SAG-AFTRA to Hold Inaugural National Convention
With the theme of United for Our Future, the convention brings together hundreds of member delegates, including national officers, national board members, local presidents and members from around the country to discuss and decide on items vital to the future of the union.
The convention will include the nomination and election of executive and national vice presidents and consideration of constitutional amendments and resolutions proposed by the national board, locals and member delegates. Social events include a welcome reception hosted by the Los Angeles Local and the National Convention Celebration and American Scene Awards, which honors the realistic portrayals of the American Scene through employment of the diverse union membership.
Speakers throughout convention include U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, and Rep. Judy Chu.
The schedule of SAG-AFTRA’s inaugural convention is as follows:
Wednesday, Sept. 25: Welcome reception for delegates, featuring special guests, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles City Council members; CBS-2 broadcaster Pat Harvey and actor Jon Tenney.
Thursday, Sept. 26: Convention opening session, featuring a keynote speech by Trumka, as well as executive and national vice president elections.
Friday, Sept. 27: An entertainment industry plenary session, featuring experts from BuzzFeed, Spotify, ICM, BreakMedia and Somo Mobile Ltd. Other convention business includes a discussion on constitutional amendments and breakout panels and workshops, as well as the presentation of the groundbreaking study Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Diversity in the Industry, conducted by UCLA’s Williams Institute and SAG-AFTRA. In the evening, the union hosts the Convention Celebration and American Scene Awards.
Saturday, Sept. 28: Remarks by Perez and Chu, two business sessions addressing constitutional amendments and resolutions, and contract reports from the union’s three major contract areas: news and broadcast, actor/performer and sound recordings.
Sunday, Sept. 29: Convention closing brunch, featuring officer reports from SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard, Secretary-Treasurer Amy Aquino, the newly elected executive vice president (who is elected at the convention) and National Executive Director David White.
The SAG-AFTRA National Board will meet following the conclusion of convention on Monday and Tuesday.
Press is invited to cover select convention sessions. Contact Jennifer Lurey for schedule and credentials at jennifer.lurey@sagaftra.org.
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents more than 165,000 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.
Follow SAG-AFTRA on Twitter (twitter.com/sagaftra) and Facebook (facebook.com/sagaftra).
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