Featured Stories
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
October 29, 2026
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE have filed an amicus brief in In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation to defend the rights and livelihoods of more than 250,000 entertainment and media workers.
The brief urges the court to uphold the basic principles of copyright law and reject a categorical fair use exemption
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE File Amicus Brief in OpenAI Copyright Infringement Litigation
October 29, 2026
SAG-AFTRA, AFM, WGAW and WGAE have filed an amicus brief in In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation to defend the rights and livelihoods of more than 250,000 entertainment and media workers.
The brief urges the court to uphold the basic principles of copyright law and reject a categorical fair use exemptionfor AI training in accordance with court precedent.
Unauthorized appropriation of human-created works without consent, credit and compensation severely harms creative professionals, devalues their labor and undermines developing licensing markets.
* * *
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 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.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-afm-wgaw-and-wgae-file-amicus-brief-openai-copyright-infringement-litigation
[Category: Union]
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
October 29, 2026
New Deal Means 12.6% in Wage Increases for Those Who Voice Animated Programs for Television
-
In national voting completed today, SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2026 Television Animation Agreement and the 2026 Basic Cable Animation Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the new four-year contracts by a vote of 94.95%
... Show Full Article
LOS ANGELES, California, Oct. 30 -- The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued the following news release:
* * *
SAG-AFTRA Members Ratify TV Animation Contracts
October 29, 2026
New Deal Means 12.6% in Wage Increases for Those Who Voice Animated Programs for Television
-
In national voting completed today, SAG-AFTRA members ratified the 2026 Television Animation Agreement and the 2026 Basic Cable Animation Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the new four-year contracts by a vote of 94.95%to 5.05%.
The contracts, which were negotiated based on member input provided during the wages and working conditions process, provide enhanced protections around the use of artificial intelligence, a 12.6% wage increase over the term of the agreement, residuals gains and increases to the Health Plan and pension and retirement plans.
For a full list of provisions achieved in the contracts, please see the summary (https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/2026-10/2026%20Summary%20of%20TV%20Animation%20Tentative%20Agreement.pdf).
"As someone who often works in TV animation, my heartfelt thanks goes out to the TV Animation Negotiating Committee and co-chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe for putting in the time and effort to get SAG-AFTRA members a dignified deal with essential AI protections," said SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin.
"SAG-AFTRA members who work in TV Animation are entitled to meaningful protections around AI and wages that reflect the value of their labor," said National Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. "My gratitude goes out to TV Animation Negotiating Committee co-chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe and the rest of the negotiating committee volunteers for their extraordinary and diligent work in ensuring animation performers have a sustainable future, and to Chief Contracts Officer Ray Rodriguez and the negotiating staff for their expertise and dedication."
Votes were submitted online and by mail-in ballot, with the deadline of today, Oct. 29, 2026, at 5 p.m. PDT. The final vote was certified by Integrity Voting Systems, an impartial election service based in Everett, Washington. The agreement becomes effective retroactive to July 1, 2026, and expires June 30, 2030.
* * *
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 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.
* * *
Original text here: https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-members-ratify-tv-animation-contracts-0
[Category: Union]
National Education Union Comment on Budget Speech
LONDON, England, Oct. 30 -- The National Education Union issued the following news release:
* * *
NEU comment on Budget Speech
28/10/2026
Commenting on the Chancellor's statement to the Commons, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge that investment in our schools and colleges is a necessity, not a choice. Since 2010 schools have had their spending power cut by pound sterling4.5bn. They are at breaking point.
"The impact on children and young people's education is shocking. The list is endless, from the SEND funding
... Show Full Article
LONDON, England, Oct. 30 -- The National Education Union issued the following news release:
* * *
NEU comment on Budget Speech
28/10/2026
Commenting on the Chancellor's statement to the Commons, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge that investment in our schools and colleges is a necessity, not a choice. Since 2010 schools have had their spending power cut by pound sterling4.5bn. They are at breaking point.
"The impact on children and young people's education is shocking. The list is endless, from the SEND fundingcrisis to the dilapidated state of classrooms, cuts to staffing and the courses on offer. Heads, teachers, support staff and parents are sick and tired of having to accommodate successive governments' refusal to fund our education system properly.
"Staff are trying their best to hold things together, but they are swimming against the tide.
"Money can be found. The government must halt plans to claw back the pound sterling3.3bn from reduced employer contributions to the Teachers' Pension Scheme and keep the money in school budgets.
"The value of teacher pay has already been cut by around a fifth since 2010, while support staff pay has fallen by around 26 percent in real terms over the same period with many facing in-work poverty due to low wages and term-time only contracts.
"Teacher pay cuts drive teacher shortages and therefore damage our education service. Investing in the skills of our children and young people is vital to our economy, so the government must provide the investment needed to properly value, recruit and retain the teachers we need.
"To put their money where their mouth is, the government has now to deliver the additional investment needed for schools. That is the only way to ensure every child has the education they deserve.
