Fashion Models and SAG-AFTRA Actors Call for the Fashion Workers Act During New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK, NY (09/08/2023) (readMedia)-- On Friday, the Model Alliance held a press conference during New York Fashion Week to raise awareness of the absence of basic labor protections within the modeling industry, and urge the New York State Assembly to pass the Fashion Workers Act during the upcoming legislative session. SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, East joined the Model Alliance to show support for the legislation. Like SAG-AFTRA actors, models are struggling for professional dignity behind a veil of glamor and prestige, but the fashion industry infamously lacks significant regulatory oversight. With so much overlap in the modeling and entertainment industries, many models participating in the SAG strike are also calling attention to how behind the modeling industry is in ensuring workplace protections. The Fashion Workers Act – a pro-labor state bill that would regulate predatory management companies in New York that currently operate without oversight in the $2.5 trillion fashion industry – is a necessary step in ensuring models and content creators have basic protections and autonomy in the workplace.

Dozens of models and actors stood together to shed light on how few protections models have compared to SAG actors, and how harmful the lack of labor standards in the modeling industry is. With the current labor resurgence across the entertainment industry, models are urging New York State lawmakers who support the SAG-AFTRA strike to pass the Fashion Workers Act as a necessary first step in regulating the fashion industry.

Video of the press conference is linked here.

Photos are linked here.

"The current labor resurgence across the entertainment industry is long overdue, but the fashion industry infamously lacks regulatory oversight, leaving us significantly behind the rest in regards to basic workplace protections. It is long past time for the modeling industry to catch up. Last session, the State Senate successfully passed the Fashion Workers Act legislation – now it's up to the Assembly to take decisive action. For any lawmakers in the Assembly who support the bravery of writers and actors during their strikes, now is the time to stand for the Fashion Workers Act too," said Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of the Model Alliance.

"As actors and writers strike for better working conditions, it's important that we recognize that models and content creators need protections too. With the rise in social media and the digital age, demand for our work is higher than ever but we are still often treated like commodities. Let me be clear: Models and content creators are skilled professionals who deserve respect, dignity, and basic rights just like everyone else who works for a living. That's why I'm proud to support the Fashion Workers Act, which will regulate predatory management companies and safeguard the rights and well-being of those who contribute heavily to our culture and economy. This legislation represents a beacon of hope for models and content creators who have faced exploitation, harassment, and unfair labor practices for far too long," said model and actress Mame Adjei.

"From photo shoots to picket lines, I recognize the stark difference of working conditions in fashion from other industries day-to-day. The Fashion Workers Act ensures basic workplace protections for models and creatives. I call on the Assembly to pass this bill to protect our current and future generations," said Kai Braden, actor, model, and Worker Council member of the Model Alliance.

"As a model for ten years, I am hyper aware that even the most baseline protections I've had as an actor and screenwriter, on even the smallest productions, are lightyears ahead of the protections I had working as a top model for world famous magazines and brands. It's time the New York State Assembly passes the Fashion Workers Act to ensure that models are treated with the dignity and respect that all workers deserve," said Esmeralda Seay-Reynolds, model, actor, and screenwriter.

"SAG-AFTRA supports the Model Alliance's pursuit of professional dignity for fashion workers. Hidden behind a veil of glamor and prestige, the fashion industry infamously lacks basic worker protections. With so much overlap in the modeling and entertainment industries we must call attention to the lack of safety for models. Like all workers, models and content creators deserve protections that will allow them to sustain healthy lives and successful careers," said Executive Director, New York Local, Labor Policy, and International Affairs Rebecca Damon.

"The Writers Guild of America, East is proud to stand in support of the Model Alliance as they fight for equality, shifting power away from management companies and toward models and other fashion workers. We at the Writers Guild understand how large disparities in power, combined with individuals' need to secure employment, can lead to exploitation. The precariousness of work in this sector makes fashion workers particularly vulnerable, and makes the Fashion Workers Act essential.We're calling on the state Legislature to pass the FWA as soon as they head into session this winter – because each day they wait, another worker is exploited," said Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America, East.

