SAG-AFTRA and Entertainment Unions Push for A.I. Labor Guardrail Legislation

On Tuesday, May 7 SAG-AFTRA and representatives from a number of other entertainment industry labor unions joined legislators in Albany in support of a package of bills that would put guardrails in place around the use of A.I. The three bills, S.7676/A.8138 (Ramos/Weinstein), S.7422-B/A.7634-B (Webb/Meeks), and S.6859/A.216-B (Gianaris/Rosenthal) require employers in the film and television sector to be more transparent with workers, the State and consumers about their use of A.I.

SAG-AFTRA National Board Member Samantha Mathis and SAG-AFTRA Chief Labor Policy Officer and New York Executive Director Rebecca Damon joined NY Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianiaris, NY State Senator and Labor Chair Jessica Ramos, New York State Senator Lea Webb, NY State Assembly Chair Harry Bronson, and NY State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal as well as labor leaders in the film, television, and entertainment sector during a press conference in the capitol building to show their support for all three bills. Following the press conference, the SAG-AFTRA contingent met with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to discuss the importance of the legislation.

“Building on the wins from our successful contract fight, New York State needs to act on this good forward-thinking policy,” said Damon. “The entertainment and media industry is an economic driver in New York, and in order to keep that ecosystem flourishing, the state needs to put in place smart, human-centered A.I. protections.”

“Creating film and television is a collaboration, and if the use of A.I. is not regulated, workers would not only lose jobs and incomes for their families, but equally importantly, they lose their agency,” said Mathis. “If A.I. is not regulated, it can be used to take advantage of people. This legislation will help us keep our agency.”

Also in attendance were SAG-AFTRA members Rosario Dawson and John Carroll Lynch, WGAE Executive Director Sam Wheeler, IATSE International Representative Wade Tyree, Theatrical Teamsters Local 817 President Tommy O'Donnell, DGA National Vice President Laura Belsey and DGA Associate Eastern Executive Director Michael Berger.

Key details of the bills include:

• Requirements that employers provide an opportunity for both informed consent and proper legal representation before the rights to the digital replication of voice or likeness in place of physical work can be licensed. (S.7676/A.8138, Requirements for Contracts involving the Creation/Use of Digital Replicas)
• Protections against job displacement in the film and television industry. (S.7422-B/A.7634-B, Film Tax Incentive Labor Protections)
• Requirements that all advertisements, in any medium, disclose when synthetic media is used within that advertisement. (S.6859/A.216-B, Commercial Use Disclosure)

These bills represent a few of the more than a dozen federal and state bills SAG-AFTRA is currently sponsoring and/or championing to protect individuals’ rights in the A.I. age.

A full list of SAG-AFTRA supported legislation can be found at https://www.sagaftra.org/gapp

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.