After months of negotiations, the leaders of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists appear ready to head toward a crucial merger.
In a message sent to members of both unions late Wednesday night that was acquired by THR, SAG and AFTRA leaders revealed that they had unanimously approved “draft resolutions for consideration by the unions’ respective National Boards of Directors” to potentially merge the two organizations into one body with a unified mission and “a plan to create committees tasked with forming a timeline for the merger process.”
THR notes that SAG will “convene its next national board meeting, where it will likely consider the resolution, April 30. AFTRA’s next national board meeting is to take place May 14.”
“Each step we take together brings us closer to our crucial goal of becoming one union, and last weekend’s meeting was no exception,” said SAG president Ken Howard (pictured). “I look forward to sharing our work with the SAG-AFTRA Relations Task Force and, ultimately, the SAG National Board later this month.”
“I am very proud of the strong partnership and clear vision that AFTRA and SAG members are forging together through this process,” AFTRA president Roberta Reardon added. “We have come a very long way in a short period of time, and I applaud each and every member who has participated in this exciting and important endeavor.”