"When I decided to come to New York to begin my career as a model, I quickly realized that my dream was becoming a nightmare. Because where vulnerability and hope co-exist, there is a perfect breeding ground for exploitation to happen. There are so many vulnerable models who experience horrific abuse, even human trafficking, but many are afraid to speak up because they do not feel protected. As an actor, I'm grateful that my safety and dignity are protected on every SAG set, and I believe this should be true for models as well.This is why the Fashion Workers Act is so important. We need to hold agencies accountable for protecting their models and creating a safe environment where models can raise concerns without the fear of losing opportunities. I urge lawmakers to pass the bill next session," said Mari Malek, actor and model.

"This Fashion Week, labor rights are trending. Actors and models share the unfortunate experience of exploitation by big production studios and model management companies. But loopholes in our state law leave models vulnerable to exploitation and abuse while agencies profit off their image. Fashion workers deserve the same protections as anyone else, especially in an industry worth $2.5 trillion globally. As SAG-AFTRA fights on the picket line, models are calling on New York State to act. We passed the Fashion Workers Act in the Senate this session - now I hope my colleagues in the Assembly will follow suit," said Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

"New York is a hot shop - workers across every sector are asserting their rights on every front. I'm proud that we moved the Fashion Workers Act out of my committee and to the floor of the Senate for a vote last session. We will do it again, and this time, we hope to be joined by the Assembly," said State Senator Jessica Ramos, chair of the Senate Labor Committee.

Fashion is a booming business for New York – Fashion Week alone generates close to $600 million in income each year for the State. And yet, fashion workers – in particular, the models who are literally the faces of the industry – are not afforded basic labor protections in New York. The Fashion Workers Act – which last year passed in the New York State Senate – would close this loophole and create basic protections for fashion's creative workforce.

Unlike talent agencies which manage actors, modeling agencies are considered to be management companies under New York State General Business Law §171(8), known as the "incidental booking exception," allowing them to escape licensing and regulation. In almost every case, management companies are granted blanket "power of attorney" as part of their agreement to represent models, giving management companies power to accept payments on behalf of the model, deposit checks and deduct expenses, as well as book jobs, negotiate the model's rate of pay, and give third parties permission to use the model's image, while having no obligation to act in their talents' best interests.

This leaves models unprotected outside the terms of their individual contracts – which tend to be exploitative and one-sided in favor of the management company – and creates a lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to basic issues like health and safety and having insight into one's own finances. For example, models often don't know whether and how much they'll be paid for jobs booked through management companies, which deduct various unexplained fees from their earnings, in addition to a 20 percent commission from the model and a 20 percent service fee from the client. Model management companies crowd young models in model apartments, where they warehouse anywhere from six to 10 young women in one apartment and charge them each upwards of $2,000 a month for an apartment worth far less. Models are held to multi-year, auto-renewing contracts without any guarantee of actually being booked paid work, which ensnares them in cycles of debt and makes models highly vulnerable to other forms of abuse, including human trafficking. When models experience abuse, they do not have a safe channel to file work-related grievances without a risk of retaliation.

The Fashion Workers Act would address these issues by closing the legal loophole by which management companies escape accountability and create basic protections for the models and content creators who are the faces of New York's fashion industry.

The Fashion Workers Act would require management companies to:

• Establish a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their talent
• Provide models with copies of contracts and agreements
• Notify formerly represented models if they collect royalties on their behalf
• Register and deposit a surety bond of $50,000 with the NYS Department of State
• Protect the health and safety of models, including by establishing a zero-tolerance policy for abuse

And discontinue bad practices such as:

• Presenting power of attorney as a necessary condition for entering into a contract with the management company
• Collecting signing fees or deposits from models
• Charging models interest on payment of their earnings
• Charging more than the daily fair market rate for accommodation
• Deducting any other fee or expense than the agreed upon commission
• Renewing the contract without the model's affirmative consent
• Imposing a commission fee greater than twenty percent of the model's compensation
• Taking retaliatory action against a model for filing a complaint
• Engaging in discrimination or harassment of any kind against a model on the basis of race, ethnicity, and other legally permissible categories under Section 296(a) of the Executive Law.

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About the Model Alliance

Founded in 2012, the Model Alliance has been at the forefront of advancing labor rights in the fashion industry for the last decade. Through strategic research, policy initiatives, and campaigns, the Model Alliance aims to promote fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor. The Model Alliance has championed multiple pieces of legislation, including the Child Model Act in New York and the Talent Protections Act in California. The organization also runs the world's only industry-specific support line, MA Support. In 2021, the organization received the first Positive Social Influence Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America at the CFDA Awards.