SAG-AFTRA New England 2024 Member Meeting

The New England Local held its 2024 membership meeting at the MCLE Conference Center in Boston on April 29. After a lively social hour, the meeting opened with a special video and photo montage of local members participating in strike events throughout 2023. This year’s special guest was Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director and chief negotiator of SAG-AFTRA. He acknowledged our sister unions for all their support during the strike, and said the SAG-AFTRA strike was a turning point that set an example which resonated around the country and throughout the world. He went over the terms of our new $1 billion TV/Theatrical/Streaming contracts, which broke “pattern bargaining” with the largest salary raises in decades — particularly for background work. Our artificial intelligence terms are groundbreaking and guaranteed to protect our images from being used without consent or compensation. Crabtree-Ireland discussed other contracts relevant to our local, as well as proposed federal legislation for artificial intelligence.

Local President Andrea Lyman thanked all who helped with our local strike efforts and talked about how to participate in local committees. She also thanked board and committee members for their contributions. Vice President, Mid-Sized Locals Michele Proude talked about the Committee of Locals and how members can get involved with their union. National Board member Bill Mootos stressed the importance of communicating payment and on-set issues to the local office to ensure proper contract enforcement, as well as reading all SAG-AFTRA communications, as much of what is in them directly affects all members. He also urged members to write legislators when requested, as we will be asked to support legislation on artificial intelligence that will benefit all performers and broadcasters and protect our voices and images from exploitation.

Local Broadcast Vice President Vic Ramos discussed wins like New Hampshire Public Radio ratifying their first SAG-AFTRA contract, as well as setbacks like recent layoffs at WBUR. He recognized recently deceased Local Board member Doug Cope for his tremendous service to our union, and highly respected trailblazing and award-winning broadcaster Sarah Ann Shaw, who was the first female African-American broadcaster in New England. National Director of Broadcasting Tom Higgins gave updates on the 16 broadcast stations in New England and talked about the threat that A.I. poses to the world of news and broadcasting.

Local Executive Director Jessica Maher gave her yearly production and member reports. The New England Local held 24 strike events in 2023, and all six states in the local were visited. We had a wonderful turnout to our strike events, and staff is grateful to have such an engaged membership. She also recognized the 85 strike captains who represented our local throughout the summer and fall. We saw a dip in local TV/Theatrical production in 2023 due to the strike, but a sharp increase in the amount of commercial work. Maher urged members to update their profiles on the website to include their demographic information, as this data gives the most accurate information about who is being hired for jobs. She also mentioned the Member Toolkit, which includes all sorts of helpful info for members. The presentations were followed by a Q&A where member questions were answered by staff and elected leaders.

Top photo: The New England Local Board had an opportunity to connect with National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland prior to the membership meeting. Back row, from left, Dan Marshall, Lori Vozzella, Don Warnock, Dale Appel, Jorge Aguirre, Crabtree-Ireland, Gilda James, Ellen Colton, Vic Ramos, Tom Kemp. Front row, from left, Rod Fritz, Michele Proude, Andrea Lyman, Bill Mootos, Liz Eng.