APAG Meeting Minutes:
Name of Association: APAG Union
Type of Meeting: Regular
Date: March 27th, 2022
Call To Order: President Alana Evans called the meeting to order at 5:07 pm
Member Pledge: Read by President Alana Evans at 5:09 pm
Roll Call: Taken by Vice Presdent Ruby at 5:10 pm
Present:
President: Alana Evans
Vice President: Ruby
Secretary/Treasurer: Kelly Pierce
Sergeant at Arms: Amber Lynn
Board Member: KeKe
Board Member: Body of Benin
Not Present:
Board Member: India Morel
Board Member: Destiny Red
Parliamentarian: Jorge Reano gave proxy vote
Previous Meeting Minutes Read at 5:11 PM and approved by all at 5:14 pm
New Business:
- Occupational Discrimination Fight Update
- Committee Updates
- Testing Discussion
- Member Dues/APAG Banking
Occupational Discrimination Fight Update started at 5:15 PM: Alana updated members that Vice President Ruby, Board Member Keke, and herself have been working on language for a new bill and it’s about to be approved by legal. Committee meetings will continue and if you want to be part of these meetings contact Vice President Ruby.
Committee Updates 7:18 PM, President Alana Evans informed members we will be starting up committees again and need members to join and volunteer their time to the specific committees they are interested in. Contact Vice President Ruby for those interested.
Member Dues/APAG Banking update started at 5:22 PM. President Alana Evans informed members of current income and her own money she uses to fund the union. She said she’ll be sending all receipts to Secretary Kelly Pierce that she has spent, but this year she will be just gifting the money to the Union for tax purposes. The receipts will give us an idea
Testing discussion began at 5:25 PM. President Alana Evans informed members of the current debate going on about testing and U=U performers. She informed members about the debate and the extra HIV test added and about how performers were really upset that their informed consent was taken before we added the extra test. She also informed members about the HuffPost Performer Article that has been debated. She started by saying it overall was great and we assure members we never asked for it to be removed, but President Alana Evans did want to make it clear to members the parts she wanted to be removed.
We wanted one Paragraph Fixed and Factual:
- We are not affiliated with IEAU and we fought against being part of them. The article did not reflect that and associated us with their website.
- We are not against U=U.
- Talent Testing HIV PCR DNA shows detectable/undetectable, which the performer also got wrong. The test does show if detectable or undetectable.
- Talent Testing did not charge performers more money for the additional HIV Test as stated in the article. We have an Xbiz Article proving as much.
- As far as the convention debate mentioned – almost all the performers were not APAG Union members and they were performers speaking on behalf of themselves and nobody from the Union yelled at anyone at that panel. We did ask questions. The performer made it seem like they were our members and not just performers speaking for themselves and their health.
At 5:45 PM Secretary Kelly Pierce also wanted to reiterate the board is not against U=U performers and that this is a discussion that must be had with official bodies that control our testing system as well as Cal-Osha. We have to ensure safety and health for all performers as well as our sets so we can stay compliant and working. She also wants to make sure people understand that informed consent is a must and we all deserve the decisions to our own health decisions.
At 5:55 PM Board Member Body of Benin agreed it must be a discussion that must be continuous and he listed doctors and organizations we could reach out to educate performers.
At 6:05 PM Performer Bastian agreed he would like to see that when it comes to U=U performers to know exactly what U=U means for your health and the risks. He also stated informed consent means knowing what that means when someone tells you they are U=U not just knowing.
At 6:07 PM President Alana Evans informed of Dr. Goldman and the articles he wrote for our website and that this is definitely an ongoing discussion. She said she’ll also reach out to FSC and others since she is on the board. Maybe do a performer outreach/Q&A answered.
At 6:18 PM We discussed PREP, Prep Injection that is coming, PREP discounts, and all things Prep. Some performers voiced concern health reasons wouldn’t make it viable for them.
Open Discussion: No taker
Closed the Meeting: President Alana Evans Closed the meeting at 6:22 PM
