Jodi Long Joins Race For SAG-AFTRA National Secretary-Treasurer On Membership First Slate

Click here to read the full article.

Actress and union activist Jodi Long is running for the office SAG-AFTRA national secretary-treasurer on the Membership First slate headed by presidential candidate Matthew Modine.

Long, a member of the guild’s national board, will be squaring off in the upcoming election against Camryn Manheim, who’s running on President Gabrielle Carteris’ Unite for Strength slate, and independent candidate Chuck Slavin. The union’s top elected financial post is currently held by Jane Austin, who’s running for president as an independent.

More from Deadline

• Unite For Strength Names SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris’ Running Mates In Upcoming Election

• Jane Austin, SAG-AFTRA Presidential Candidate, Has A Plan To Fix A Union That "Has Lost Its Way"

• SAG-AFTRA Working With Disney To Resolve "Small Number" Of Late Residuals

“Game-changing technology in our industry requires foresight,” Long said in her first campaign statement. “Matthew Modine and our Membership First slate possess the vision and the fortitude to excel. Whether it’s the tough job of negotiating new contracts, implementing innovative solutions within an ever-changing landscape, or ensuring membership — and the next generation — enjoy the very same benefits our former union brethren had the foresight to set in place. That’s why I’m running for secretary treasurer. With a lifetime of experience working our contracts, four years as a SAG-AFTRA National Board Member and proudly serving numerous committees including the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee, it’s my time to step up to the fight. A fight for a change in leadership and our right to make a decent living.”

Said Modine: “I am thrilled to welcome Jodi Long into the race for national secretary treasurer,” Modine said. “Ours is a member-run union and it is important to know how our initiation fees and dues are being spent. Jodi has tremendous experience as a board member and years of selfless service for others. More importantly, Jodi will bring truth and transparency where there is now vagary and opacity.”

Long, who currently chairs the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles local’s EEOC committee, also serves on the guild’s national executive committee, the TV theatrical negotiations committee, the online privacy committee, and the national TV theatrical principal performers committee. Her TV credits include Falling Water and Sullivan & Son. She also is president of the board of Visual Communications that produces the annual Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Her endorsers include George Takei, Bill Pullman, Margaret Cho, Anna Deavere Smith and Christine Ebersole.

“We need Jodi’s energy, dedication and experience as the national secretary treasurer of SAG AFTRA,” Takei said in a statement provided by her campaign. “She has served her acting community on the national and local boards at SAG-AFTRA, and as an activist as president of the board at Visual Communications, the oldest Asian American media group dedicated to the honest and accurate portrayals of the Asian Pacific American peoples. I support Jodi enthusiastically.”

Said Pullman: “Jodi is consummate in everything she does, whether it be as an actor or a community organizer. I saw in our community work together that she speaks for us all and all are proud to have her company. Her past and current SAG-AFTRA board service means she can hit the ground running. Importantly: I’d trust her with our union’s finances.”

In her statement, Cho wrote: “Jodi is a fierce advocate for financial equity, inclusion and actor’s rights. If anyone is going to balance a budget and fix our pension it will be her. I mean c’mon, she’s Asian!”

Deavere Smith said: “I fully support Jodi Long for Secretary of the Treasury. She knows that our pensions, residuals and safety are at stake. We need committed leadership who will light a fire under all of us to wake up and get what we need and what we deserve. That’s Jodi Long.”

Added Ebersole: “As long as I’ve known Jodi, she has given her brilliance, time, and energy to help the various communities and causes she most believes in. The fact that Jodi has stepped up to be a candidate for secretary-treasurer of SAG-AFTRA means she can turn that energy into creating positive change for our Union’s members.”

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.