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    DGA-Producer Pension & Health Plans add benefits to protect abortion rights for members and dependents

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1936 Views
    Lesli Linka Glatter, president of the DGA
    LOS ANGELES --

    The Board of Trustees of the Directors Guild of America–Producer Pension and Health Plans today (7/18) approved several Health Plan amendments to expand coverage of abortion services to include dependent children and offer travel benefits for covered Health Plan participants living or working in covered employment locations where abortion services are no longer permitted.

    DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter made the following statement supporting the Plans decisions: “The actions taken today by the Plans Trustees demonstrate strong and decisive leadership to ensure that our members and their dependents will continue to be able to have access to safe abortion services regardless of where they live and work. I am proud that in a time when our human rights are being challenged and so much in our nation is unclear regarding abortion rights after the devastating decision by the Supreme Court, that the DGA Plans offer clear and comprehensive abortion coverage for our members.”

    The Plans trustees voted unanimously to add the following two additional benefits:

    • Expanded coverage of abortion services to dependent children of Health Plan participants
    • Added coverage of abortion-related travel costs for covered Health Plan participants living or working in covered employment in locations where abortion services are no longer permitted.

    In addition, the Trustees reconfirmed existing coverage of both elective and medically necessary abortions and coverage of the drugs necessary to induce abortion.

    “The expansion of abortion services by the Plans this morning is critical to protect the health, safety and rights of DGA members and their dependents,” said Plans chair Jay D. Roth in discussing the actions taken by the Trustees this morning. “The Guild and Management Trustees were unanimous in their decisions today, recognizing that travel coverage, and the inclusion of dependent children were vital additions to ensure coverage regardless of where members live and work.”

    Details regarding the clarifications and added benefits will be communicated to Plans participants.

    Tags:abortion rightsDGAJay D. RothLesli Linka Glatter



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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