SAG-AFTRA<\/a>. \u201cIt feels like this moment is a culmination of all of that work,\u201d he said. \u201cThe time feels like it\u2019s absolutely right and I\u2019m excited to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tFran Drescher, who has led the union as president since 2021 and managed the organization through the onset of the generative AI era and its grueling 118-day strike in 2023, is said to have decided not to run again. Drescher, however, could not be reached on Friday to confirm or deny.<\/p>\n
\n\tAstin is running alongside Blindspot and Star Trek: Picard actor Michelle Hurd, who is seeking the position of secretary-treasurer. The union\u2019s current secretary-treasurer, Joely Fisher (Ellen, The Mask), will turn her attention to running for president of the Los Angeles Local Board alongside Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter, who will run as the Local\u2019s first vice president, and David Jolliffe (ParaNorman), who will again run for second vice president. Their combined political slate is called \u201cThe Coalition 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tFisher points to the downturn in local Los Angeles production, especially since the 2023 strikes, as the impetus for her to run as president of its Local. \u201cI am turning my national focus to my hometown,\u201d she said, adding that she wants to make this \u201cthe golden age of Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn a statement, secretary-treasurer hopeful Hurd said she is running because \u201cevery member deserves to know how our union\u2019s resources are being used \u2014 and to trust that they\u2019re being used wisely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tTheir slate will focus on strong contracts, healthcare reforms, AI protections, stronger residuals, safe working conditions and paying attention to the unique needs of the union\u2019s 25 Locals, Astin said. \u201cWe are a huge union with a lot of constituencies that are entitled to and deserve and in fact require fierce advocacy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe full landscape of potential competitors isn\u2019t yet clear, as candidates have until 5 p.m. on Friday to submit their nominating petitions. What is known is that SAG-AFTRA New England Local board member Chuck Slavin is running for president alongside secretary-treasurer hopeful Peter Antico on a platform of transparency for members and union health plan reforms.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhoever wins the upcoming election will be faced with an immediate test of leadership. Next year, the union will return to the negotiating table with studios and streamers for the first time since its 2023 strike in a challenged position, with a contraction in the business having squeezed employment opportunities for its 160,000-odd members. The union will need to revisit the AI protections in its contract after three years of technological advances and wage the continuous battle of securing its health and pension plans.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe next crop of SAG-AFTRA leaders will also be faced with the issue of runaway production. After California legislators passed reforms to the state\u2019s tax credit program and Gov. Gavin Newsom injected it with new funding, attention is turning to an effort to launch federal film and television tax incentive legislation in D.C. Odds are that the actors\u2019 union, with its star power and politico ties, will be a key player in that fight.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe full list of SAG-AFTRA political candidates is expected to be released next week. Election ballots will be collected between August 13 and September 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1985, Valley of the Dolls and The Miracle Worker actress Patty Duke became the second-ever woman to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":58989,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[185,171,606,42859,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-58988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-labor","11":"tag-sag-aftra","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114839039823311455","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}