"We know that misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence have a devastating impact on the lives of too many girls, affecting every aspect of their lives including their education. The additional money to address the issue not just in schools but in wider society is welcome."
* * *
Original text here: https://neu.org.uk/latest/press-releases/neu-comment-budget-speech?_locale=en
[Category: Union]
ATU Mourns the Passing of Labor Icon Dolores Huerta
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Oct. 29 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Amalgamated Transit Union issued the following news release:
* * *
ATU Mourns the Passing of Labor Icon Dolores Huerta
*
The labor movement recently lost one of its greatest teachers with the passing of Dolores Huerta. Dolores was an organizer, strategist, negotiator, and boycott architect. She spent more than 70 years proving that working people have power when they come together. The Amalgamated Transit Union joins her family, the farmworkers she fought for, and workers everywhere in mourning her.
"Dolores Huerta taught generations
... Show Full Article
SILVER SPRING, Maryland, Oct. 29 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Amalgamated Transit Union issued the following news release:
* * *
ATU Mourns the Passing of Labor Icon Dolores Huerta
*
The labor movement recently lost one of its greatest teachers with the passing of Dolores Huerta. Dolores was an organizer, strategist, negotiator, and boycott architect. She spent more than 70 years proving that working people have power when they come together. The Amalgamated Transit Union joins her family, the farmworkers she fought for, and workers everywhere in mourning her.
"Dolores Huerta taught generationsof workers that power isn't given, it's organized," said ATU International President John Costa. "Every transit worker who has ever walked a picket line owes Dolores something, and we will carry her lessons into every garage, bargaining table, and fight we take on."
Dolores started out as a schoolteacher in California's Central Valley, where she organized her students' parents and later helped build the National Farm Workers Association in 1962. She sat across from the bosses and growers, won contracts, led the grape boycott that brought the industry to its knees, and gave us three powerful words of hope: Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!
Dolores never retired from the fight, and at 96, she was at the California State Capitol this summer rallying for fair wages. The best way to mourn an organizer is to organize, and that's exactly what we'll do. Rest in Power, Sister Dolores.
***
Original text here: https://www.atu.org/media/press/2026/atu-mourns-the-passing-of-labor-icon-dolores-huerta
WGA East Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Union Contract
NEW YORK, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Writers Guild of America East issued the following news release:
* * *
WGA East Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Union Contract
*
NEW YORK, NY (October 26, 2026)--Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at RadicalMedia have reached a deal with management on their first collective bargaining agreement. The contract was ratified nearly unanimously by the approximately 50-member bargaining unit covering Archival Producers, Story Producers, post production workers, field workers and many more.
Highlights from the five-year contract include:
*
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO Writers Guild of America East issued the following news release:
* * *
WGA East Members at RadicalMedia Ratify First Union Contract
*
NEW YORK, NY (October 26, 2026)--Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at RadicalMedia have reached a deal with management on their first collective bargaining agreement. The contract was ratified nearly unanimously by the approximately 50-member bargaining unit covering Archival Producers, Story Producers, post production workers, field workers and many more.
Highlights from the five-year contract include:
*Established new rate minimums that increase 2% annually raises;
* Daily contributions to the Entertainment Industry Flex Plan health insurance for each covered employee;
* Paid holidays and paid bereavement leave;
* Minimum rest periods and comp days for extra days worked;
* Payment if show goes dark with short notice.
RadicalMedia is the production company behind popular nonfiction titles like THIS IS A GARDENING SHOW WITH ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, THE WEST, SUMMER OF SOUL, HOLLYWOOD BLACK, CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... 50 YEARS OF SNL MUSIC and JEFFREY EPSTEIN: FILTHY RICH.
Michael Rauch, WGAE VP of Film/TV/Streaming said, "We're thrilled RadicalMedia workers secured their first union contract. This agreement builds on protections nonfiction production workers have gone without for too long including rest periods, pay when production is paused on short notice, paid holidays and health care contributions. With RadicalMedia joining a growing list of organized nonfiction shops, the message to the industry is clear: union standards are becoming the norm."
The RadicalMedia bargaining committee said, "We're excited to have reached our first union contract with RadicalMedia and consider it an important milestone on the path to organizing the entire Nonfiction industry. We're especially proud to have won participation in the Flex Plan, as health insurance is often out of reach for those of us working in a freelance environment."
In addition to RadicalMedia, the WGAE includes members at Nonfiction production companies A+E Factual Studios, Jigsaw, Lucky 8, NBC News Service (f.k.a. Peacock), McGee Media, Sharp, Story Syndicate and Vox Entertainment.
ABOUT THE WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA EAST
The Writers Guild of America East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) is a labor union of more than 7,500 members working in film, television, news, podcasts, and online media. The Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members; conducts programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and presents writers' views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit wgaeast.org.
***
Original text here: https://www.wgaeast.org/wga-east-members-at-radicalmedia-ratify-first-union-contract/
United Farm Workers union on the passing of Dolores Huerta
KEENE, California, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The United Farm Workers issued the following news release:
* * *
United Farm Workers union on the passing of Dolores Huerta
*
The below statement is attributable to United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero.
