Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1520149
14 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2024 | sagaftra.org A Letter from the National Executive Director Dear Member, T his is my first letter in the national magazine since our TV/Theatrical/ Streaming strike concluded. I want to express my deepest pride and appreciation for the solidarity shown by SAG-AFTRA members, as well as our allies on the picket lines. For 118 days, you showed what it means to be a member of a union. "Inspirational" seems too small a word for the solidarity, unity and tenacity shown by SAG-AFTRA members, day in, day out, week after week. SAG-AFTRA and our sibling unions are the only thing that stands in the way of the industry mega corporations having unfettered freedom to change the industry, workers lives, and even the fundamentals of human creativity in the interests of the corporate balance sheet. But thanks to your indomitable spirit, we were able to secure critical A.I. protections and wage increases far beyond anything the studios had ever imagined they would ever be willing to agree to. A strike is always a last resort, and it presents a real and substantial risk. If members are fractured by infighting and don't share a common sense of purpose, it can leave us substantially weaker than when we started — and in any circumstance it can be hard to get a large group of people to agree on anything. But the way SAG-AFTRA members came together was inspiring, uplifting and a true thing of beauty. Our time on the picket lines made a statement that hasn't been and won't soon be forgotten, and we are already seeing that ripple effect in other contracts in the form of the evolution of improved terms. I am so very proud of the members of this union, and to have the incredible honor of serving you as your national executive director and chief negotiator. Your union leadership remains committed to expanding A.I. protections into our other contracts — as we have already done with our Television Animation Agreements, Replica Studios agreement, and Sound Recordings Code — and ensuring that our members have full agency where the technology is concerned. I want to particularly acknowledge our TV Animation and our Sound Recordings negotiating committees and the negotiating staff for their courage and strategic brilliance in bringing forward those successful, evolutionary deals. I want to take a moment to express my deepest condolences to SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher on the loss of her father Morty, himself a SAG-AFTRA member. Her love and respect for him is always so evident; she would often invoke his name during negotiations. My thoughts are with her and her family. Calling the last several months eventful is an understatement, but there's so much more to come. In June, we'll be resuming the work of our national convention that was put on hold because of TV/Theatrical negotiations; there's the upcoming bargaining on the Network Television Code contract; our sustained push on A.I. protections, both in contracts and legislatively; and much more. But one topic that deserves a special mention is our ongoing negotiations with and potential strike against the major video game companies. Our Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee and negotiating staff have been bargaining with the companies for more than a year, and the deal is close to done with one exception … artificial intelligence protections. We have made it crystal clear that we will not agree to any proposal that seeks to exclude some of our members from the A.I. guardrails that everyone needs and deserves. We will stand strong and united on this point. With the 98% yes vote of our membership taken last fall on a strike authorization, we're using every bit of leverage to achieve the deal we need. But if a fair deal for all our members isn't on the table, exercising our right to withhold services from those companies may be necessary. And even though the TV/Theatrical/ Streaming strike is behind us, your engagement with your union is as important as ever. I am excited for what's to come, and I can't wait to work on it side by side with all our members. In unity, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland D U N C A N C R A B T R E E - I R E L A N D "Calling the last several months eventful is an understatement, but there's so much more to come."