IATSE 891 Presents: Apple Box Talks

"I want the workers who have built this industry to continue to have the opportunities...this proposal we're bringing to Ottawa is worth taking seriously."

Our newest guest on the Apple Box Talks podcast is Burnaby Central MP Wade Chang. A Member of Parliament since 2025, Wade's upbringing in an immigrant family taught him the values of community support and open opportunities for all, lessons that guide his work today. A supporter of our industry, Wade sponsored a petition to eliminate the federal grind for Canadian motion picture, and was recently able to go on a tour of Mammoth Studios to gain a better understanding of the work our members do.

Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"Film is an important part of Burnaby. It's built into our DNA now. So we have to be sure that we, at the city level, do everything we can to help it along."

Our newest guest on the Apple Box is Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley. Originally from Northern Ireland, Mayor Hurley has called Burnaby home since 1988, when he joined the Burnaby Fire Department. Always a staunch advocate of workers and the labour movement, Mike joined his first union at 17 years old!

Elected as Mayor of Burnaby in 2018, Mike has also served as Vice-President and President of the Burnaby Fire Fighters Association, President of the BC Provincial Fire Fighters Association and President of the Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund — in addition to receiving the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022.

Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"I think everyone needs to understand what the labour movement does and represents for its members. We all need to listen to each other."

In honour of Labour Day on September 7, our newest episode on the Apple Box Talks podcast features Donna Sacuta, executive director of the BC Labour Heritage Centre. Starting as a volunteer and now serving as executive director, Donna has spent more than 30 years researching and writing about BC labour history. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Today on the Apple Box we're getting to know more about the department that serves as the creative link between physical production and post-production: the artists and technicians in Visual Effects. With credits to his name such as Star Trek: Beyond, The Flash, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians, joining us today is 891 Visual Effects Department member and chair Sam Kim. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"Pride Month is a space where we're having conversations about the whole human, not just as the worker, as the student — we're having conversations, not just about one identity but the whole of who we are, as individuals and as a community."

Today we're welcoming two industry colleagues to the podcast to talk about Pride Month! Joining us today are Manager of Engagement at UBCP/ACTRA Henry Williams, and IATSE 891 Assistant Business Representative Diego Cardona. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"We're in the kitchen, we're cooking up this blood...it's a lot of water, acrylics, paints, and thickening agents. That blood is fantastic."

From the department bringing the gore, the glamour, and everything in between, our newest guest is 891 Makeup member Cory Roberts. With credits to her name including The Recruit, Batwoman, and Resident Alien, Cory shares some stories from the world of motion picture makeup, how she made her way into the industry, and the evolution of training opportunities as a Union member.

Pull up a blood-stained Apple Box, and let's talk!

Our newest guest on the Apple Box is one of the country's most respected labour leaders and current IATSE Director of Canadian Affairs, John Lewis. As someone who has championed Canadian crews on Parliament Hill and broken new ground negotiating AI protections at the bargaining table, John has spent decades fighting for the artists and technicians who bring the motion picture industry to life. First elected an IATSE International Vice President in 2007, John walks the talk for IATSE members, every single day. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Our newest guest on the Apple Box is a champion of workers' rights, committed to equity, inclusivity and ensuring that worker voices are heard at every level of government and industry. Siobhan Vipond serves as the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, a position to which she was first elected in 2021. Prior to her CLC election, she served four terms as Secretary-Treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour — and she is also a proud IATSE member! Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Ahead of our AI Learning and Engagement Symposium, we welcome to the podcast AI expert, mathematics and technology historian, and assistant professor at the SFU School of Communication, Dr. Stephanie Dick. With a Ph. D from Harvard University and over 15 years of research experience, Stephanie examines what AI is, what it does, and how its use is changing our world, our work, and ourselves. Catch her as one of our keynote speakers at our AI Symposium, but first, pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

**WARNING: This podcast features topics that may be distressing for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.**

Welcome to Season 3 of Apple Box Talks! Our first guest is IATSE Local One member, Kayleigh Truman. Currently a Ph.D. student studying Labor and Industrial relations, Kayleigh is a mental health first aid instructor, and proud activist based in New York City.

Currently working on their second Master's thesis titled, "Three Identities in a Trenchcoat. How Neurodivergent Entertainment Workers Navigate the Entertainment Industry," Kayleigh is a big proponent of labour education and has developed multiple mental health workshops based on their research. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

If you or someone you know needs mental health support, please see the following resources:

• Suicide Crisis Helpline — Call or text 9-8-8
• BC Crisis Centre — Call 1-800-784-2433
• Talk Suicide Canada — Call 1-833-456-4566 or Text 45645
• Trans Lifeline (operators are all transgender) — Call 1-877-330-6366
• Indian Residential School Survivors Society — Call 1-800-721-0066 or 1-866-925-4419
• 891 members and their families can access free mental health counselling anytime through the Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) — call 1-800-667-0993 or request services online here

The newest episode of our Apple Box Talks podcast welcomes BC Federation of Labour President Sussanne Skidmore. Elected as the BCFED President in 2022, Sussanne is a well-established labour leader in our province, and joins us on the Apple Box to talk about the importance of labour education and building capacity and community in the labour movement.

