November 5, 2008 - Looking to increase employment opportunities for artists and professionals with disabilities, the Performers with Disabilities Tri-Union Committee of SAG, AFTRA, and Actors’ Equity has launched I. A.M. P.W.D. (Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People with Disabilities).

At simultaneous news conferences in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, the Performers with Disabilities Tri-Union Committee unveiled this major disability rights campaign on October 6 to coincide with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

I. A.M. P.W.D. is a global civil rights campaign to increase the visibility and equal employment opportunities for actors, broadcasters and sound recording artists with disabilities throughout the entertainment and news media.

The mission of the Tri-Union PDW Committee is to serve as the means to enhance the status and promote the advancement of performers with disabilities, further the understanding of the profession and foster understanding and respect for disabled performers, develop and improve working standards, and assist in the continuing development of ethical standards for practitioners in the industry.

Over the course of the three-year I. A.M. P.W.D. campaign, the group will outreach to the entertainment and media industries, the general public, political and legislative leaders, and to national and global civil rights, labor and community allies in an effort to urge the entertainment industry to open up equal opportunities for disabled performers.

Interested allies are urged to join the I. A.M. P.W.D. network of supporters by signing up at www.IAMPWD.org.