Life memberships for union stalwarts
MEAA’s Federal Council has paid tribute to two titans of our union by awarding them our highest honour: life membership.
Martin Saxon (left) joined the Australian Journalists Association in 1974 and has been an activist in the WA Branch for decades. He was a long-serving member of the MEAA Board before retiring this year.
Simon Collins (right) initially joined our union as a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, was instrumental in the establishment of the Symphony Orchestra Musicians Association, and served as Federal President from 2015 until this year.
We thank them both for their long service in the interests of their fellow workers in the media, entertainment and arts industries.
They are pictured with MEAA Federal President Michael Balk.The Federal Council met face-to-face in Sydney on August 30 and 31, preceded by a day of meetings of the four section committees for Media, Equity, Entertainment, Crew and Sport, and Musicians.
Federal Council is MEAA’s highest governing body, made up of 95 elected rank-and-file members from all sections and branches of the union.
Among the agenda, the meeting adopted a new four-year strategic plan and discussed the many challenges faced by workers in our industries, including Artificial Intelligence and freedom of expression.
The strategic plan seeks to broaden MEAA’s focus from enterprise and industry bargaining to tackle as a whole union the issues that members are confronted with in all sectors where they work. These include AI, the structural imbalance caused by the stranglehold of digital media and entertainment companies such as Netflix, Spotify and Meta, and barriers to access and inclusion. It also encourages members to lift their eyes from their own workplaces to connect with audiences and the public as powerful allies in our campaigns.
Opening the meeting, Federal President Michael Balk said MEAA’s vision for our future is one where all people value, honour and respect the essential work we make.
“We are our stories. Our work reflects our communities, enriches our lives, and informs and shapes our collective culture,” he said. “The creative and media workers of this country – our journalists, musicians, performers, technicians, crew, and venue staff – keep us connected. They inform and entertain us, delivering the lifeblood of art and truth to our world.
“We make profound contributions to Australia. As an economy, yes, but more importantly, culturally and socially. We don’t live in an economy. We live in community. A complex, connected and nuanced group of people and places.
“The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance vision for our future is one where all people value, honour and respect the essential work we make.
“This vision has purpose. A world where our creative and media workers are celebrated, is the very same world where our workers are safe; a future where our children can prosper; a future where our homes and worksites are not just places to live and work, but where we connect to nature, country and each other.”