SAG-AFTRA
The US labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television performers, broadcasters, recording artists, and other media professionals, formed by the 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA.
Overview
SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild -- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is the labor union representing approximately 160,000 professional performers, journalists, and media professionals in the United States. Formed in 2012 through the merger of the Screen Actors Guild (founded 1933) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (founded 1937), SAG-AFTRA is the primary union covering on-screen talent in American film and television production.
SAG-AFTRA negotiates the Codified Basic Agreement (CBA) and multiple other contracts with studios, networks, streaming platforms, and independent producers, establishing minimum compensation rates (scale), residuals for reuse and streaming, working conditions, health and safety standards, and pension and health contributions for covered performers. The union represents a wide range of entertainment professionals including principal actors, background performers, stunt performers, dancers, singers, and on-air broadcast journalists.
Membership and Eligibility
SAG-AFTRA membership is open to performers who have completed qualifying work on a SAG-AFTRA signatory production. Principal performers become eligible after being hired as a principal on any SAG-AFTRA production. Background performers become eligible after working a minimum number of days as a covered extra. Once eligible, joining requires payment of a one-time initiation fee and ongoing dues.
The union operates under a Taft-Hartley provision that allows non-union performers to work on union productions for a limited period before being required to join. After working their first union job, a performer has 30 days before they must either join the union or decline union work. This provision is important for productions casting non-union talent in principal roles on union productions.
Major Agreements
SAG-AFTRA administers numerous separate agreements covering different categories of production. The primary agreements relevant to independent filmmakers are the Theatrical and Television Basic Agreement for studio and major independent productions, the Low Budget Agreement for films budgeted below certain thresholds, the Ultra Low Budget Agreement for films under $250,000, the Modified Low Budget Agreement, and the Short Film Agreement for non-commercial short films. Each tier has different minimum rates and benefit contribution requirements.
In 2023, SAG-AFTRA conducted a 118-day strike -- the longest in the union's history -- that ran concurrently with the WGA strike. The resulting deal with the AMPTP secured increased residuals for streaming productions, protections against the use of performers' digital likenesses without consent, and improved minimum rates across all agreement types.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Signing a SAG-AFTRA agreement gives producers access to the full pool of professional union talent but requires compliance with minimum rates, turnaround provisions, meal penalty rules, and benefit contributions that significantly affect a production budget. The union's tiered low-budget agreements make signatory status accessible at lower budget levels than many producers assume.
Non-union productions can cast non-union performers freely but cannot cast SAG-AFTRA members without signing a SAG-AFTRA agreement. SAG-AFTRA members who work on non-signatory productions can face union discipline including fines or suspension.
See Also
For how SAG-AFTRA minimum rates appear in production budgets, see Above the Line vs Below the Line. For the stunt performer community within SAG-AFTRA, see Stunt Players Directory in this directory.
