A Message From NY President Ezra Knight

Happiest of New Years to you and yours! In the spirit of beginnings in this new year, and the audacity of hope that lives in the heart of activism honored on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I hope this year will bring forward that same energy of invigorating union activism and engagement we found last year. Let this new year remind us that we are a significant voice in the grand continuum of the labor movement.

We start the year with encouraging news out of Washington D.C. Members of Congress sponsored the NO AI FRAUDS ACT, a monumental bill that seeks to protect people’s likenesses and voices from A.I. exploitation. The proposal, called the The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act of 2023, prohibits publication, distribution or transmission of an unauthorized digital replica without consent. SAG-AFTRA applauds this important push for federal protections against A.I. exploitation. 

SAG-AFTRA, the AFL-CIO, and AFL-CIO Tech Institute presented the 5th Annual Labor Innovation & Technology Summit during CES on January 9. The summit brought together leaders from across the labor movement, entertainment sector and technology space to discuss what innovation means for the future of workers. You can watch the summit here .

There is much to look forward to in the coming months. Last week, nominees for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced. The SAG Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, Feb. 24. Please keep a lookout for details about our New York Local SAG Awards Viewing Party. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to sign up for the SAG Awards RSVP Program which is available to active, paid-up members of SAG-AFTRA to sign up to receive email notifications for FYC events, Q&As, and screenings sent throughout awards season. Once registered, you will receive email notifications as they become available.

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation continues to offer numerous opportunities to work on our craft, and to learn about our ever-evolving industry with year-round programming, screenings, and Conversations. You can register with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation on their website at sagaftra.foundation.

Finally, tax season is upon us. Employers are required to send a W-2 by January 31 —  they are not issued by SAG-AFTRA. If you are missing a W-2 from any SAG-AFTRA job you had, you must reach out to the employer/payroll house directly. Contact information for missing W-2s can be found here. Additionally, information about the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) will be made available soon. Check your email for details.

Forward together,
Ezra Knight
New York Local President

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.