NEWS FROM FINANCE + ADMINISTRATION
NOW IS YOUR CHANCE: ENROLL IN AUTOMATED PAYMENTS
From January 1 through March 31 of each year, Members have the option to enroll in automated payments for Annual Dues. We know your work can take you away from daily tasks at home. Automated payments are an excellent option to ensure that your dues are paid on time with no penalties assessed or risk of your Membership being suspended because of late payments. Full Members (including Senior Members) also have the option to pay Annual Dues in quarterly installments via the automatic recurring quarterly payment plan.
You may choose annual recurring dues payments for your Full Member or Associate Member Dues or Quarterly Dues Payments (Full Members only). Note: These auto payment options are processed through the SDC PayPal account and require you to have a PayPal account with valid credit card data.
For 2016, Full Member dues are $220* and Associate Member dues are $75. Per the By-laws Annual Dues are due and payable January 1. Members are encouraged to pay online at www.sdcweb.org under Make a Payment.
If you do not receive an invoice by January 15, please email Senior Business Associate Michele Holmes at MHolmes@sdcweb.org.
*If you chose to pay the $150 Special Assessment-Relocation & Technology in installments, $50 is due in both 2016 and 2017, or you may pay the balance in full. See below for details.
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT REMINDER
As a reminder to all Full Members (including Senior Members), you may see on your January invoice an additional charge for the Special Assessment – Relocation & Technology.
At the heart of the 2014 Annual Meeting was a report on capacity building for the Union which focused on finances, the office relocation, and the ongoing IT conversion. Expenses for these converging initiatives were estimated at $400,000, and to address this expense, the Executive Board unanimously recommended that a Special Assessment of $150 be collected from each Full Member (including Senior Members). The assessment funds $300,000 of the necessary $400,000, with the additional $100,000 funded from the FY’14 operating surplus.
If you paid the Assessment in full in 2015, this charge will not appear on your bill. If you elected to pay $50 each year in 2015, 2016, and 2017, you will see the balance due on your bill. This assessment is treated like all SDC dues and assessments in terms of late fees and suspension, which means if you have a balance of $100 on your bill, $50 is due by March 31, 2016 to avoid a late fee. As of July 1, 2016, if your outstanding Special Assessment balance is greater than $50, your Membership will be suspended. Please contact us with any questions.
NEWS FROM CONTRACT AFFAIRS
FILE YOUR CONTRACTS
Filing your own “Member File Copy” of SDC contracts with the Union is a Work Rule requirement of SDC Membership and a responsibility per the Rights and Responsibilities. As a courtesy, staff has also placed a monthly reminder in the banner that appears on either the right or left side of each and every monthly E-News. As of this writing, there are thousands of dollars in health and pension contributions paid on behalf of directors and choreographers that cannot be applied to Member accounts because the Union has not received these contracts. Your SDC Contract Affairs staff will continue to collect contracts from both Members and theatres in order to apply benefits appropriately, but the Executive Board and staff are asking for your help. Please be vigilant and make sure that you personally file at least one copy with the Union.
FIRST-CLASS READINGS, LABS, WORKSHOPS MUST HAVE UNION CONTRACTS
As reported in past issues of SDC E-News, all developmental projects, whether workshops, labs, staged readings, or AEA 29-hour readings, are now covered under the newly negotiated Broadway Agreement. If you are fortunate to be hired by a Broadway League producer for any of the above-mentioned developmental activity, please contact SDC or have your representative contact SDC to ensure that the proper form is utilized.
“AEA 29-HOUR READINGS” (or the equivalent): The Producer is obligated to provide a $150 pension/health contribution on behalf of the director and choreographer.
WORKSHOPS, LABS, AND STAGED READINGS: For developmental work beyond the 29-hour readings, this contract will include a $25 health contribution and $25 pension contribution for each day worked in a rehearsal room with actors. The director and/or choreographer retain ownership of any stage directions or choreography s/he creates that constitutes intellectual property.
