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

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.  
​
# # #

Washington (CNN) The Senate on Wednesday approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of intense negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures Congress has ever considered.
In a remarkable sign of overwhelming bipartisan support for the legislation, the vote was unanimous at 96-0.

The legislation represents the largest emergency aid package in US history and the most significant legislative action taken to address the rapidly intensifying coronavirus crisis, which is overwhelming hospitals and grinding much of the economy to a halt.

It will next go to the House for a vote. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced Wednesday evening ahead of Senate passage that the House will convene at 9 a.m. on Friday to consider the relief package. The plan is to pass the bill by voice vote, a move that would allow the House to avoid forcing all members to return to Washington for a recorded roll call vote.
President Donald Trump has indicated he will sign the measure and tweeted his congratulations after it cleared the Senate.

The White House and Senate leaders struck a major deal early Wednesday morning on the package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell formally announced the agreement on the Senate floor, describing it as "a wartime level of investment for our nation."

Legislative text of the final deal was released Wednesday evening ahead of a final vote. Key elements of the proposal are $250 billion set aside for direct payments to individuals and families, $350 billion in small business loans, $250 billion in unemployment insurance benefits and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies.

The plan will deliver a massive infusion of financial aid into a struggling economy hard hit by job loss, with provisions to help impacted American workers and families as well as small businesses and major industries including airlines.

Under the plan, individuals who earn $75,000 in adjusted gross income or less would get direct payments of $1,200 each, with married couples earning up to $150,000 receiving $2,400 -- and an additional $500 per each child. The payment would scale down by income, phasing out entirely at $99,000 for singles and $198,000 for couples without children.

In addition, the bill would provide a major amount of funding for hard-hit hospitals -- $130 billion -- as well as $150 billion for state and local governments that are cash-strapped due to their response to coronavirus.

It also has a provision that would block Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.

A few senators were missing from the vote due to concerns about their health amid the coronavirus outbreak, including GOP Sen. Whip John Thune who missed the vote because he was not feeling well, his communications director said in a series of tweets. The tweets do not mention coronavirus or self-quarantine, but said he returned home to South Dakota "out of an abundance of caution."

Hard-fought negotiationsA deal came together after hard-fought negotiations between congressional Republicans, Democrats and the Trump administration.

After two consecutive days of high-profile setbacks -- with Senate Democrats blocking procedural votes on Sunday and Monday over opposition to a bill initially crafted by Senate Republicans -- a deal appeared to be imminent by Tuesday morning, but was ultimately not announced until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Democrats had argued over the course of negotiations that they wanted to see more safeguards for American workers in the deal and oversight for how funding would be doled out.

There was intense partisan debate over the $500 billion proposal to provide loans to distressed companies, with $50 billion in loans for passenger air carriers. Democrats initially contended there was not enough oversight on how the money would be disbursed, but the Trump administration agreed to an oversight board and the creation of an inspector general position to review how the money is spent.
There has also been controversy over the stimulus plan's unemployment benefits.

On Wednesday afternoon, the package hit a last-minute snag with a group of Republican senators arguing that it would incentivize unemployment and could trigger worker shortages and supply disruptions by providing more money to some unemployed workers than they would make working.

"This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working," GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said. "You're literally incentivizing taking people out of the workforce at a time when we need critical infrastructure supplied with workers."

Republican critics secured a Wednesday evening vote on an amendment to cap unemployment benefits at 100% of the wages workers received while employed, but the amendment did not pass.

Legislation heads to the House nextHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now emphasizing that Democrats should "recognize the good" in the massive stimulus.

"What is important is for us to recognize the good that is in the bill, appreciate it for what it does. Don't judge it for what it doesn't because we have more bills to come," the California Democrat told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room" Wednesday evening.

Those comments came just after Pelosi told House Democrats on a series of conference calls that she is already thinking about the substance of the fourth coronavirus relief package that Congress will have to pass to respond to the crisis, according to sources on the calls.

Pelosi made it clear to members who are disappointed that the pending bill did not include enough of their priorities that they will have a chance to add those provisions in the fourth package, the sources said.

But passage in the House has been made more daunting by the fact that several of its members have tested positive for coronavirus, while many more have self-quarantined after contact with infected individuals.

A voice vote is a procedural move that would avoid a recorded roll call vote, which would have forced members now dispersed throughout the country to travel back to Washington to get the stimulus across the finish line.

"Members are further advised that due to the limited flight options, Members participating in self-quarantine, and several states mandating stay-at-home orders, we expect the bill to pass by voice vote on Friday," Hoyer announced in a notice to members Wednesday evening.
Pelosi had suggested on Tuesday that she was hoping to avoid bringing the full House back to Washington to vote on the package, seeking to pass it through unanimous consent instead. But any individual member can block such a move, which would make passage more difficult.

This story has been updated to include additional developments Wednesday.CNN's Phil Mattingly, Paul LeBlanc and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report. 

We’re all concerned about incomes, so it is important to know what resources are out there and in the works. Not everyone sees the information being scattered about, so, I’m posting a condensed version here.

1. Testing: if you use the health insurance through IATSE, they have arranged for co-pay waivers on Covid-19 testing, no matter which level you are at. If you get sick, please get tested so as to protect the people that you care about from also getting sick. (for questions, email the benefits office or call the little number on the back of your BCBS card or the COVID-19 Hotline at 1-888-535-6136 between 8AM - 5PM daily).
2. Michigan Unemployment: There is nothing wrong with claiming unemployment. Your employers paid into it, it is there as your safety net. If you have never filed before:
   1. Your claim starts the week that you file. (You can’t claim benefits for this week if you don’t file until next week. You also can’t “pre-file” for claims next week this week).
   2. If you claim before March 31, they will base your benefit on your earnings from Oct 1, 2018 through Sep 30, 2019.
   3. IATSE and/or local 274 is NOT your employer
   4. List your most recent employer first, you will add in all your other employers. (Your most recent employer is considered your “separating employer”)
   5. You need the FEIN number for each employer, it’s on your w2’s.
   6. You need to know the first date that you worked for each employer (your best guess) and the LAST day that you worked for that employer.
   7. You need to know the pay rate that you worked at the last time that you worked for each employer. (If you can't find this, you should be able to make a guess that is close enough).
   8. You might not be able to file online if you have either never filed before, or haven't filed in Michigan in over 2 years. Going in person can be a time consuming pain, so budget the day for it. Bring a book.
3. Annuity withdrawals: IATSE has added the Covid-19 crisis to hardship withdrawal qualifications from the annuity fund. (Note: if you do this, you can only withdraw the “hardship” portion of your annuity. You will have to pay penalties and taxes at some point. This should be a last option, but, you gotta do what you gotta do.
   Stolen from a post by our district rep S. Savage: “The IATSE Annuity Fund has expanded the hardship withdrawal qualifications to include medical expenses and financial losses resulting from COVID-19. The details are still being worked out but the IATSENBF website will have info posted as soon as it is finalized. Questions can be emailed to www. iatsenbf.org psc@iatsenbf.org”
4. Vacation Checks: IATSE will be processing checks as close to April 1st as possible (which means getting them almost a month early).
5. Other Resources: Also from district Rep S. Savage: “The Actors Fund will also have information on their website soon about resources they have available for entertainment workers impacted by the virus. The Actor’s Fund assists everyone in the industry not just actors. http://www.actorsfund.org”