Fran Drescher Endorsed by Both Major SAG-AFTRA Parties in Bid for Reelection as President

Fran Drescher is running for reelection for SAG-AFTRA president and has managed to garner the endorsement of both of the union’s major political parties, which are typically bitter rivals.

Unite for Strength and Membership First, the union’s top political groups, announced Monday that they have joined forces in 2023 to support the Nanny star’s candidacy, disrupting the recent dynamic of the union’s elections, in which both groups typically run their own slates against one another. Current union secretary-treasurer Joely Fisher will be running alongside Drescher for the same seat and is also being endorsed by both parties, alongside a slate of candidates for the national and Los Angeles local boards that will be announced by Aug. 9.

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Since she first ran for office in 2021, Drescher has made it a goal to unify the union’s membership, as she referenced in her statement Monday. “This show of solidarity brings tears to my eyes,” she said. “I have been running a nonpartisan admin, reaching across the aisle to represent and honor those member leaders who may not have supported me in 2021, but have now pledged to do so in 2023. We stand upon the precipice of a new dawn. And with this show of solidarity we have become all the more empowered.”

Fisher said in a statement that Monday’s announcement represents a “paradigm shift.” She added, “Fran has opened the door to unification — this collaboration will finally bring that to fruition. This comes at a time when the membership truly needs the full weight of their union fighting for their creative and economic ideals, not against each other.”

In 2021, Drescher ran with the Unite for Strength slate, while Fisher ran with Membership First candidates. At the time, both parties were at odds over their approach to local and national politics, with Unite for Strength seeking to tackle a legislative agenda while Membership First was focused on “repairing our union’s foundation,” in the words of then-president candidate Matthew Modine. They shared a focus on health care, contract enforcement and residuals, with slightly different approaches. As per usual, the competition was fierce in that election, with candidates criticizing one another on social media and Unite for Strength ultimately filing a complaint with the union’s national board over a KTLA interview, alleging it was an unlawful employer contribution to their rival party.

According to both political parties, this unified slate of candidates in 2023 will be focused on the threat of artificial intelligence and machine learning, improving residual formulas, tackling self-taping regulations and other issues.

The timing of the announcement is significant. SAG-AFTRA remains locked in negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers as the June 30 expiration date for its TV/theatrical contract package nears. On Saturday, Drescher, with national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, told members in an update video that those talks had so far been “extremely productive.”

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