Adam Schiff to Join SAG-AFTRA’s Gabrielle Carteris, IATSE’s Matt Loeb for Virtual Town Hall

Rep. Adam Schiff is joining SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and IATSE International president Matt Loeb for a virtual town hall discussion on May 12 on the impact of the coronavirus.

Schiff, a 10-term congressman whose district includes Hollywood, will take questions from the unions’ members about their concerns regarding the pandemic and its impact on their day-to-day lives and economic future. Carteris and Loeb were two of the union leaders who spoke at the May 6 AFL-CIO news conference in a forum to detail how they’re dealing with the industry’s shutdown.

“We were among the first to be hit by the virus and may be among the last to come back – simply because we work in high numbers and in very close proximity where PPE can not always be utilized,” Carteris said at the event. “That said, we are working tirelessly to develop the structures and protocols that will allow the industry to reopen safely.”

Loeb stressed at the event that leaders of the below-the-line union — which has seen nearly all of its 150,000 members idled — are hammering out details with the companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers through the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee.

Schiff chairs the House Intelligence Committee and led the drive to impeach President Donald Trump. He campaigned for the $2 trillion CARES Act, which was signed by Trump on March 27 to provide relief from the pandemic with provisions for freelance and contract workers.

Members’ questions for Schiff can be emailed to SAG-AFTRA’s President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach and Engagement at PTEOE@sagaftra.org. The May 12 town hall, which can be watched below, will start at 10:30 a.m. PDT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcHMP_z9o2o