provide informed consent before the rights to use a digital replication of voice or likeness for performance are licensed. Licenses for voice and likeness rights are sometimes buried within the fine print of contracts or terms of service, and performers were in danger of inadvertently granting these rights without knowing the significance. Along with support from the bill’s co-sponsor, Assemblymember Helene Weinstein, the bill began its way through the two state houses.
headed to Albany to put the spotlight on the legislation. SAG-AFTRA members’ participation was the next key step in getting action on the legislation.
On June 4, 2024, SAG-AFTRA New York Local President Ezra Knight sent out a call to action, encouraging members to contact their state senators and assembly members and to urge them to vote yes on the Digital Replica Bill. That response proved to be invaluable, as the bill came up for vote merely two days later. On June 6, 2024, both the New York State Senate and Assembly passed the bill unanimously. As Knight stated in his letter to the membership the next day, “Once again, the power of solidarity has risen to the challenge.”
Only one step was left: signing the bill into law.
Once again, the power of solidarity has risen to the challenge.
— Ezra Knight
to attract work to our great state, which has seen production increases from Western and Central New York, Upstate, and out to the shores of Long Island.
Working in New York state is not only good for our economic prospects, but it’s especially good for the protections that we need to work safely in entertainment media in the face of changing technology. Our union contracts provide compensation and protection around the use of artificial intelligence, and legislation in New York state further protects us from misuse of our voice and likeness
The following spring, in May 2024, SAG-AFTRA members and staff, including Rosario Dawson, John Caroll Lynch, National Board member Samantha Mathis, and Chief Labor and Policy Officer & New York Local Executive Director Rebecca Damon
On Dec. 13, 2024, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Digital Replica Bill, making New York the second state to enact critical A.I. legislation into law. New York state is now on the cutting edge of protections for media professionals whose work may be impacted by the growing use of A.I. SAG-AFTRA continues to work on additional protections in Albany. The work continues on the federal level as well. On April 9, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland spoke on Capitol Hill about the reintroduction of the NO FAKES ACT.
For information about this and additional policy work, read about legislative updates on page 3. l
Bernadine
Liz Zazzi, Chair
Jeff Spurgeon, Vice Chair
Evan Bass
Christine Bruno Nick Fondulis Vanessa Thorpe
Send your suggestions and comments to newyork@sagaftra.org
Please write
in the subject of your email.
Ezra Knight
SAG-AFTRA New York Local President
State Film and TV Tax Incentives
Q NEW YORK
Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature proposed a two-year extension through 2036 of the New York State Film and Television Tax Credit in the FY 2026 budget. This extension includes a number of key improvements that will boost production in the state, including efficient monetization, enhanced abovethe-line rebates, a parallel program for independent productions, and an enhancement for recurring productions that increase the number of good union jobs in the state.
Q NEW JERSEY & CONNECTICUT
Last fall, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the tax credit has expanded to $430 million per year through 2039. SAG-AFTRA has testified against the proposed reductions to the film tax incentive in Connecticut and continues to closely monitor the status.
N.Y. COBRA Legislation
New York funds a one-of-a-kind program that subsidizes eligible entertainment workers’ COBRA premiums. SAG-AFTRA, along with our coalition partners, engaged with Gov. Hochul and the Legislature to ensure the program remains funded. This year, the governor proposed and the Legislature accepted our request to maintain the program's $3 million funding level in the FY 2026 Budget.
Federal A.I. Legislation
Q NO FAKES
ACT
The SAG-AFTRA-supported Nurture Originals, Foster Art and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act was officially introduced in the Senate. If passed, the bill — sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons, Amy Klobuchar and Thom Tillis — would establish a federal right in voice and likeness to protect against unauthorized use of digital replicas in audiovisual works and sound recordings.
Q TAKE IT DOWN ACT
As of press time, the bipartisan and SAG-AFTRA-backed TAKE IT DOWN Act, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz and Amy Klobuchar, was expected to be signed into law. The Tools to Address Known Exploitation by Immobilizing Technological Deepfakes on Websites and Networks Act prohibits the intentional disclosure of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions, including deepfakes, on interactive computer services and establishes a process for individuals to notify and request removal of such content from covered platforms.
Q PREVENTING DEEPFAKES OF INTIMATE IMAGES ACT
Reps. Joe Morelle and Tom Kean, both from New York, introduced legislation to combat the pervasiveness of non-consensual deepfake pornography. The Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act would create both criminal and civil penalties for those who create and post nonconsensual deepfakes on social media.
