WHO HE IS: Actor/voiceover talent Todd Hissong is serving his second two-year term as president of Chicago Screen Actors Guild, (SAG). “I got involved in union politics after the strike of 2000 by delving into how we got to that work action.”
Hissong travels to Hollywood four times a year “to make sure our needs are met and Hollywood recognizes us.”
HOW HE VIEWS HIS JOB: “Being able to help ensure members’ issues are out in front; getting members to realize they are part of the labor movement. Whatever is going on in the Writer’s Guild or up in Canada affects us. Helping to ensure we speak with one voice, instead of many.”
PROS: “I can see glimmers of my work making a difference.” One recent accomplishment: SAG’s Oct. 6, 2006 agreement to join the Industry Coordinating Committee (ICC), a sub-committee of the AFL-CIO.
“We’ll finally be sitting at the tables strategizing with other unions with common goals.” Their first meeting was in January.
CONS: “Your life is no longer yours.” It’s an incredibly time consuming volunteer position.