NEWS FROM MEMBER SERVICES
CONVERSION UPDATE
Over the last months SDC has been reporting on the conversion of the data system. In preparation for the conversion, SDC analyzed each collective bargaining agreement, status types of all Members, payment structures for dues and assessments. There were over 1,000 different combinations of rates in SDC agreements. And in the area of Membership, while there are approximately 4,000 Members and Associates (2,800 of which are active), there are more than 6,000 people over 20 individual categories that SDC tracks including: those who are not yet Members but have been invited to join, those who are required to join based on contract activity, Members on Honorable Withdrawal, new applicants, etc. In addition, agent or representative contact information is included with Member records. The amount of information to map correctly into the new system is vast.
The process continues and has moved into an important phase. SDC is now working in parallel systems, meaning all contract, Membership, and finance data is being entered in both the new and old systems. Rigorous and exacting, this phase allows WinMill, the company building the new system, to test the data mapping for accuracy. This includes ensuring that Member and Employer invoices accurately reflect what is due and what has been paid.
As this process continues to move forward, we are closer to the moment that will allow SDC to provide greater Member service through online access to your contact information and contract and payment histories. SDC will continue to update you on the progress of this important improvement in our data tracking and Member service.
SDC MEMBERSHIP MEETING IN LOS ANGELES
The Union is excited to announce the next Greater Los Angeles Area Membership Meeting on January 11, 2016. Please join SDC Executive Board President Susan H. Schulman, Executive Director Laura Penn, Director of Member Services Barbara Wolkoff, and Business Rep Kristy Cummings for the latest Union updates. Q+A and light refreshments will follow.
Monday, January 11, 2016
5:30 p.m.
East West Players
120 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles
http://www.eastwestplayers.org/
Parking is available across the street at the Judge John Aiso Underground Parking Garage, located at 101 N. Judge John Aiso Street.
RSVP + Questions to Jennifer Toth at JToth@SDCweb.org by January 8, 2016.
UPDATE: MEMBER ACCESS TO THE SDC OFFICE
SDC is excited to announce extended Member access hours at SDC’s office, beginning Monday, January 4, 2016. Currently, the Union allows all Members and Associates in good standing to reserve the conference rooms for meetings, interviews, or quiet reading space during SDC business hours (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.). Members may also use the cafe (without reservation) for coffee meetings, lunch breaks, or as a resting place between meetings, and this offer will remain in place. WiFi, coffee, tea, and sodas are always available.
The extended hours will take place twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. There will be two conference rooms available on a first come, first served basis. Reservations must be requested at least one business day in advance. These extended hours will be supervised by at least one SDC staff member. During the normal 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. availability, we do not allow readings, but we will allow them from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
For all conference room reservations and related questions, please contact Office Manager Roxanne Rodriguez at RRodriguez@SDCweb.org. We look forward to seeing you very soon!
JOB ALERT: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF THEATRE (DIRECTING)
The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance seeks an outstanding teacher with significant training and experience in Directing and Musical Theatre to assume a pivotal role within undergraduate and graduate professional training programs. The successful candidate will exhibit the ability to direct a variety of production styles from classical to contemporary periods and musicals in collaboration with the Dance Program and School of Music. There may also be potential professional opportunities with Montana Repertory Theatre. Specific teaching assignments will include all levels of directing and acting classes within the BA, BFA, and MFA programs. Candidates who can teach in a secondary area of expertise such as dance (musical-theatre forms, jazz, tap, etc.) or choreography are highly desired. Other responsibilities include advising, recruiting, mentoring MFA directors, and serving on School and University committees. Tenure-track position. MFA in theatre required. Begins August 22, 2016. Salary commensurate with experience. Review begins February 1, 2016, and continues until position is filled. ADA/EOE/AA/Veteran’s Preference. To receive full consideration, please view the full position description and required materials, and complete the online application, at http://bit.ly/1425UMT.
