/Coronavirus-Resources-and-Updates.aspx

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees: https://www.iatse.net/coronavirus-update-portal

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: https://teamster.org/covid-19

SAG-AFTRA: http://www.sagaftra.org/covid19
​
Writers Guild of America East: https://www.wgaeast.org/covid19/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 4, 2020

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112

LANSING, MICH. Michigan has become the first state in the country to gain federal approval of a program that will provide nutritious food to children who were affected by school closings due to COVID-19. 

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) provides temporary funding to address emergency food needs and avert financial hardship for families affected by the pandemic.  

The food assistance benefits will go to Michigan families with students ages 5-18 who are enrolled in the Michigan Department of Education program for students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals and will reach approximately 895,000 students. This includes families currently receiving Food Assistance Program benefits as well as those not currently enrolled in the program. 

These additional benefits will fortify and supplement the important efforts that local school districts will continue to put forth, providing nutritious school meals to children at over 2,000 stationary locations and nearly 700 mobile sites throughout Michigan.

“I am proud that Michigan is the first state to receive federal approval for this program to put healthy food on the table for families that need them,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “The spread of COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our state. My administration will continue to work around the clock to help Michiganders through this difficult time and slow the spread of this virus.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) received authorization from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services to provide the additional food assistance.

“Children should never go hungry. Yet because of COVID-19, it is a risk unlike at any time in generations,” said MDHHS Director Robert Gordon. “I am glad that Michigan will be the first state to deliver SNAP benefits to families that previously received free or reduced-price lunches, whether or not they were SNAP-eligible. In a time of terrible need, it will be a small, good thing for nearly a million Michigan children.” 

Families not currently receiving food assistance benefits will receive an EBT card.

Eligible families not currently receiving food assistance benefits will receive in the mail a pre-loaded Electronic Benefits Transaction (EBT) card – known as a Bridge Card – issued under the name of the oldest student in the household.

The amount of EBT benefits will be no less than the total amount of free or reduced-cost school lunch benefits that the family would have received during the time that school is closed. The benefits will include $193.80 per eligible student to cover the months of March and April and an additional $182.40 per student to cover May and June combined. 

Benefits for all eligible school-aged children in the home will be loaded onto this one EBT card. Prior to receiving the card, families will get a letter from MDHHS describing how to use their EBT card, how to set up their PIN, and other pertinent information about food assistance benefits. EBT cards can be used much like a debit card for food items only purchased in-person at SNAP retailers 

Families who are not already receiving food assistance benefits should start receiving MDHHS notices in the mail late next week, with the EBT cards arriving by the first week of May. 

Families currently receiving food assistance benefits will receive additional benefits on their EBT Bridge Cards.

Eligible families currently receiving food assistance benefits will be issued a supplement to their existing benefits. Supplemental benefits can be used as families would typically use their EBT card. Families who already receive food assistance benefits should begin receiving their additional benefits next week – with the payments being staggered over a 10-day period. 

Families can use their pre-loaded EBT cards at any retailer that accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT benefits. You can find a list of SNAP retailers on the SNAP Retailers website. 

Information around coronavirus outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.  
​
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With concern for the health and safety of our exhibitors, attendees, partners and staff, the show management of InfoComm and the executive leadership of AVIXA™ have chosen to cancel the InfoComm 2020 show scheduled for June 13‑19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are currently considering new options to bring to life the engaging and educational experiences of the show in a number of different ways.

A show like InfoComm begins months before the first crate arrives with attendees arranging calendars, booking flights, and setting meetings. It begins with exhibitors launching marketing campaigns, committing to venues for events, designing their booths and coordinating dozens if not hundreds of staff calendars. It also begins with our speakers and instructors spending countless hours honing their content and rehearsing. However, we were forced to make the painful choice to take away this gathering opportunity and return time, money and effort to our community, to be spent on sustaining each other through this trial, and to position all of the industry for recovery and resurgence.

We look forward to working with you over the coming months as the world responds to and then recovers from this crisis. And we most sincerely look forward to seeing you at InfoComm 2021 in Orlando.
​
To find more detailed information about the cancellation of InfoComm 2020, please read the FAQs.