-A Message From Your New York Local President Ezra Knight

Our union has become a unique and significant presence in the labor movement and an important force for change in the entertainment industry. As we have shown over the last year, when we stick together, when we find solidarity, and when we support each other, we enhance and improve our community. It’s time to help uplift our growing community. Last month, SAG-AFTRA announced that the union plans to organize intimacy coordinators. So many of us have experienced the benefits of having an intimacy coordinator on set. They provide vital support to union members, and soon, as part of our union, we will support them in turn. You can show your support with the social media toolkits and graphics available on our website.

As community members, we are also responsible for understanding where we are to better plan for where we’re going. In that spirit, I hope you will attend one of the Commercial Contracts Refresher presentations happening next week in preparation for our upcoming Commercials Contracts negotiation process. There are opportunities to attend a virtual presentation on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Oct. 16, so make your reservation today. An in-person #AdsGoUnion meeting will also be taking place on Oct. 16.

One of the online industry platforms important to our community just made it easier for us to showcase our SAG-AFTRA membership status. IMDb and IMDbPro have a new feature that allows union members to add a verified SAG-AFTRA badge to our pages. Click here to find out how to activate this new feature.

For our many members in the background performer community, the SAG-AFTRA Background Advisory Committee is hosting the first of a new empowerment series, Make the Most of Your Business, later this month. Register to join them on Monday, Oct. 28, for On-Set Advocacy Through You and Your Field Service Representative.

Beyond our union community, the state of New York has resources that may be available to many of our members. Recently, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office announced that in its efforts to ease the burden of childcare costs for working families, they have launched an online portal to make it easier for families to apply for the Child Care Assistance Program. Click here to see if you qualify for childcare assistance. Additionally, to help New Yorkers cover the costs of their basic living expenses, $2.3 billion in tax relief will be delivered to nearly three million homeowners and seniors through The School Tax Relief, or STAR, Program. Click here to learn more and see if you qualify.

And, lastly, please make sure you are registered to VOTE!

Forward together,

Ezra Knight

SAG-AFTRA New York Local President

News

Help Center

On-Set Emergency

On-Set Emergency: (844) 723-3773

Help Center

How can we help? Call, chat with a rep, get answers to FAQs or send us an email.