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded prior to the BCGEU and PEA reaching their tentative collective agreements.

"If you're not at the table...you're on the menu."
Our newest guest on the Apple Box Talks podcast shows what it means to walk the talk in the union world, as we welcome CUPE BC President Karen Ranalletta. No stranger to union leadership, Karen also served three terms as CUPE BC General Vice-President, and four terms as President of CUPE 2950, while sitting on several other boards and committees. To hear about what it means to show up in the labour world, pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"Universal design is really putting a lens of bringing everyone along with us on this journey...it is really truly thinking that everyone in the sector has value."

With 30 years of experience as an advocate and activist for accessibility rights, Winnie Luk was appointed in June 2023 as the Disability Screen Office's inaugural Executive Director. She joins us today to share some of the inspirational work she has done to raise awareness for accessibility rights in the motion picture industry. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Please see the following resources to honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:

• Listen to the Woven Spirit: Threads of Wisdom podcast – an Indian Residential School Survivors Society Podcast episode.
• The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation has free education opportunities available.
• Here on Apple Box Talks, we interviewed residential school survivor Bruce Allan in September 2022, and City of Burnaby Director of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Mikelle Sasakamoose earlier this year for National Indigenous Peoples Day.
• The BC Federation of Labour has released a statement on the importance of reconciliation, which you can read here.

NDTR events taking place on September 30:

• Lower Mainland: Grandview Park Community Event hosted by Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society and Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society; National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Empowering Voices Through Art Workshops – in partnership with Place des Arts; Walking Together – Truth & Reconciliation Day at Burnaby Village Museum.
• Whistler/Squamish: Skwxwú7mesh and Líl̓wat7úl Cultural Centre National Day for Truth and Reconciliation event.
• Online: Remembering the Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation – live broadcast from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, 12:00 pm PST (via CBC).

Today, we welcome to the Apple Box two award-winning members of the 891 Costume Department, Carole Griffin and Sam Stroman! Carole and Sam were both part of the hugely successful production Shōgun, with Emmy and CAFTCAD awards among their individual accolades. They join us behind the mic to talk about their Shōgun experiences and motion picture journeys.

Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

**WARNING: This podcast contains some coarse language. Listener discretion is advised.**

With workers' rights and the labour movement in the news at the federal level, and with Labour Day on the horizon, we're joined on the Apple Box by ILWU Canada President, and prominent labour community voice, Rob Ashton. First elected Vice President of ILWU Canada in 2012, Rob became President in 2016, and now represents 17,000 workers in BC and Saskatchewan. Also serving as a Vice President for the BC Federation of Labour, Rob sits down to talk to us about what it means to show up in the union world. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

"The work that we do is just talking about our value and our worth...supporting and empowering and elevating the Asian diaspora and the racialized diaspora in North America. And I'm not gonna wait for you to say that what we bring is valuable because we know we're valuable."

Today on the Apple Box we're joined by local activist, advocate, and artist Barbara Lee. Barbara has been an inspirational voice in BC's motion picture community, advocating for racial equity and representation at every level of production. She founded the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, which celebrates its 29th year in 2025, and leads both the Racial Equity Screen Office and the East by Northwest Global Creative Summit. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Click here for the podcast transcription.

**WARNING: This podcast contains discussion of sensitive topics. Listener discretion is advised.**

"We want people to be able to enjoy and celebrate our culture, our rich and vibrant cultures—plural—and languages...that's really what I see June and National Indigenous Peoples Day being about."

In honour of June being National Indigenous Peoples History Month, our newest Apple Box Talks podcast features local activist and school board trustee Mikelle Sasakamoose—the first ever Director of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation for the City of Burnaby. Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk.

Click here for the podcast transcription.

"Our job is to make sure that it's a world-class experience to film in British Columbia...we're 'shot locally, seen globally.'"

Today, we're joined on the Apple Box by two leaders in the BC motion picture industry: BC Film Commissioner Marnie Gee, and Screen BC Executive Director Leslie Wootton. For a deep dive into some of the behind-the-scenes collaboration it takes to bring productions to our province, pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!

Click here for the podcast transcription.

Joining us today on the Apple Box is BC's Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport, Spencer Chandra Herbert. First elected provincially in 2008 as the youngest MLA in the Legislature, the Minister is now the representative for Vancouver–West End, and has been a long-term advocate for renters' rights, environmental stewardship, and protections in the BC Human Rights Code for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Plus, the Minister has a deep-rooted connection to the BC motion picture industry — as a child, he was a background extra on the set of Legends of the Fall! Pull up an Apple Box, and let's talk!