Vote For Larry Day

This post goes out to all full members of Actra Montreal.

As all Actra members know, we all have received the election information by mail and it is time to vote and elect our Branch Council.

I believe established actor Larry Day is an excellent candidate. He has the knowledge, expertise and passion to bring in new ideas to the table, fight for our rights, make sure our voice is heard and hopefully bring in more work to Montreal.

Not only is Larry Day an established actor in Canada but he is also involved in the community; raising money for The Starlight Children Foundation every year which was an experience that qualified with the valuable virtues of reliability and responsibility. Not to forget mentioning he is very well respected in both industries. Moreover, his work experience can demonstrate his range of skills that would be beneficial for this position because it shows him to be a well-balanced candidate.

Hear it straight from him. Here's what Larry had to say:

"A most respected Montreal Actor whom I have had the pleasure of working with and admire greatly, Vlasta Vrana has suggested. "If there is to be an actual election, it would be nice to know who we're voting for and why". I agree 100 percent so I would like to tell you how I feel and why I am asking you to vote for me:

I have been in the entertainment business for over 30 years and have been an Actra member since 1994. I have also been involved in the Radio Industry in Montreal for over 23 years and have been fortunate enough to have worked as an Actor here and abroad for over 18. I decided that now would be a good time to give something back to the union that has been so good to me. I also noticed that we, as a union, are facing some critical times ahead and, being in the business from more than one side, I think that I can help insure that all our members are heard and correct decisions are made so that we have a powerful and dynamic industry in Montreal for years to come. I am independent in this election which, along with Adam, makes us even more of an asset on council. If this election is any indication of what the council meetings will be like, having people on council not affiliated with any one clique would be beneficial to all. Diversity on council is a good thing and should not be feared but embraced. Council should be formed by individuals and not groups... There has not been an election in 18 years for council. This situation was anything but healthy. I commend all participants who decided to run and caused a real election to be held. Now is finally the time to ELECT a council that will be up to the task of molding this union branch into the strongest in the country. I stand for making initiatives and concentrating on getting more work to Montreal. Why have we lost so many jobs to other jurisdictions? Why is it when I am in LA and am talking to people who make the decisions on where productions shoot I constantly have been hearing lately that our union is "hard to work with". I find that hard to believe and would propose that we tackle that false consensus as soon as possible. The fact that we have lost so much production since the glory days of the 90's is as much to do economically as anything else. The US dollar at parity is a big factor. We, as a union have to continue to work as closely with local and Provincial Government as well as other Industry Players such as Michel Trudel and other unions to insure that, as a district, we are as competitive if not more as any other place for locations, equipment, crew and services as well as acting talent. I would also like to insure that our medical and dental benefits are on the agenda. We, as a council should be doing something about the erosion of our benefits that has been happening since our union decided to go with a private firm some years ago. It seems no one is asking why, for instance, our maximum payout for dental if you are a Gold Member has dropped from 3000 to 2000 per year. There are many other examples of this benefit reduction. Have the premiums dropped accordingly? I'm not sure but I would venture to say probably not. As a council, I think it should be addressed to National and questions should be asked and answers given. It's great to do workshops and have information sessions and make videos as the previous councils have done but there, in my opinion, are more important issues we should be directing our energy towards. Information sessions should be with Producers and other decision making people who decide where a project will shoot. Symposiums should be on how to attract more productions to Montreal and what we can do, as a union and as members to keep from losing what we have. As a union, we have to give as much help as we can to the small independent film makers trying to get started on limited budgets even more than we are doing already. Meetings should be held on matters like these and not, for example, about making an information video focusing on diversity in our union and insight into the problems and needs of those members. Though well intentioned and needed, at this time the well being of all members should be the main concern. If we don't focus on the economics of the situation, there won't be an industry left to have a union for. The bottom line that members have to understand and especially people on council is that this "thing of ours" is a business in every sense of the word. The days when the council could just concentrate on social initiatives such as videos, information sessions for members and acting workshops are over. Unions are BIG business. I feel that we have to adjust the way we do things to reflect that fact. Our job as council members is to give our members a means to let our union exec know how they feel and to do things to make Montreal the best place we can to work as an Actor, Stunt Person, Background Performer, in Film, on TV or the Internet. We are NOT a defensive barrier between our members and the union which, sadly, is a consensus I have heard from more than a few of actors. That opinion has to be addressed and changed as well. The IPA negotiations are fast approaching. My question here is what happened to clauses like” Second highest paid must be a Canadian”? That disappeared awhile ago. I would like to know who decided that was good to give up to the producers. As far as casting directors are concerned, don’t you think it’s about time we addressed the “Phantom Casting” syndrome that seems to be coming common place even here in Montreal? In closing, I feel that things do have to change in the way business has been conducted on council to reflect the changes we have seen and are seeing in our industry. It's time to get down to the BUSINESS at hand. The choice is completely yours and yours alone. I am asking for your support and your vote for me to be on your next Montreal Branch Council." - Larry Day