Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Delivers Remarks at the 30th SAG Awards®

Recognizing the tireless efforts of those who supported SAG-AFTRA and served the union’s picket lines during the 118-day strike, National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland delivered a message acknowledging labor leaders, the negotiating committee, President Fran Drescher, as well as SAG-AFTRA’s 850 volunteer strike captains while he spoke to the attendees of the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium.

Crabtree-Ireland’s full remarks are transcribed below:

Good evening, everyone and welcome.

And thank you, Courtney, and all your colleagues in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, for your dedication, service, and tireless efforts to protect and support our membership.

It’s so great to be back here, putting on the show in the legendary Shrine Auditorium, for the SAG Awards’ 30th Anniversary.

I want to start off by congratulating all our nominees tonight. Your work is stunning and I want all of you to win. Sure, a run of 5-way ties across 13 categories is unprecedented, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

I’d also like to welcome a very special member of our audience tonight — US Secretary of Labor, Julie Su. Thank you for being here, Secretary Su.

Tonight is a spectacular celebration of the finest acting work of the past year, but it is also a showcase for our unity and solidarity.

And never have we relied on that solidarity more than this past year. The sacrifices made by our members were enormous; and were matched by our colleagues throughout the industry. The hardship has been very real, and for many hasn’t yet fully let up. It took commitment and courage from everyone who supported SAG-AFTRA, from inside and out, to deliver us through those very challenging times.

I must acknowledge our strike captains, who organized, rallied, and kept our focus where it needed to be. The negotiating committee, who never wavered, couldn’t be intimidated, and wouldn’t settle for anything less than a truly fair deal. The negotiating staff who brought their expertise, strategic thinking, and true devotion to our members every day. And of course, President Drescher, who led with fire, tenacity, and courage. We owe all of them a tremendous amount of gratitude for their steadfast leadership.

The result of this journey is a groundbreaking agreement that marks a sea change in our business. It sets a vision for the coming decade, and takes huge steps toward defining how AI becomes a part of our world, putting necessary guard rails in place. The outcome of this strike was not only Important for us, but it was also important for the rest of the industry, and frankly, for everybody.

This room, right now, is a living metaphor for the unity and solidarity that brought us through the past year to this moment.

Because, here tonight, we have the leaders of our sibling unions: The AFL-CIO, the AFM, the DGA, IATSE, Teamsters and Basic Crafts, Actors Equity and the WGA. Your support – moral, physical, and personal – was essential to our success. We couldn’t have done it without you. I’d ask that the leaders of those unions stand, and please remain standing.

As representatives of your members, allow us to take this moment right now, to show you the thanks we would like to express to all your members.

You had our backs. Know that we will always do the same for you.

You know as I stand here and I look out at all of you – and I think about all of our members who are watching this show around the country and around the world – I have to let you know what an immense honor and privilege it was to help lead the strike effort last year and to fight side by side with you to make life better for the folks who are our storytellers and who bring so much joy to all our lives.

Thank you all for being here, and congratulations again to all our nominees. And now, before the celebration begins – let’s take a moment to reflect on the events of last year and our vision for the future.

Photo: SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland at the 30th SAG Awards on Feb. 24, 2024. Photo by Shutterstock.