Hello Friends,
I'm excited to say hello to those who know me and introduce myself to those I have yet to meet. I'm Tracee Wilkins, your new president of the Washington-Mid Atlantic Local. I've been a member of our great union since 1997; my first job at NBC4 Washington was a union job created through our collective bargaining agreement. I'm now an investigative reporter at that same station and can say without question that I owe a lot to SAG-AFTRA.
We hit the ground running after local elections as we managed the strike and preparations for the SAG-AFTRA convention. Our local proposed two resolutions that were accepted for convention consideration. We’ve elected new national leadership and have settled the strike. We’ve been busy, now comes the next crucial step.
Your solidarity and sacrifice throughout our 118-day strike has resulted in a new tentative agreement with the AMPTP. You now have the chance to vote on this new contract, allowing us to lock in more than $1 billion in new wages and benefit plan funding along with the gains that were most important to you, including a new success-based bonus for those who work in streaming and important protections around the use of AI, guardrails never before included in our contracts.
It’s essential that we all take the time to get educated about what this agreement has achieved for working performers.
The union has put together a summary of the agreement, and we encourage you to read it here. If you were not able to attend an informational session about the tentative agreement, videos of sessions are available at sagaftra.org/contracts2023, where there are also FAQs, AI resources and voting information.
If you still have unanswered questions, you may email tvtheatrical2023@sagaftra.org or call (323) 549-6832.
Your National Board, Negotiating Committee and I urge you to vote yes on this agreement. After you have had a chance to study the information, please visit vote.ivsballot.com/tvtheatrical2023 and VOTE YES by 5 p.m. PT on Dec. 5, 2023.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished. Thank you to our local’s own Towanda Underdue, who sat on the national Negotiating Committee. Thank you to all of our Washington-Mid Atlantic strike captains and all who walked the picket lines and supported our efforts. Now let’s take it across the finish line.
Hope to see you at our virtual annual membership meeting on Monday, Nov. 27. It will be a fun-filled evening featuring everything you've ever wanted to know about audiobooks from industry leaders. Click here to join us from 6:30 to 9 p.m. ET.
Wishing you and your family a happy Thanksgiving,
Tracee Wilkins
Washington-Mid Atlantic Local President