CMG Freelance is gearing up to take part in the Canadian Media Guild's 2018 biennial convention on May 25, 26 and 27 in Toronto. Every two years a large group of CMG members meets at the convention to discuss the needs and priorities of the union.

Freelance branch members who'll attend this year's convention include the branch's executive: Paolo Pietropaolo, Alison Motluk, George Butters, Scott Edmonds, JP Davidson and branch president Don Genova. Also, CMG Freelance members Leanne Allen, Trevor Beckerson, Shauna Rae, Sharon Riley, and Gerry Whelan were elected by the membership to attend the convention as delegates. In addition to the delegates and the executive, Story Board editor Rachel Sanders will attend the convention as an observer.

We'll be participating in the union's plenary sessions, but we'll also have a chance to spend time together as a group discussing various campaigns that CMG Freelance is working on. We'll also be setting our goals and priorities for the year ahead.

And we'd like to hear from our members and other Canadian freelancers on this: what do you think we should be discussing during this convention? From advocacy campaigns to creating and improving services for our members, what priorities should we pursue over the next few months? What are the most important concerns that you have as an independent worker?

Leave us a note in the comments section below or email us at freelance@cmg.ca. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

CMG Freelance is the freelance branch of the Canadian Media Guild, which represents 6,000 workers in Canadian media. Other branches of the union include CBC, The Canadian Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, TVO, TFO, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, ZoomerMedia, Corus and CKOI Radio Gatineau.