Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546062
sagaftra.org | Summer 2026 | SAG -AF TR A 13 A Letter From the National Executive Director Dear Member, T he past few months have offered powerful reminders of what you can accomplish when you stand together. One of the union's most significant achievements is the new TV/Theatrical Agreement secured through the hard work of SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin, the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee, and your negotiating staff. I'm deeply grateful to every member who participated in the wages and working conditions process. Your experiences, concerns, and ideas helped shape the proposals the committee carried to the bargaining table and strengthened the agreement it ultimately achieved. The economic gains in the 2026 contracts, including substantial improvements to residuals, represent meaningful progress toward a system that can better sustain working actors. You can read more about the newly ratified agreement on page 42. I'm especially proud of the protections the committee secured around synthetics: generative AI-created assets designed to appear human. The unchecked use of synthetics poses a serious threat not only to your livelihoods, but also to the creative and cultural value of the films and series audiences love. Under this agreement, the studios have committed to a principle favoring human performance and real limitations on any use of synthetics, with no cap on damages for violating those commitments. That is an important step forward, and a genuine bulwark against synthetics establishing any foothold in studio and streamer production. I'm also pleased to share encouraging news for those of you looking toward retirement. Work is underway to merge the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the AFTRA Retirement Fund, with a target completion date of Jan. 1, 2028. This will be especially meaningful for those of you who have struggled to qualify for vesting because your earnings were divided between the two plans. Participants in the AFTRA Retirement Fund will see their accrual rate more than double, while many SAG-Producers Pension Plan participants will also receive increased benefits. The union's work continues. SAG-AFTRA's next major negotiations will cover the Sound Recordings Code, Netflix, and TV Animation. Because recording artists are a major focus of this issue, I want to underscore how important it is for you to remain vigilant about AI provisions, and especially any language involving consent to digitally replicate your voice. Working under a union contract means working with concrete protections. If you work outside a union contract, you are taking a real risk with every unvetted contract. A single grant of consent involving AI or a digital replica can have consequences that follow you for decades. When it comes to your voice, your likeness, and your creative identity, the fine print matters. SAG-AFTRA is also making progress beyond the bargaining table. Many thanks to President Astin and Actors' Equity Association President Brooke Shields for their Roll Call op-ed advocating for the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act. This legislation would modernize the Qualified Performing Artist Deduction and allow more middle-class performers to deduct their ordinary business expenses. President Astin and I also co-authored an op-ed for The Hill supporting the NO FAKES Act, which recently reached another important milestone by receiving unanimous support from the Senate Judiciary Committee. More than 22,000 people have signed SAG-AFTRA's petition in support of the bill, which would protect every American from unauthorized replicas of their voice and likeness. This is a pivotal moment for the NO FAKES Act. If the petition remains open when this issue of SAG-AFTRA reaches you, please visit sagaftra.org and add your name if you haven't already. Every voice strengthens the call for action. I'm enormously optimistic about what lies ahead. We may face extraordinary challenges, but you have shown, time and again, what you can achieve together in unity. When you act with purpose, speak with one voice, and stand in solidarity, you aren't just responding to change. You're shaping the future. 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 "We may face extraordinary challenges, but you have shown, time and again, what you can achieve together in unity."