The United Farm Workers union mourns the passing and celebrates the life of UFW cofounder Dolores Huerta. A tireless advocate for farm workers, women, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and all marginalized people, Dolores was also a friend and mentor to generations of UFW organizers, members, volunteers and staff.
Her life's work was to
... Show Full Article
KEENE, California, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The United Farm Workers issued the following news release:
* * *
United Farm Workers union on the passing of Dolores Huerta
*
The below statement is attributable to United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero.
The United Farm Workers union mourns the passing and celebrates the life of UFW cofounder Dolores Huerta. A tireless advocate for farm workers, women, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and all marginalized people, Dolores was also a friend and mentor to generations of UFW organizers, members, volunteers and staff.
Her life's work was toempower her community to face and overcome injustices, and she has left farm workers and the entire Latino community stronger and more organized than she found it. Her commitment to civic engagement and bringing political power to disenfranchised people is a lesson we all should carry to the ballot box.
Dolores coined the United Farm Workers' historic motto: Si, Se Puede. Her advocacy helped bring an end to the exploitative Bracero program in the early 1960s. Later, she helped negotiate the 1986 Immigration Reform Act, which supported millions of naturalized American citizens who went on to make limitless contributions to this country.
Closest to our hearts, she helped found and lead the first and largest lasting farm workers' union in American history. Working with thousands of farm workers and their supporters, she help bring the first successful union recognition and union contracts for agricultural workers, establishing the United Farm Workers. That union, our union, represents thousands of farm workers in California, Oregon, Washington, and New York, raising wages, empowering workers, and improving lives every day the way only a union contract can.
Dolores' work remains as important now as ever, and it continues with her example and her inspiration before us. The greatest possible tribute to her life is for her work of organizing to continue.
Our greatest monument to her memory is for the union she helped found to continue to grow. Dolores fought for farm workers to the very end of her life. The union she helped found will always continue that work. We know that wherever farm workers gather to organize, we can count on her presence.
!Que Viva Dolores Huerta!
!Si Se Puede!
***
Original text here: https://ufw.org/united-farm-workers-union-on-the-passing-of-dolores-huerta/
Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Texas's Frederick Haynes for Election to U.S. House
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees posted the following news release:
* * *
Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Texas's Frederick Haynes for Election to U.S. House
*
Join the 150,000 AFGE members who have already made the switch to E-Dues.
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
tim.kauffman@afge.org
KILLEEN, Texas -- The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsement of Frederick Haynes for election to the U.S. House representing Texas's 30th Congressional District in the Nov. 3 election.
The Rev.
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 [Category: Union] -- The AFL-CIO American Federation of Government Employees posted the following news release:
* * *
Largest Federal Employee Union Endorses Texas's Frederick Haynes for Election to U.S. House
*
Join the 150,000 AFGE members who have already made the switch to E-Dues.
Contact:
Tim Kauffman
202-374-6491
tim.kauffman@afge.org
KILLEEN, Texas -- The American Federation of Government Employees today announced its endorsement of Frederick Haynes for election to the U.S. House representing Texas's 30th Congressional District in the Nov. 3 election.
The Rev.Frederick "Freddie" Haynes III is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas and the Democratic nominee in the 30th District. For more than four decades, Haynes has led Dallas' Friendship-West Baptist Church, growing it from fewer than 100 members to more than 13,000. Under his leadership, the church launched the THRIVE program, which gives young people paid jobs and job training, and has invested more than $3 million in students and historically Black colleges and universities. He has fought predatory lenders that trap working families in debt, and he is running on expanding access to affordable healthcare, housing and childcare, and on wage growth that keeps pace with the real cost of living.
"Federal employees are on the front lines of delivering the services Americans count on, and they need allies in Congress who will defend their rights on the job. Rev. Haynes is that kind of leader. AFGE is proud to stand with him, and I am proud to call him my friend," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley.
"Rev. Haynes has spent his career standing up for working people, and he will stand up for federal employees in Congress," said AFGE District 10 National Vice President Cheryl Eliano. "Federal workers in Texas care for veterans, support our military and serve their communities every day. They deserve a representative who respects their work and defends their rights on the job. AFGE is proud to endorse Rev. Haynes."
AFGE looks forward to working with leaders who know that protecting federal employees, defending collective bargaining rights, safeguarding civil service protections, and strengthening public services go hand in hand.
AFGE previously endorsed Texas State Rep. James Talarico for election to the U.S. Senate in November along with other candidates from the state running for the U.S. House.
About 250,000 federal employees live in Texas - caring for veterans, supporting the military, and getting Social Security recipients their benefits accurately and on time.
AFGE is the largest federal employee union in the country, representing more than 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers in all functions of government. AFGE represents more than 136,000 federal employees in District 10, which includes Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Panama, and Texas.
Written by OPEIU 2 AFL-CIO
***
Original text here: https://www.afge.org/link/b5f6a04b6f3841e098c246a00d964281.aspx