SDC-LEAGUE PENSION & HEALTH FUNDS
HEALTH ELIGIBILITY AND ROLLOVER CONTRIBUTIONS
We are regularly asked the question, “Do contributions made to the Health Fund on my behalf roll forward if I don’t use them?” The answer may be “yes” or “no” depending on the circumstances. Here’s the basic rule:
If employer contributions in a given six-month contribution cycle exceed the $1,100 minimum required for eligibility, the excess above the minimum rolls forward into the next cycle.
The key words here are “exceed the $1,100 minimum” and “next cycle”. Only the amount that exceeds the $1,100 minimum may roll forward, and that excess amount may roll forward one cycle only.
Example: If contributions made on your behalf amounted to $1,500 in the January-June contribution cycle, you would have eligibility from September 1 through February 28. In addition, $400 would roll forward into the July-December contribution cycle. If in the July-December cycle $700 is contributed on your behalf from new employment, you would have continuing eligibility for the following March 1 through August 31 period ($400 rollover plus $700 new contributions = $1,100 needed for eligibility).
Note in this example that if $800 is contributed for you in the January-June cycle (instead of $700), the additional $100 ($400 rollover plus $800 new = $1,200) would not roll forward to the next cycle. Only the excess above the $1,100 minimum in a given six-month cycle may roll forward to the next cycle. As $800 was contributed in the January-June cycle, there is no excess above the $1,100, and therefore nothing rolls forward.
Example: If contributions made on your behalf amounted to $2,200 in the January-June contribution cycle, you would have eligibility for a full year, from September 1 through August 31 of the following year. $1,100 of the $2,200 provides eligibility from September 1 through February 28, with $1,100 rolling forward into the July-December contribution cycle. As this amount meets the minimum requirement, you will also have eligibility from March 1 through August 31.
Note in this example that if $2,300 is contributed for you in the January-June cycle (instead of $2,200), the additional $100 will not roll forward two periods and nor contribute toward eligibility beyond the one year described above. Following the same logic as in the first example, $1,100 of the $2,200 provides eligibility for the August 1 through February 28 eligibility period. $1,200 rolls forward into the July-December cycle. $1,100 of this provides eligibility for the March 1 through August 31 period. However, as the “extra” $100 has already rolled forward once, it does not roll a second time into the next cycle.
Example: $800 is contributed for you in the January-June contribution cycle and there were no rollover contributions from the prior July-December cycle. You will not have eligibility for the August-February eligibility period. The $800 does not roll forward into the next July-December cycle; it accrues to the Fund, and helps us to keep the minimum amount required for eligibility as low as possible.
Note that the $1,100 minimum for eligibility is a highly leveraged number, and the Trustees have maintained it at that level for several years so that as many participants as possible can qualify for benefits. For every participant who gains eligibility and elects Option A for our Aetna Plan, the Fund incurs a liability of close to $6,000 in premium costs for six months of coverage. If you are fortunate in having consistent and substantial employment under SDC contracts, know that the contributions from your work help to subsidize benefits for your SDC colleagues and provide stability to the Fund.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT MARKETPLACE OPEN ENROLLMENT
Please remember that having health insurance is now required by law. If you do not qualify for our Health Plan and don’t have insurance through another source, you should explore your options for coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. The Open Enrollment period for ACA coverage extends through January 31. The Artists Health Insurance Resource Center at the Actors Fund is an official “Navigator” for the Marketplace, and has provided valuable assistance to many of our Members. For more information, visit their website at www.AHIRC.org or give them a call at (212) 221-7301 ext. 265.
For questions, contact John Everson in the New York City Funds Office at JEverson@SDCweb.org or by phone at (212) 869-8129. Our address; along with SDC, SDC-League Pension & Health Funds is located at 321 W. 44th Street, Suite 804, New York, NY, 10036. www.SDCLeagueFunds.org