Federal Tax Legislation
The bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. The bill would update the existing Qualified Performing Artist tax deduction originally signed into law by President Reagan in 1986 to adjust for increased cost of living.
Find out more about SAG-AFTRA legislation, go to sagaftra.org/gapp
Patricia Clarkson
SAG-AFTRA spoke to the award-winning actor and star of the upcoming Lilly, a biopic about equal pay activist Lilly Ledbetter, about acting, New York and union activism.
Where did you grow up, and what brought you to New York?
I grew up in the great city of New Orleans. I was at LSU, but I transferred to Fordham to finish my bachelor’s [degree]. I wanted to live in New York, [and] it was really tough because there wasn’t a lot of money. We were very middle-class people, but I wanted to go to Fordham. I had an aunt who was dean of admissions of Loyola in New Orleans who said, “Listen, I know a lot of people in Fordham, and I might be able to get you work study.” And she did, and my mother and father made it all work. So I came in 1980 to New York City and lived at the YMCA because the campus in Manhattan had no dorms.
What drew you to acting?
I think I was just a very emotional child. I was always full of feeling. I could feel and take on other people’s lives and emotions from a young age. I’d like listening to other people’s stories. I was drawn to becoming other people or telling the life of somebody else at a very young age. I took a speech class in eighth grade and my teacher, Mrs. Morrison, said, “You know, I think you are an actress. You’re giving me speeches, but they’re like monologues.” She said, “Join the drama club,” and I was like, “Okay.”
How did you get your SAG-AFTRA card?
I really completed it finally when I did The Untouchables. That was my first big movie. But I was working towards it when I did an episode of Spencer: For Hire. I remember that when I did The Untouchables, we had to make sure I was fully SAG-AFTRA.
What does being a union member mean to you?
It’s essential to my life. The health care plan is exceptional. And the solidarity. Having just been in this movie about Lilly Ledbetter and fair pay, women especially need protection. Young and old, we all still need the protection of our valuable union.
How do you handle the day-to-day challenges of being a working actor?
I’m lucky. I always have to remember that I’m fortunate because I’ve made it, and never losing sight of the fact that I’ve been able to make a living as an actor. Whenever I’m down — maybe the movie fell through or I didn’t get the part that I wanted or I didn’t get nominated — I have to always remember I have made a living as an actor, and that is a very hard thing to do. I deeply empathize with
people that struggle to do that. I just have to remember how lucky I am. And I always want to try, when I do have power, to give people who need a job, a job.
What do you like about working and living in New York?
My heart is half New Orleans and half New York, but I’m such a New Yorker now. I love it. I live in the West Village. I will never leave the West Village; it’s just my favorite place. It’s like I live in a little tiny town somewhere. We all know each other in the West Village. I mean it’s a little incestuous, but I love it. I never leave. I get a little bit of a nosebleed if I go too far uptown!
New Yorkers are really remarkable people, and I think it’s because we live amongst everyone. We don’t drive around in a bubble, we walk the streets, we see people struggling every day, and we never forget it.
What are some of the most “New York” moments you’ve had on a TV or film set?
I’ve sometimes been shooting on the street in the city and someone comes up and says, “I’m your neighbor, I live on your block. What are you doing here?” I’m like, “I’m shooting a movie right now.” And I’ve had that happen a few times when I’ve shot in New York. I love shooting in New York City and I hope Gov. Hochul continues those tax incentives. We want to keep as many movies as we can shooting in the city. There’s just such an abundance of extraordinary actors in the city. Let’s just make New York, New York, okay? Let’s shoot it in New York. I’ve witnessed in New York some of the greatest acts of kindness I’ve ever seen in my life. New Yorkers are really remarkable people, and I think it’s because we live amongst everyone. We don’t drive around in a bubble, we walk the streets, we see people struggling every day, and we never forget it.
You’ve worked on stage and screen. How does work in live theater inform your work in front of a camera or vice versa?
Well, I think it’s all one. Acting is a muscle, so as long as you’re flexing, it is doing something. [Whether] you’re doing a play every night, which is really hard work, or a film, which is also difficult because you’re often shooting out of sequence and you have to keep everything straight, I don’t really see them as different playing fields. I see them as all about creating a character, creating the truth. Whether it’s humorous or dramatic, it requires everything of you, whether you’re on stage or in front of the camera, the best part of you or sometimes the worst parts of you.
