The SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors, meeting today in a face-to-face plenary in Los Angeles, extended the contract with David White as National Executive Director, the top staff position in the 160,000-member entertainment and media industry union. The board voted unanimously to extend White's agreement to Oct. 11, 2020, effective immediately. Details of the agreement are confidential.
White said, "I want to thank President Carteris, our elected officers and national board of directors for their support. We are engaged in exciting, groundbreaking efforts to protect professionals worldwide who make a living in the entertainment and media industries, and I am thrilled to continue with this essential work. It is a privilege to lead a staff of such exceptional talent and I look forward to the next four years of being a member of their team."
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, Executive Vice President Rebecca Damon and Secretary-Treasurer Jane Austin said in a joint statement, "Securing a long-term commitment from David guarantees his continued strategic operations leadership and industry-leading vision. He is a wise steward of SAG-AFTRA's resources and a tough bargainer when he leads our contract negotiations. SAG-AFTRA members will continue to benefit from his commitment to ensuring good wages and safe working conditions. We are very fortunate to have him and look forward to continued achievement throughout the organization."
White became executive director and chief negotiator of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (SAG-AFTRA) upon the merger of SAG and AFTRA in 2012. He serves as chief executive officer and strategist for the world's largest entertainment union with approximately 160,000 members worldwide who work in film, television, broadcast news, commercials, music, video games and emerging media.
White was national executive director and chief negotiator for Screen Actors Guild from 2009 to 2012 and was general counsel from 2002 to 2006. He previously served as managing principal of Los Angeles-based Entertainment Strategies Group LLC, providing consulting services to the entertainment industry and was a labor and employment attorney at O'Melveny & Myers LLP before joining the executive ranks of SAG.
A Rhodes Scholar, White is a graduate of Grinnell College, Stanford Law School and The Queen's College, Oxford University. He is chair of the board of the SAG-Producers Pension and Health Plans, former chair of the board of trustees of Grinnell College, and former vice chair of the Industry Advancement and Cooperative Fund. He is a trustee of the AFTRA Health and Retirement Funds, a board member of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, The Actors Fund and Volunteers of America-Greater Los Angeles. He is also a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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. Follow SAG-AFTRA on Twitter (twitter.com/sagaftra), Youtube (youtube.com/sagaftra) and Facebook (facebook.com/sagaftra).
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