The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2020 - 2

FROM THE PRESIDENT
TED R. WOZNIAK
president@atanet.org

Helping Members Advance
Professionally during a Unique Time

M

ore than six months since a
national health emergency was
declared, our lives continue to be
shaped by the global pandemic. We're
all eagerly awaiting the development and
distribution of an effective vaccine and
a return to normalcy. In the meantime,
ATA's dedicated volunteers and staff
continue to work on your behalf.
Registration for a fully virtual ATA61 is
open and work on the conference is in the
final stages. See President-Elect Madalena
Sánchez Zampaulo's column on page 4
for an update and details on this historymaking event. Given the extremely
affordable total cost of attendance for this
virtual event thanks to the elimination of
travel and lodging expenses, I wouldn't
be incredibly surprised if we even set
a record for the number of first-time
attendees and nonmember attendees.
It's possible ATA61 could be the largest
ATA Annual Conference in history. It will
almost certainly change the nature of the
conference, as it's hard to imagine that
future conferences will not have at least
some virtual component going forward.
The Annual Meeting of Voting Members
will be held in conjunction with the
Annual Conference. In addition to the
election of three directors, there are two
proposed Bylaws amendments on this
year's ballot. Both amendments would
have a major impact on ATA if approved,
so I encourage all voting members to
educate themselves on the proposals and
vote. You can read the statements from
2

The ATA Chronicle | September/October 2020

this year's candidates and the proposed
Bylaws amendments on pages 7-12
of this issue. (I'll note for the record
that two additional member-proposed
Bylaws amendments failed to make the
ballot because the minimum signature
requirement was not satisfied.)
Also on the governance front, the
Board of Directors held a virtual meeting
August 1-2 and dealt with a number
of important topics and passed quite a
few resolutions. One of the first items
taken up was ATA's finances. The Board
discussed the treasurer's report1 and ATA's
financial outlook. Due to the major economic
uncertainties caused by the pandemic, the
Board took the unusual step of approving a
final budget for the next fiscal year only. Each
year, the Board normally approves a final
working budget for the next year and draft
budgets for the next two subsequent years.
On a related issue, the Board also
discussed the economic uncertainty faced
by our members and took two actions
to ease their financial burden somewhat.
First, the Board voted to waive an
automatic dues increase that would have
gone into effect on January 1 under the
existing policy that links dues to the rate
of inflation. Dues for 2021 will therefore
remain at the current level. In addition,
the Board approved offering renewing
members an option to pay their dues in
two installments instead of all at once.
While these two actions are relatively
minor in the big scheme of things, they
demonstrate that the Board is always

thinking about our members and how we
can help them professionally.
The Board also approved several other
resolutions, some of an administrative
nature such as setting the date of record
for eligibility to vote in the 2020 election
and appointing an inspector of elections.
More substantive resolutions concerned
revisions to the Board Guidelines for
Board Members, the Member Resolutions
Policy to eliminate some inconsistencies
and streamline the process, and revisions
to the Elections Policy to clarify the
responsibilities of the Nominating and
Leadership Development Committee.
The Board also agreed to allow
members to attend the Fall 2020 Board
meeting even if it's online (as expected)
and to develop guidelines for members
observing such online meetings by
addressing some technical and legal issues
arising from virtual meetings.
The Advocacy Committee, which
I chair, was very busy the past few
months working to obtain an exemption
to California's AB 5, which has been
disastrous for freelance translators and
interpreters in California. Several bills
have been introduced to address the
issue and ATA has worked closely with
the Coalition of Practicing Translators
and Interpreters of California (CoPTIC)
to have professional translators and
interpreters exempted from the ABC test
and placed under professional services.
On August 17, the day I wrote this
column, I, along with more than 50
other language professionals, called into
a hearing of the Senate Appropriations
Committee to speak in opposition to AB
2257 unless it's amended to provide just
such an exemption.
As we go into the second half of
a year that has presented us all with
unprecedented challenges, ATA will
continue its work on your behalf
promoting our vital profession and
helping you advance your career. I
would like to thank the hundreds
of volunteers who selflessly donate
their time to make ATA the Voice of
Interpreters and Translators.
NOTES
1
Milan, John. "Treasurer's Report,"
The ATA Chronicle (July/August 2020),
http://bit.ly/treasurer-report.
www.atanet.org
http://www.bit.ly/treasurer-report http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2020
