Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1367665
26 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2021 | sagaftra.org S AG-AFTRA has been working with elected officials at local, state and federal levels to ensure members' needs are considered and protected, and the union has achieved numerous recent successes. During the first round of stimulus in March 2020, the CARES Act, the union helped create Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and made sure eligibility included those who are scheduled to work, but whose place of employment is shut down. When the December 2020 stimulus bill was being put together, SAG-AFTRA ensured that members who derive their income from a variety of sources were not left out. Under the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation provision, mixed earners were eligible to receive an additional $100 per week on top of their regular unemployment benefit. When the American Rescue Plan passed earlier this year, it contained several benefits that were helpful for members beyond the direct payments, including subsidizing COBRA health coverage through September and waiving federal income taxes on the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits. The union advocated for the Protect Lawful Streaming Act, which creates felony criminal penalties for illegal streaming consistent with those that have long existed for illegal downloading and distribution. It was signed into law by the president in December 2020. Also, that month, the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act, or CASE Act, became law. It establishes a small claims court system within the United States Copyright Office for copyright owners to utilize in lieu of federal court. It gives smaller copyright holders better recourse against infringement. There have been local victories, as well. New York residents now have a postmortem right of publicity, meaning their images continue to be protected, even after they die, and can't be legally used without the permission of their estate. The new law also provides an avenue for legal action for those whose images are used in digitally manipulated sexual content without their consent. Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon led the charge to get the law passed. Even with these victories to its credit, the union isn't slowing down. SAG-AFTRA is working to update Qualified Performing Artist deductions in the federal tax code. QPA deductions were created in 1986 and they allow performing artists to deduct expenses incurred in the course of their employment. Unfortunately, the eligibility threshold for these deductions has remained unchanged since 1986, and only those whose adjusted gross income is $16,000 or less are able to take advantage. SAG-AFTRA is working to raise the threshold to $100,000 for single taxpayers and $200,000 for a couple filing jointly, with automatic cost-of-living adjustments in the future. We thank Reps. Judy Chu and Vern Buchanan, and Sen. Mark Warner, for leading the charge to make these needed updates, via the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act. And one of the union's top legislative goals is the passage of the FAIR Act, which would finally limit unconscionable and onerous options and exclusivity provisions in television series performer contracts and recording artist contracts. These provisions allow studios and record labels to keep performers off the market and unable to work for unreasonable periods of time (see page 46). The union continues to execute its core functions of negotiating and enforcing contracts, but advocating for strong legislation and policy that benefits our members is an important, additional element of its work. And when it comes to legislative and policy success, members' voices make all the difference. For Members Union Racks Up Legislative Victories Keep an eye on your emails and sagaftra.org to learn about the latest efforts and how you can help. From left, member Lisa Fischer, SAG-AFTRA EVP and New York Local President Rebecca Damon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and member Adrian Martinez met on March 29 to discuss legislation to help the creative industry recover.