A Message From Washington-Mid Atlantic Local President Tracee Wilkins

Dear members,

We are experiencing quickly evolving and, for some of us, increasingly unstable times. Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at many of our stations and studios have been put on hold or are being renegotiated as a result of the White House’s administrative efforts to rollback diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. This is impacting many of our open SAG-AFTRA contracts as well. As we navigate this new territory, I would like to thank our SAG-AFTRA National Board for making the courageous and right decision of reaffirming our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in our union. The resolution is a reaffirmation of the union’s principles and its commitment to our contractual provisions that hold the industry accountable for accurately depicting the American Scene, and it proclaims that diversity is our strength.

Proposed Congressional action to cut Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding for PBS and NPR is ongoing. Many of our brothers and sisters at member stations could be greatly impacted if hundreds of millions of dollars are cut from their operations. Please express your support for public media by contacting your local congress member. 

In these challenging times, union strength is more important than ever. I’m honored to join more than 50 of our local sibling unions and serve as mistress of ceremonies for the Evening With Labor hosted by the Washington Metropolitan Council, AFL-CIO on April 26.  We will gather for an awards dinner at the Omni Shoreham Hotel to celebrate the labor movement. I hope you will join us. For ticket information, please go to DCLabor.org .

Thank you to our more than 70 members who participated in our membership meeting at the end of March. We learned about the benefits we get through Union Plus, including its Union Plus Scholarship Program. It has awarded more than $5.6 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. The 2026 application will be available in mid-June on the Union Plus website.

Just a reminder that we have wonderful programming available via the WMA Conservatory program. This past week, we hosted a networking event with the city producers from various 48 Hour Film Projects events in the Mid-Atlantic area. Members had the opportunities to ask questions and learn about how they can participate. If you don’t already know, the 48 Hour Film Project is an annual competition where teams are assigned a character, a prop and a line of dialogue, and have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a short film. Interested in learning more? You can visit 48hourfilm.com to find an event near you. 

There is also a new SAG-AFTRA video series called TAKE5 designed to empower and inform performers. Please check it out on the SAG-AFTRA YouTube page for more information.

Everyone, please enjoy the benefits that we have fought for, and take comfort in your union membership!

In solidarity,

Tracee Wilkins

SAG-AFTRA Washington-Mid Atlantic Local President