This month, the Trump administration placed nearly most of the staff at the National Endowment for the
Humanities (NEH) on administrative leave, announced its intention to eliminate grant categories and began canceling approved grants.
The Arts, Entertainment and Media Industries (AEMI) coalition within the Department for Professional Employees (DPE) is asking arts supporters to contact their representative and request that they join the bipartisan group of House members supporting increased funding for the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts. These grants support job opportunities for union creative professionals and provide Americans with access to enriching programs that lift up local economies.
“We decry the Trump administration’s dismantling of the National Endowment for Humanities,” said the AEMI coalition in a statement. “The actions being taken decimate the only entity, public or private, with a charge to make the humanities accessible to all Americans. Congress, by law, has mandated the NEH to make the humanities accessible to the public. The administration’s actions cause economic harm and undermine congressional intent.
“Congress has appropriated funding for the NEH, and the administration is obligated to carry out the agency’s mission. If it will not do so, Congress should do everything in its power to halt and reverse the actions taken at the NEH so the agency may return to helping put Americans to work by meeting its congressionally mandated responsibilities.”
The AEMI coalition is made up of unions that represent professionals in the arts, entertainment and media industries and is led by DPE. The AEMI coalition is the leading voice on public policy in the arts, entertainment and media industries and includes the Actors’ Equity Association (Equity), American Federation of Musicians (AFM), American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), Directors Guild of America, Guild of Italian American Actors, Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, Electrical Workers (IBEW), Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU), SAG-AFTRA, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE).
Take action: Contact your representative and tell them to support the arts.
AFL-CIO Daily Brief