Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1486263
For Members T he International Federation of Actors Executive Committee met in London during the last week of September. In a historic first, the meeting was presided over by an American, FIA President Gabrielle Carteris, who was elected to the post in 2021. The three-day event was well-attended, with representation from more than 20 performers unions from across the globe, including SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, along with other SAG-AFTRA staff. This was the first in-person meeting since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The group discussed and debated a number of important issues, including the ongoing ratification process for the Beijing Treaty, challenges impacting performer unions due to rapidly evolving technology and the increasingly important role of streaming platforms in our industry. The group also presented yearly reports on important matters, including diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across member nations. The Federation also passed several impactful resolutions, including a resolution in support of the principle of "no collection without distribution." This principle is paramount to the global future of the industry, as it calls for collecting societies around the world to proportionally distribute any money they collect to the performers to whom they are owed, regardless of reciprocity From left, SAG-AFTRA Chief Communications & Marketing Officer Pamela Greenwalt; Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez; Executive Director, Labor Policy & International Affairs Rebecca Damon; FIA President Gabrielle Carteris; Senior Consultant Katja Holm; National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland; Manager, International Affairs & Spanish Language Jorge Aguirre; Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair. SAM WINTER/EQUITY UK. SAG-AFTRA Collaborates Across the Pond between countries. For SAG-AFTRA members, this could mean collecting tens of millions of dollars more each year in royalties from the foreign use of their work that currently goes unpaid. Another important resolution showed the body's unanimous support for the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists in its ongoing dispute with the nation's ad industry.