A Letter From Your N.Y. Local President

Dear Member,

I begin this month’s communication with a somber moment of respect and remembrance for SAG-AFTRA member, award-winning narrator and chair of the National Audiobook Steering Committee since its inception, Richard Ferrone, who we lost earlier this month. As a proud New Yorker, audiobook narrator and SAG-AFTRA member, I personally feel his loss threefold. I am far from alone. The wages and working conditions that audiobook narrators work under — continuing to grow to this day — exist in no small part from the singular efforts of this champion of union leadership. Richard was dedicated to his craft and his union, having formerly served as chair of the New York Audiobook Narrators Caucus and the New York Organizing Committee, co-chair of the MORE Committee and vice chair of MOVE New York. He will always be especially well remembered for his ongoing efforts to unify the cultures of SAG and AFTRA after the two organizations merged in 2012. Our thoughts and condolences are with Richard’s wife Cynthia and their family.

On a separate and encouraging note, I am excited about important developments for women’s health care in the state of New York. Earlier this month at Judson Memorial Church in Washington Square, with members of the SAG-AFTRA New York Local Board in attendance, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an additional $13.4 million in funding from the Abortion Provider Support Fund awarded to 37 providers, covering 64 clinical sites to further expand access to abortion services and support of reproductive rights across the state. New York has historically been a safe harbor for women and continues in that tradition to this day.

Be sure to check out the New York Local page on sagaftra.org to read about the many activities, both virtual and in-person, that your local has been up to over the past few months. You’ll also find links to important services for SAG-AFTRA members including the COBRA subsidy. I hope you will take advantage of all of the services and opportunities available to us as members of this incredible union sibling-hood in the entertainment industry. 

Forward together,

Ezra Knight
New York Local President