SAG-AFTRA President Receives Most Influential Women Award

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher has received the 2024 Crain’s Most Influential Women Award. The honor, given by Crain’s New York Business, is given to women across industries, backgrounds and ages who demonstrate Crain’s commitment to excellence and community-building, and have used their position to open doors for others over a number of years.

Drescher accepted the award during Crain’s 2024 Women of Influence Luncheon on May 1 in New York City. Also in attendance were SAG-AFTRA Vice President, New York and N.Y. Local President Ezra Knight and Chief Labor Policy Officer and N.Y. Local Executive Director Rebecca Damon, and Drescher’s longtime business and creative partner, Peter Marc Jacobsen.

In her acceptance speech, Drescher reflected on the magnitude of the 2023 TV/Theatrical/Streaming strike, which lasted for 118 days before a tentative agreement was reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, and the importance of collaboration between employers and employees moving forward. 

“The Summer of 2023, what we’ve been calling ‘Hot Labor Summer,’ will be remembered as one of the most important chapters in entertainment industry history. Like workers in other industries, our professions faced an existential threat from emerging A.I. technology and our compensation wasn’t keeping pace with the cost of living.

“Ultimately, what enabled the resolution to SAG-AFTRA’s labor action is … an environment where both the needs of the employers and the needs of the employees are met. Together, both workers and companies can build a strong economy where everyone can succeed,” said Drescher. 

Later that evening, SAG-AFTRA received the 2024 SABRE North America Award for International Multimarket Campaign in recognition of its communications efforts during the 2023 negotiations and strike.

Crain’s New York Business is a branch of the media company Crain Communications. Based in Detroit, the company reaches 78 million readers globally across all digital platforms.

Photo: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher delivers a keynote address as she accepts Crain’s 2024 Most Influential Women Award on May 1.