The topic of contract negotiations with studios and streamers was off the table Monday night as SAG-AFTRA leaders put the focus on unity and celebration at the union’s annual “Rock the City” event in New York.
The contract talks were recently put on pause and are set to resume April 27 ahead of the June 30 expiration the current agreement. While a media blackout prevented anyone from weighing in on the negotiations, a few audible sighs of relief could be heard when the WGA’s surprise agreement with the AMPTP was mentioned.
The “Rock the City” celebration has been hosted for more than a decade at the union’s headquarters in Manhattan, bringing together the disparate communities all under the union’s umbrella, spanning Broadway, film, television, digital, advertising, music and other areas. This year’s edition also drew officials including U.S. Rep Jerrold Nadler; Rafael Espinal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin. Among the SAG-AFTRA representatives in the room were New York Local President Ezra Knight; Executive Vice President Linda Powell and Rebecca Damon, Chief Labor Policy Officer and Executive Director, New York Local.
Despite uncertainty about the next contract’s specific provisions and concerns about the state of production in New York, a mood of celebration prevailed. A 10-minute series of remarks was punctuated by whoops and cheers.
Espinal, who was appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, noted that it was his first time attending the “Rock the City” event.
“We’re very serious about supporting labor, especially supporting labor in the film industry,” he said of the administration. “SAG-AFTRA, we know, has been a strong partner in the labor movement here in New York, fighting for actors, fighting for entertainers, really leading the charge of the state and city level.” His first official act as commissioner, he added, was bestowing Damon with the Made In New York Award.
Menin, who served as the city’s film commissioner from 2016 to 2019 when Bill DeBlasio was mayor, recalled her efforts to get more projects to shoot in New York. “I partnered with you all, and we brought TV and film production to the highest level the city had ever seen,” she told the enthusiastic crowd of several dozen stakeholders.
She recalled standing “so many times” in the SAG-AFTRA offices in the past, and gave shout-outs to Nadler and Espinal.
“We are losing so much business to other cities,” she said. “We can’t allow that to happen. And part of it is because we need to obviously build more affordable housing, to support artists that are working here in New York City. But we also need to do more to attract more of the creative industries here in New York. So that is my commitment to all of you.”
Nadler drew applause and tributes, with speakers noting that the longtime Democrat announced last year that he doesn’t plan to run for re-election this fall.
“There have been strikes, where I’ve supported you. There have been good times, there have been bad times,” Nadler said. “But overall, we know that solidarity forever, the old labor song, is exactly right.”
English (US) ·