Hello 488 Siblings!
I am very proud to be addressing you as your new President and would like to congratulate all the newly elected officers, trustees, and delegates! I would also like to thank everyone who ran for office. Many of these positions receive little or no compensation, so I want to acknowledge the gift you each offered in your willingness to be of service. It was also very impressive to see voter turnout of 47%. Most organizations are happy to see 30%, so this was really inspiring! Thank you, Membership! The complete voting results can be found on our website.
We have a lot of people new to their positions and new to service on the Executive Board, so we’ve got a lot of work to do to train and learn how we can best work together. I appreciate any grace you’re able to give us through the transition. As was approved, the previous salaried officers are staying on for 30 days to train the new officers, and that work is already well under way. I am encouraged to see the collaborations already happening and grateful to the outgoing officers for their help.
I want to start this 11th term of the 488 Executive Board off on the right foot, so I’ve chosen to reach out on this special holiday weekend. Since it’s also a holiday covered by our contracts, hopefully, you are not working (and maybe even taking a break from emails)! Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a son, father, brother, minister, activist, Civil Rights leader, and a strong advocate for union workers. We have many reasons to honor him and the work he did to educate our country about its inequalities and injustices. The IATSE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee released a statement on Friday that can be viewed on their website here. I was particularly moved by the quote they chose to share from Dr. King:
“Number one in your life’s blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness.” He goes on to say, “in your life’s blueprint, must be a commitment to the eternal principles of beauty, love, and justice. Well life, for none of us, has been a crystal stair, but we must keep moving, we must keep moving. If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl, but by all means, keep moving.”
As we move into this new term, I’d like to embrace this idea of continuing to move forward in our “commitment to the eternal principles of beauty, love, and justice.” One important way I think we can do this is to commit to an anti-racist culture in 488. What does that mean?
To be an antiracist means taking action to change inherit bias, implicit bias, systemic racism, covert bias, and micro-aggressions. While we may say things without malice or racist intent, we can do better by learning how to recognize and stop using language with racist origins, meanings, or connotations.
-Gloria Rubel
One of my goals in the next 6 months is to reinvigorate our committees, like our DEI Committee, Women’s Committee, and perhaps start a Pride Committee, if our membership wants this. Hopefully, we’ll make spaces to do some of this education internally. I will be announcing more about this in the coming weeks, but if you feel called to be a part of this now, I’d be happy to hear from you.
In the meantime, I’d like to offer up some ways to start educating yourself. In my recent research, I came across a LOT of good articles on common phrases that cause harm because of their roots. I’d recommend doing some of your own research, but here’s a couple to get you started from Furia Rubel and Babble. IATSE’s DEI Committee also compiled this handbook full of ways to become more educated, including videos, articles, books, and more. I recommend the 21 Day Challenge as a good way to celebrate Black History Month in February.
January 20, 2025, also marks a new era in America with the inauguration of the most anti-union president in our history. I know his second term is very difficult for many people on many levels, myself included. We just had the most pro-union president in my lifetime, perhaps ever, so this transition is going to be significant. I’ll be honest, I’m scared about what some of his proposed policies will mean for us, but he’s not the first who has come for unions and he won’t be the last. Weak leaders fear the power of united workers. We’re here now and we will still be here when he’s gone. We are stronger together. As our living legend, Sandy England says, “There’s not two things.” We are a union. We are IATSE Local 488. Let that be a comfort to you in challenging times and let’s make that a comfort for all of our members.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President. I will strive to be my best self with you.
In Solidarity,
Rebecca Cook
President, IATSE Local 488
president@iatse488.org
