Egert Appointed as New AFTRA San Francisco Local Executive Director

Posted February 13, 2012

LOS ANGELES  – The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO – a national union of more than 70,000 recording artists, broadcasters, actors, singers, dancers and other performers who work across the spectrum of media industries, including television, radio, cable, sound recordings and digital media – has named Leonard Egert as the new Executive Director of the San Francisco Local, effective Feb. 6, 2012.

Egert oversees the daily operations of the AFTRA San Francisco Local office and staff, as well as Screen Actors Guild’s San Francisco Branch operations. He is responsible for overseeing administration of all national contracts for television and radio programming, interactive media, sound recordings, commercials, corporate/educational and non-broadcast and new media productions produced in the Bay Area and the greater Sacramento/Stockton and Fresno areas. Egert also serves as the chief negotiator for all AFTRA Local union contracts, including local TV and radio staff agreements.

Egert succeeds longtime San Francisco Local Executive Director Frank Du Charme, who is retiring at the end of the year, and who will continue working with the Union in a consulting capacity.

Prior to joining AFTRA, Egert worked since 1998 as a founding partner at the New York City-based entertainment law firm Egert and Trakinski. His experience includes litigation, contract negotiation, contract drafting and general counseling for clients in the television and film industries, from production companies to writers, directors and other talent.

“Len brings a wealth of knowledge from representing individual clients in the television and film industry as well as his experience representing union members in both the entertainment and news sectors of our jurisdictions at the local and national level,” said AFTRA National Executive Director Kim Roberts Hedgpeth. “I’m proud to welcome him to AFTRA as the San Francisco Local Executive Director and confident that he will expand upon the strong leadership that Frank Du Charme has given to San Francisco members during the past 14 years.”

AFTRA San Francisco Local President Maria Leticia Gomez praised current Executive Director Frank Du Charme for his 14 years of dedication and service to the Local and looks forward to working with Egert.

“I want to take the opportunity to thank Frank for his work at AFTRA. His shoes were big to fill, but we’re thrilled to have someone of Leonard’s caliber and expertise in union representation to carry us forward. San Francisco is a hub for broadcasting as well as entertainment production and Leonard’s wealth of experience in the industry will be of great benefit to AFTRA members,” Gomez said.

A 1991 graduate of the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in New York, Egert has also worked as counsel for the Writers Guild of America-East, the firm Spivak Lipton Watanabe Spivak & Moss and The Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, all of which were based in New York City.

About AFTRA

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, are the people who entertain and inform America. In 32 Locals across the country, AFTRA members work as actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, announcers, hosts, comedians, disc jockeys and other performers across the media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings, music videos, commercials, audio books, non-broadcast industrials, interactive games, the Internet and other digital media. The 70,000 professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists of AFTRA are working together to protect and improve their jobs, lives and communities in the 21st century. From new art forms to new technology, AFTRA members embrace change in their work and craft to enhance American culture and society. Visit AFTRA online at www.aftra.com.

 

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