SAG-AFTRA Vice President Makes Remarks at Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Convention

SAG-AFTRA Vice President, New York and New York Local President Ezra Knight gave remarks at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ 53rd Annual Convention on May 23. Among those in attendance were AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond and Houston-Austin Local members.

In his keynote, Knight shared his takeaways from SAG-AFTRA’s 2023 TV/Theatrical negotiations and strike with the Alliance of Motion Pictures & Television Producers and the importance of laborers in the creative community pushing for workers’ rights, particularly in the face of new technology. He noted that the gains SAG-AFTRA earned with its latest TV/Theatrical contracts came from the efforts of its membership. 

“My colleagues who stay in this profession and pursue this dream despite enormous financial and social pressures are some of the bravest, most inspiring people I know. And thanks to our membership … we were able to ultimately deliver a comprehensive, historic contract package that may have preserved this profession for the next generation,” said Knight. 

In speaking of the union’s work following negotiations, Knight relayed the union’s recent gains in addressing artificial intelligence in the workforce. In addition to talking about the successful passage of the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security, or “ELVIS” Act, in Tennessee and other initiatives, he urged the audience to continue working as a collective to address the harms of A.I. and corporate exploitation. 

“These are the types of things powerful unions can do: leverage our numbers, push for laws that protect our rights and be the armor that protects workers from exploitation. Us human workers have the upper hand here … [and] the unity of the workers and the unity of the people are the best things we have,” said Knight.

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists consists of members from 77 international and national unions, with 42 chapters across the country. Its 53rd annual convention took place May 21–26 and was themed “Never Back, Always Forward: Hate Cannot Erase Us.”

Top photo: SAG-AFTRA Vice President, New York Ezra Knight delivers a keynote address at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists 53rd Annual Convention on May 23.