What have been some of your favorite on-screen projects?
My life really started to change with Pieces of April, High Art and The Station Agent. Those three great directors and beautiful writers changed my life. It gave me a cinematic life, which I had a little bit before, but this really put me into the center of a movie actress life.
So those three films, in particular, are hearts and souls for me.
You were a great voice for your fellow union members during the strike. Why was it important to you to participate in union actions?
Our union is everything for us. It’s a lifeline. We had to fight. We were being taken advantage of. And I think it’s easy sometimes to get lost in a cushy, cozy life in this industry, and [it’s important] to realize unions make everything better. They make everyone’s life better, and SAG-AFTRA is one of the best unions in our country and it serves the actors well. We all must stand for these unions, and I felt proud to strike for this valuable union.
How did your time on the picket line tie in with your experience making Lilly, about the fight for equal pay? It’s all of the same blood. It’s injustice, it’s inequality. It’s all the same. Change is hard. Fighting injustice is hard. Shooting Lilly and walking on the picket line was all a continuum.
Any last thoughts to share with your fellow SAG-AFTRA New York members?
It makes me emotional, because walking on that picket line and seeing so many familiar faces and new faces, and I just thought, “My God, the talent in the city is remarkable.” I live in a city where every single actor is hot! I mean beautiful inside and out. There were so many people on that line that I was prideful. I’ll never forget those days of walking the picket line. If we need to strike again, I’ll be back there. l
The city that never sleeps! It’s been another busy year for SAG-AFTRA New York Local members. Take a look at some of the many events that engaged members this year.
NJ-AFL-CIO WILD Conference
From left, New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, SAG-AFTRA Philadelphia Local President Nicole Izanec, SAG-AFTRA National Board member and New York Local Vice President Liz Zazzi, New Jersey State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan, and SAG-AFTRA Chief Labor Policy Officer & New York Local Executive Director Rebecca Damon attended the 2025 Women in Leadership Development (WILD) Conference on March 8–9 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
Pride March
SAG-AFTRA members show their pride on June 30 at the 2024 New York City Pride March. SAG-AFTRA debuted a new float and hundreds of members walked alongside it.
Holiday Open House
SAG-AFTRA celebrated the holiday season together at the Holiday Member Open House on Dec. 4. This annual event is a wonderful opportunity for members to gather, eat and spread festive cheer.
Coffee Connection
Members gathered for cookies and coffee at the Coffee Connection event on Nov. 18.
Young Performers Committee Kids & Teens Day
Some of the youngest SAG-AFTRA members participate in a Casting Access class with casting director Carolyn Volpe at the New York Young Performers Committee IACFsponsored seminar Kids & Teens Day at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation on March 29 at the New York office.
The City Rocked
ON APRIL 23, SAG-AFTRA BROUGHT TOGETHER union leaders and public officials at the New York office for Rock the City, an annual reception that brings together New York City entertainment and media industry, labor organizations, production studios and legislators. Along with media partner Deadline, the event celebrated many achievements over the past year, including A.I. legislation that was passed in New York state.
SELF-TAPING AND TRAINING RESOURCES AT THE NEW YORK OFFICE
With multiple resources available for members at the SAG-AFTRA New York office in Lincoln Square, 1900 Broadway is the place to keep up with the craft. Check out what’s happening and hone your skills!
SAG-AFTRA NEW YORK CONSERVATORY
The SAG-AFTRA New York Conservatory offers members the opportunity to take weekly classes to work on a wide variety of skills and techniques.
More information is available at sagaftra.org/nyconservatory
SAG-AFTRA FOUNDATION ON-CAMERA AND VOICEOVER LABS
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation offers a main booth and a solo booth in its New York Voiceover Lab and in-person On-Camera Lab in the SAG-AFTRA New York office. In the VO Lab, members can book time for independent work or collaborative sessions with an engineer. The On-Camera Lab provides in-person and virtual audition and performance taping services to SAG-AFTRA members. A technician records the rehearsal or audition, serves as a reader and offers creative feedback upon request. All SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs and services are FREE to SAG-AFTRA members.
Create a user account and sign up today on the Foundation’s website sagaftra.foundation
Above left, from left, Chief Labor Policy Officer & New York Local Executive Director Rebecca Damon, Executive Vice President & New York Local Vice President Linda Powell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Above right, SAG-AFTRA New York Local Board members, New York Host Committee members and volunteers on the Rock the City red carpet.
