A Statement from Kevin Cannon

We need a SAG-AFTRA NY President who has both the time and experience to fully commit to representing the New York members and strengthening our union as a whole.

The AMPTP can easily afford a significant increase in member wages, a substantial boost to streaming residuals, and a meaningful rise in employer contributions to our Pension & Health (P&H) plans. With generous New York State tax credits covering a considerable portion of production costs, there is no excuse for employers not to provide fair compensation, stronger residuals, and robust P&H contributions.

It is deeply troubling that for over a decade, the leadership of Drescher and Knight (USAN/UFS) was aware of the Health Plan’s underfunding and failed to demand increased employer contributions. This is unacceptable.

Instead of fighting for stronger contracts, they repeatedly settled for weak ones—while using union funds to push a disinformation campaign touting “Historic Gains” and the illusion of a healthy P&H system.

Think about that: they misled us—just to hold onto power. Over the past decade, I estimate that USAN/UFS (and now The Coalition2025) leadership has spent over a million dollars of union dues on glossy mailers designed to gaslight members into supporting contracts that have harmed us.

It’s time for transparency. Members deserve the truth.

This is your union. You have the power to demand better.

Enough is enough.

Make your voice heard. Vote in this election—and vote out the entire disingenuous USAN/UFS and now The Coalition2025 slate.

I’m Kevin Cannon, and I’m running for President of SAG-AFTRA New York. I would be honored to lead this union in service to the members—not the employers.