New building news

Since my March 5 posting on the wish list for a possible new union building, the executive board has been moving with lightning speed. We found a building in Burbank that met all of our needs and wants, and we're already in the process of going after it. Frankly, it's pretty exciting, and we think our members will be thrilled when all is said and done. The deal isn't done yet, but it's looking good. As we've talked with members about it, some common questions have come up, and I wanted to address those here. Will this raise our dues? No. TAG has significant cash reserves, so we're in the enviable position of being able to pay cash. Do we have to sell our current building first? No. When we're close to occupying the new building, we'll put our Lankershim building on the market. We're financially strong enough that we don't need to make buying a new building contingent on selling the current one. Why are things moving so fast? When you consider how long we've been kicking this idea around, we really aren't rushing. Over the last few years we've kept our eyes open for buildings that are both close to the studios and that meet our space needs, and we've come to realize that they're pretty rare. So when we saw that this one was available, we acted. We'll have more info as things develop. I encourage everyone to come to the General Membership meeting the last Tuesday of this month (at Local 44), where we'll have lots more to tell.