New York City Council Votes on Resolution in Support of WGA and SAG-AFTRA

Council Members Carmen De La Rosa and Amanda Farias this week sponsored resolutions in support of fair contract negotiations for both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). On Tuesday, the Committee on Civil Service and Labor at the New York City Council called a hearing to better understand the concerns of the two entertainment unions and vote to move the bills forward, leading to the passage of both resolutions by the full Council on Thursday.

WGA and SAG-AFTRA are on strike to push for the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) to negotiate a fair minimum basic agreement which is negotiated every three years. The WGA went on strike first and was followed by its sister union, SAG-AFTRA – a moment that has not happened since 1960. As of today, a combined 170,000+ creatives are out of work to push for better wages, streaming residuals, protections from artificial intelligence, health insurance, and other labor agreements. Read more here.

Before Tuesday's hearing, union members and supporters gathered for a press conference in City Hall Park to hear from elected officials and union leaders including Queens' own Fran Drescher, President of SAG-AFTRA. Read full coverage of the press conference and hearing in the New York Times, Gothamist, Deadline, and amNY. And as always, click here to find out how you can turn out and support these striking New Yorkers!