A Message from Your Twin Cities President

Dear Twin Cities Local Member,

I hope this finds you safe and healthy and staying that way by wearing a mask in public!

You probably have read the news that SAG-AFTRA reached an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on June 11 and that the SAG-AFTRA National Board approved the tentative agreement by a super majority of 67.61% to 32.39%. It is now up to the membership to ratify these three-year contracts. As your Twin Cities Local president, I am endorsing a YES vote on the contracts.

In the middle of a global pandemic, at a time of social and economic upheaval and dramatic declines in industry revenue, we were able to secure huge gains. The $318 million that will be provided by this contract is meaningful in areas like wages and benefits for all members. That’s real dollars in our pockets.

Our negotiators stayed focused on the future. Our team used their leverage to build up streaming residuals and position us where the growth and the money are. Getting a 26% increase in fixed streaming residuals over the first three years is terrific and it’s what our members were asking for. This is where the work is headed, and we need to make sure our money follows. This is a genuinely forward-thinking contract.

An important item to me is knowing that our pension and health plans stay strong. The projected funding increase of $97 million to the benefit plans for the next three years, including a $54 million increase for the health plan, is much needed and very meaningful to Twin Cities members.

There several other important gains in the contract highlighted in the 2020 TV/Theatrical Referendum, including significant added protections regarding on-set sexual harassment, that you can find at sagaftra.org/contracts2020. You can also attend an online informational meeting to discuss details of the contract on Tuesday, July 14, at 5 p.m. Please register for it at sagaftra.org.

All eligible members were mailed a postcard on July 1 with instructions and a PIN number on how to vote online or how to request a paper ballot. If you don’t have your PIN, you may retrieve it at the voting website. Whether submitted online or by mail, ballots must be received by 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2020.

I will be voting YES on this landmark contract, and I hope you will join me with your YES vote. And I mean it about that mask!

In solidarity,

Peter Moore
President, SAG-AFTRA Twin Cities Local