SAG-AFTRA’s board of directors voted Saturday to extend the contract of the union’s national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, for four years and add CEO to his title.
Crabtree-Ireland’s contract was scheduled to expire in 2028 but will now run until June 20, 2032. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. He was paid $1.1 million for fiscal year 2026.
The extension will take Crabtree-Ireland into the next round of negotiations with major studios, with the current deal ending in June 2030. The union said in a statement that the extension would offer “additional stability and continuity to the union during a period of unprecedented disruption in the industry”.
Crabtree-Ireland has spent nearly her entire career at SAG-AFTRA, serving as general counsel and chief operating officer before being appointed national managing director in 2021. It has made AI a key focus of the union’s negotiations, reaching a series of agreements aimed at allowing artists to capture the positive aspects of AI while protecting them from unauthorized uses of its counterparts. He was also a central figure in the 2023 players’ strike.
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin praised Crabtree-Ireland in a statement following the vote.
“To combat giant global transnational corporations, we need expert leadership with a track record of successful negotiation and significant operational management expertise,” Astin said. “This is Duncan. He is a strong executive who leads our union at the bargaining table, in the halls of Congress, boardrooms and conference rooms across the industry and around the world. We are excited to assure that Duncan will continue to serve SAG-AFTRA members.”
The extension was approved by a weighted vote in favor of 98.34% of the board.
“It is the honor of my career to lead the staff of SAG-AFTRA, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue doing this work,” Crabtree-Ireland said. “As we continue to fight for human creativity, the coming years will be pivotal in charting the path forward. I plan to fight alongside our leadership to ensure that our members control their image, likeness, voice, and destiny in the workplace and are paid a fair wage in the process. I thank President Astin, national officials, and the National Board for their trust, and our extraordinary staff team for all they make possible.”
Picture: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland (left) and SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin.