WASHINGTON – Last week, Trump administration released President Trump “Meager” budget request for the year 2026, Who called to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
Arts, entertainment and media industries (Aemi) Coalition In the Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO published the following declaration in response to the proposed elimination of the NEA, NEH and CPB:
“Unions are ready to fight against efforts to eliminate NEA, NEH and CPB. Non -profit arts, human sciences and public media benefit from large Bipartisan public support because they fuel local economies in each state and widen access to quality artistic and educational content that would harm communities.
The idea that federal funding for arts, human sciences or public media is a financial burden for American workers is clearly bad.
We know first -hand the economic value of federal funding for the arts, the humanities and the public media. Many members of our unions earn their lives by working on non -profit productions, documentaries and information programs that receive funds from NEA, NEH or CPB. For some members of the union, the projects supported by NEA, NEH and CPB served as a point of entry to the careers on the commercial side of their industries, in particular the people who have grown up in rural areas far from the largest media markets in the country. These projects also have a positive economic impact for local economies beyond employment, because the public spends about $ 38.46 per person, per event, beyond the cost of entry, in goods and services in communities where they attend artistic and cultural programs.
Likewise, we are deeply concerned about the random ending of hundreds of NEA and NEH subsidies. Many members of the unions working or planned to work on projects supported by these subsidies are now faced with economic uncertainty as funding disappears and their jobs are eliminated.
Private money cannot completely replace federal funding. The elimination of NEA, NEH or CPB will result in the loss of good middle class jobs. The acute economic pain will be far from the sound scene of Hollywood and bright Broadway lights. Job losses will be in communities where NEA can be the only funder for regional theater or in local television or radio stations which depend on the financing of the CPB.
The congress should continue to increase the financing of the NEA, the NEH and the CPB as an investment which helps to put people, including our members, to work and to enrich the fabric of our democracy. »»
The AEMI includes:
- Association of actors’ actions (equity)
- US Federation of Musicians (AFM)
- American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA)
- American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA)
- Directors Guild of America (DGA)
- Guild of Italian-American actors (GIAA)
- International alliance of the theatrical scene employees, Image technicians in motion, artists and allied trades (IATSE)
- BrotherHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS (IBEW)
- International Union of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU)
- Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG -AFTRA)
- Society of directors and choreographers (SDC)
- Writers Guild of America East (wgae)
About the AEMI
The coalition of arts, entertainment and media industries (AEMI) is made up of 12 national unions representing professionals in the arts, entertainment and media industries and are led by DPE. The AEMI is the main voice of the Labor Movement on public policies in the arts of arts, entertainment and media.
About DPE
The Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), is a coalition of 24 unions representing more than four million members of the professional and technical union. DPE affiliated unions represent professionals in more than 300 education and health care professions; science, engineering and technology; legal, business and management; Media, entertainment and arts; and public administration.