On October 12, DGA Associate National Executive Director/Western Executive Director Rebecca Rhine was recognized at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with the California Assembly District 51 Community Excellence Award for Community Service and Worker Advocacy. Presented by Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur on behalf of the California State Legislature, the award honors Rhine’s tireless advocacy for the workers who are the backbone of California’s entertainment industry.
Rhine has played a central role in leading the industry-wide coalition that championed the expanded California Film and Television Tax Credit Program, a vital policy that protects California jobs and keeps production in the state. Her leadership in uniting the entertainment guilds and unions under a shared purpose has strengthened the collective voice of workers and secured critical wins for the industry’s future, exemplified by her service as President of the Entertainment Union Coalition this past year.
Reflecting on her career and service to the labor community, Rhine emphasized the power of solidarity, “I am most proud of coalition work throughout the years that harnesses the power of individual unions into a stronger combined whole. The labor community was instrumental in our recent success in Sacramento, and that collaboration is what makes real change possible.”
A lifelong advocate for fairness and safety, Rhine has built a career guided by courage and conviction, values shaped by her family’s history in the labor movement. As she once told a room full of students at her daughter’s Career Day, “I get to stand up to the people who have the power, and they have to listen to me. It is the greatest job ever.”
Rhine’s recognition this year celebrates not only her achievements, but her unwavering belief in the dignity and power of working people.
