Jessica Maher is the Govt Director of SAG-AFTRA’s New England Native chapter, which represents members in Japanese Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Ms. Maher started her profession at SAG-AFTRA as a Contracts Administrator and has since labored her means by way of the group. She started her present place as Govt Director in 2021 and helped to guide the chapter by way of final summer season’s labor strikes.
This month, Jessica Maher sat down with JSEL’s Alec Winshel to debate her profession inside SAG-AFTRA’s New England Native chapter and to share recommendation for legislation college students planning their careers within the leisure business.
Alec Winshel:
You’re the Govt Director of SAG-AFTRA’s New England Native chapter. Are you able to inform us a bit about your duties in that position?
Jessica Maher:
Certain. Because the Govt Director, I’m the employees person who oversees the Native. I’m not a member. I’m not an actor. I’m there to deal with any type of administrative duties for the Native. I’m the liaison for the Board, so I work with them loads: we have now board conferences and—no matter their initiatives are—I’m there to information them and ensure that they get what they should perform. I oversee our employees and work because the liaison between the Native and the Nationwide Workplaces.
Winshel:
It looks as if you’re on the heart of lots of dynamics. There’s the Board, there’s the employees members, then there are the members of the union who themselves have different pursuits and careers. How do you handle all these completely different pursuits?
Maher:
That’s query. I feel, on the finish of the day, everybody’s curiosity is similar. We wish to higher member’s lives. We wish to higher SAG-AFTRA to make it stronger. We wish folks to be pretty compensated and handled appropriately of their jobs. So, if we’re interested by the core of what we do every single day, then we’re all headed in the identical path. However it may be lots of altering hats and managing varied roles throughout the union.
Winshel:
You’re coming off the heels of a very thrilling, and I’m positive very irritating, time with the strikes. Are you able to speak about what that course of was like and the way it might need modified your group?
Maher:
This was the most important strike we’ve had since 2000. I used to be not on employees at the moment. It was a really fast studying curve for all of us to ensure that we have been able to go on day one. With the writers’ strike taking place earlier than us, there was a bit of little bit of anticipation of what was going to occur. We had inside discussions: If this occurs, what can we should be prepared for? What do we’d like on day one? That was figuring out which members inside our Native could be good leaders and good communicators, and to get the phrase out if we would have liked to have any type of rallies or picketing. We didn’t know what was going to occur as soon as—or if—the strike authorization got here by way of after which, if the Nationwide Board determined to go on strike, what our roles have been going to be. It was very fast. It was lots of shifting components. We take our path from the Nationwide Workplace, so ensuring that we’re studying about all of the issues we have to do, that we’re in keeping with what their tips are, and that we’re clearly not breaking the legislation. There’s lots of issues that come into play when there’s a strike. All of that was definitely on our minds straight away. Additionally, serving to our members and having them perceive what was taking place: what we might do in New England. There have been lots of issues that we couldn’t do in New England that have been taking place in New York and Los Angeles. And, plenty of schooling after which simply serving to them with sources. Individuals aren’t working, so that you wish to ensure that they’ve entry to numerous foundations that they’ll attain out to, with a purpose to assist them get by way of a very tough financial time.
Winshel:
You talked about discovering leaders that may take a extra energetic position throughout the strike and getting sources to all of the members. How do you determine folks to place in numerous positions? How do you create that construction?
Maher:
It helps that we do lots of occasions domestically. We’ve an excellent Native board: they know their members and, as employees, we all know our members fairly effectively. You’re in a position to, over time, go: “Oh, this individual had nice concepts at this committee assembly.” Or, “Wow, they have been actually keen about this challenge they labored on.”. You’re interested by that over time. We did spend just a few weeks cultivating that record, however then as soon as we had an preliminary concept, folks began speaking to one another and would recommend, “Oh, so-and-so could be actually nice. They’re good at social media, so let’s convey them in.” It labored out organically and we have been actually fortunate to have that. You need folks which can be keen about their union, but additionally passionate in regards to the strike and supportive. We have been actually fortunate. We had new members that we had solely labored with a few occasions that got here ahead and have been actually, actually nice strike captains: people who attended each occasion. I feel the most effective factor that got here out of the strike was that it developed some nice new member leaders.
Winshel:
You talked about taking path from the Nationwide Board. Are you able to share a bit of bit extra about how the New England chapter matches throughout the bigger nationwide construction of such an enormous union and the best way that you simply work together with different native chapters?
Maher:
SAG-AFTRA is ruled by its Nationwide Board. We’ve a president and Govt Vice Presidents, as effectively. The Nationwide Board makes choices for the union. After which we have now—exterior of Los Angeles and New York—23 different Locals throughout the nation, and every of these Locals have their very own boards. These boards can function inside every Native. The Nationwide Board is the governing physique and manages every little thing from the funds to initiatives and, clearly, approves issues like strikes.
Winshel:
I wish to speak about you and your journey. I do know you’ve had lots of completely different roles throughout your time with SAG-AFTRA. Are you able to speak about your journey throughout the group over time?
