Award-winning AFTRA New York member Jeremy Redleaf spoke before 400 participants at the AFL-CIO’s Inaugural Young Workers “Next Up” Summit, June 12 in Washington D.C.
Redleaf told the group, being an actor is a great way to make a living, but "it wouldn't be a great way to make a living if there wasn't a union, because the thing about acting is that everybody wants to do it, and if there wasn't a union, we'd probably do it for free."
The “Next Up” summit, which ran through June 13, was the culmination of a five-city listening tour and the kick-off to a long-term outreach program to working people under the age of 35. Young labor leaders and activists had the opportunity to share their ideas and experiences with each other and learn how to engage other young working people in their communities.
Redleaf, a nine-year member of AFTRA, is an actor-writer-director-producer-insomniac who was the key speaker Saturday at a session titled, “Odd Job Nation.” For the last 18 months, he's been celebrating the upside of the downtown with "Odd Jobs," winner of the 2010 Streamy Award for Best New Web Series (www.OddJobNation.com).
The summit also used new technology to live-poll young workers about economic conditions, job prospects and financial woes in the current economy. AFL-CIO leaders hope to create a two-way dialogue in order to listen to the concerns of young workers and make changes to strengthen and grow the labor movement.
Redleaf’s Odd Job Nation is not only a popular Web series, it is also a nationally-recognized resource/job-board for the unemployed, along with his Resume Shirts, a custom resume apparel company. CNBC recently named the trio of projects one of the "10 Most Outrageous Stories of the Recession." When he's not running his burgeoning living-room empire, Redleaf can been seen in films, sitcoms, commercials and cartoons, including "Gonnigan" on Season 40 of the AFTRA-covered program "Sesame Street." He's currently developing a comedy for Fox Television Studios and is not only a proud card-carrying member of AFTRA, but also SAG, AEA, and the International Academy of Web Television.
Click here for a video round-up of Redleaf's presentation.