Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1520149
10 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2024 | sagaftra.org A Letter from the Executive Vice President L I N D A P O W E L L Dear Member, I t's been my honor during the first quarter of the year to represent you at a variety of events. What has been common at each one is the admiration and respect that our union is receiving both across the industry and beyond. At the Labor Innovation and Technology Summit in Las Vegas, I joined other union leaders in important discussions around emerging technology. While there, every conversation I had included congratulations for our successes. At the American Federation of Teachers' annual conference, I was part of an open conversation for their delegates which explored SAG-AFTRA's strategies and successes. Attending the SAG Awards, I was inspired by the number of winners acknowledging pride in the union. And I was incredibly moved to accompany Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-California, to the State of the Union address — an honor he gave to SAG-AFTRA in recognition of our historic strike. It's been nice to take a victory lap. We earned it. And we have reason to be proud of the gains we made. But I know those gains didn't come without sacrifices. Our members went without wages, without health care contributions, without security for much of the last year. We celebrate while we work to recover. We work to recover while we face an industry in flux. We overcame many of the challenges on the table, but the challenges ahead are very real. What I know and what keeps me steady is that in addition to achieving the much needed major gains that we all know about, our strike changed us. I've talked before about how the union is better for our increased member engagement. But that's not the only way it's become clear to me that we are stronger now than ever. We are stronger in negotiations. No one across the table from SAG-AFTRA questions our resolve. In every contract negotiation since TV/Theatrical, we have achieved major gains — in wages, in working conditions and in the important boundaries put on artificial intelligence. With the hard-fought TV/Theatrical A.I. rules as a de facto starting point, the TV Animation and Sound Recordings committees were able to concentrate their leverage on specific A.I. provisions crucial to their communities. As I write this, the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee continues to hold strong in their negotiation and a robust Network Television Code W&W process just concluded. Members of both of those committees are highly motivated by the walls they've seen fall and the magnitude of the moment they are being entrusted to navigate. We are stronger in legislation. The connections we've made with like-minded legislators around the country during the strike are invaluable. In March, the ELVIS Act became law in Tennessee. It's the first law of its kind that protects songwriters, performers and music industry professionals' voices from A.I. misuse. We are currently backing three federal bills and several state bills that will further protect our members. Visibility matters. Relationships matter. Our strike strengthened both. Finally, we are stronger in our focus. Pulling together for the strike honed us in important ways. I see that in the chairs of your committees, in the initiatives being proposed, in the problems being addressed, in the debates being had, and in the commitment to finding solutions for longstanding issues as well as threats on the horizon. Our challenges are real, but the state of our union is strong. With the beginning of spring, the days are getting longer here in New York, and every now and then it's almost warm. I'm hopeful for renewal, growth and WORK for all of us in this season. I encourage you to stay engaged and to stay informed. Your voice matters, your presence matters, and together we are a force to be reckoned with. In solidarity, Linda Powell "Our challenges are real, but the state of our union is strong."