Maher:
I’ve been right here some time and I’d had mainly each job within the Native over my profession. I went to Northeastern College. I studied music enterprise. There was a time that I actually thought that I needed to be an leisure lawyer, and that I used to be going to go to legislation faculty. One among my co-ops was with an leisure lawyer: her title is Sally Gaglini and she or he’s nonetheless a practising lawyer in Boston, an excellent lawyer. After I used to be performed working with Sally, I used to be searching for my subsequent co-op and she or he stated I’d take pleasure in working with AFTRA-SAG. On the time, the unions weren’t joined. They weren’t merged, so it was an AFTRA workplace and we administered SAG contracts as a result of on the time the unions have been separate. We merged in 2012. I grew to become an intern at AFTRA-SAG and that was my junior 12 months of Northeastern. I actually favored it. I actually favored the combination of contracts and leisure. I spotted I might do that work, however I didn’t need to go to legislation faculty. I used to be employed in my senior 12 months. I labored half time and type of labored my means up. I labored on contracts after which I left in 1998. I needed to see what it was like on the opposite facet as in to work for an employer. I labored for WGBH for just a few years. I labored for NOVA, and was their unit supervisor and once more labored with contracts. I labored with narrator agreements and rights renewals. All of the stuff that’s on the again finish of manufacturing exceptional content material. NOVA is high tier. So, to have that have and see it from the producer facet, after which I left when my oldest son was born: I left and was a stay-at-home mother for some time. I’ve three boys. As they have been getting again into faculty and beginning preschool, it was time for me to return and see what I can do. Over time, the earlier Govt Director on the New England Native would name me generally and ask for me to assist. It simply by no means was the proper time. And, then it was the proper time. I got here again. I labored half time simply to get my foot again within the door. That was 2008, and since then I’ve simply type of labored my means up. Sadly, in 2020, we had some layoffs and employees reductions and at that time, I used to be named Interim Govt Director after which Govt Director in 2021. I’ve performed every little thing from membership to getting into knowledge and, even for a time, did some broadcast stuff. I really feel like I’ve received a fairly good sense of what occurs within the Native, and I’ve been right here some time so I’ve a fairly good historical past, too.
Winshel:
It’s a fairly unbelievable journey to be there early in your profession, to go away to start out a household, and to come back again and to work your means up. What do you assume the advantages are of being with a corporation for a very long time and seeing every a part of the way it operates?
Maher:
For me, it’s the historic side. I’ve been right here a very long time. These contracts get renegotiated each three years and sometimes you could have the historical past to have the ability to mirror on what was taking place on the time. You need to type of bear in mind based mostly on that knowledge. I feel crucial factor is the member relationships and figuring out this membership actually, very well. There’s one thing about working in a union the place you construct on these relationships with folks over time: with member leaders who are sometimes of their management positions for fairly just a few years. It simply turns into a form of symbiotic type of relationship. My husband works within the pc discipline and it’s very typical to be at some place for 2 years, after which it’s time to go. It’s partially my persona, but it surely’s additionally that I respect the job. It provides me what I like. It’s an excellent steadiness between the legislation and leisure.
Winshel:
What position has mentorship performed in your profession?
Maher:
I’ve had some actually wonderful mentors, and the earlier Govt Director of the Native—her title is Dona Sommers. She was the earlier Govt Director for 30 years. She was such an excellent mentor. She taught me so many issues. She taught me the right way to be a greater communicator, be a greater listener. She taught me the right way to steadiness work and life, and she or he nonetheless is a good mentor to this present day. She’s actually fabulous. Mentorship can go up and down: it’s nice to have any person who’s been there a very long time and can provide you their historical past. However, I’ve additionally realized a lot from the people who I work with every single day. My employees teaches me a lot. I feel it’s vital as a frontrunner to comprehend, for instance, “I’m not tremendous nice on this space. I would like any person who can educate me that.” Our Senior Enterprise Consultant, Ben Shallop, has an extended historical past in varied different unions. He has been on strike earlier than and he has walked picket strains earlier than. Once we went on strike, he was such an enormous useful resource for me and I really imagine he grew to become a mentor to me and taught me lots of issues that I’ve by no means performed earlier than.
Winshel:
What recommendation do you have got for people who find themselves starting their profession in your discipline?
Maher:
You need to be a very, actually good listener. You need to be organized and you need to ask questions. In case you have combination of these three issues, you will get fairly far. Take good notes! There’s a lot that we have now to maintain monitor of right here. It will possibly generally be an enormous shock to folks coming into a brand new job the place you could preserve monitor of your whole telephone calls and your whole emails, and you may’t be deleting stuff off of your pc. There can be a time when any person calls and says, “Do you have got this factor from this film that shot right here ten years in the past?” And, seeing the large image of how all of that works collectively with a purpose to service our members higher. So, listening, organizing, and asking good questions. These are key to lots of life, I feel.
Winshel:
Thanks for talking with me. It’s an thrilling time. It appears like lots of people who’re studying about SAG-AFTRA and are occupied with becoming a member of.
Maher:
It truly is. I see it increasingly more. Individuals really feel actually strongly, significantly now, about defending their union and standing up for his or her union. You see lots of people for whom that is their life and profession—they wish to see it by way of the lengthy haul.
It’s such a cool, cool job. I’ve actually good tales and this job just isn’t the identical every single day. There’s at all times one thing new each single day and that’s what makes it attention-grabbing.
This interview has been calmly edited for concision and readability.
