Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512402
36 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2023 | sagaftra.org This has often meant letting each committee member speak longer than their allotted time and encouraging everyone to reach across the table and find something they shared in common with each other. The result was a negotiating team capable of forming a unified front as they introduced and fought for the most aggressive proposal package in entertainment industry history. Unstoppable commitment, dedication to serving the membership and courage were a few of the words SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland used to describe Drescher during the Nov. 10 press conference announcing the National Board's vote to approve the TV/Theatrical tentative agreement reached with the AMPTP. "When we fight each other because of partisanship, then somebody wins, but it's not us," Drescher said to reporters. "I felt like the only way to bring this union together was to come in without bias … to leave my door open to every single one of the members, so that I could hear what they had to say. What came out of that was the beginning of trust. It was, what I call 'The Fran Plan' and the 'Secret Sauce,' which is time and patience." The unity and respect that Drescher fostered wasn't limited to the negotiating room. In a strong show of support, members re-elected Drescher on Sept. 8 for another two-year term as president. As the weeks of the strike wore on and the AMPTP finally returned to the bargaining table, the hours were long and the discussions at times contentious. "As families do, with our Negotiating Committee, sometimes we would laugh, sometimes we would hug, sometimes we would cry, sometimes we would yell. Each step of the way, we grew towards each other into what I am calling 'the nucleus of the Golden Age for SAG-AFTRA,'" Drescher said. Whether at convention or at the press conferences and rallies held throughout 2023, Drescher has spoken time and again of the potential for SAG-AFTRA to enter a Golden Age. For her, this means leveraging the momentum she has spearheaded into a force for the greater good. Among her ambitions in the months ahead: continuing her work with the Green Council and reducing single- use plastics on set; rallying support for IATSE, AFM and the Teamsters when their contracts are up for negotiations; advocating for legislation that protects individuals from being exploited by artificial intelligence technology; and continuing the push for industry change that will keep motion picture production sustainable as a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of workers. She also understands the importance of her position as a role model for women and girls, and she's eager to push back against misogyny and stereotypes. She called the sexism she experienced during negotiations "low-hanging fruit," and said, "I think it should be beneath anyone." Given to her by an 11-year-old fan, the heart-shaped plushie she kept nearby during negotiations was a source of ridicule by some in the press, but soon became a trend among SAG-AFTRA members on the picket lines throughout the final weeks of the strike, with fuzzy heart-shaped pins and heart cartoons showing up in various forms on picketers' signs and attire. Drescher's commitment to authenticity is a symbol of empowerment. And in an industry that often places emphasis on fitting a certain type or conforming to employers' expectations, Drescher embodies defiance. Her fearlessness in the face of corporate power has resulted in revolutionary gains: an entirely new compensation stream for SAG-AFTRA members in the form of the new success bonus for performers whose work is distributed on streaming platforms, wage increases that broke the AMPTP's pattern of bargaining, and AI protections that can be used as a model by other unions in their own negotiations. As Drescher came to the conclusion of her Nov. 10 speech, she said of SAG-AFTRA, "We began this journey as the largest entertainment union in the world and we finished it the most powerful." With SAG-AFTRA's gains paving the way for other industry unions to enter employer negotiations with the knowledge that the AMPTP's pattern of wage increases is a negotiating tactic and not necessarily an immovable boundary, SAG-AFTRA, under Drescher's leadership, has made its power clear. ● Left, Drescher leads the National Board meeting on Nov. 10, as the board votes on the TV/Theatrical tentative agreement with the AMPTP. Right, Drescher speaks at an Aug. 2 New York City Hall press conference. Above, Drescher pickets NBCUniversal in New York City on Aug. 3. OTHER SHUTTERSTOCK FOR SAG-AFTRA STEPHEN LOVEKIN/SHUTTERSTOCK FOR SAG-AFTRA