Expert: Phil Nemy - 6/25/2007

Question
Hi Phil:  Can you pls clarify..Recently we were on a WB Tour and the tour guy gave us a referral card to a producer / after he knew my daughter has done a little bit in the biz... but Im confused.. what are the benefits of being Union vs. Non-Union - the WB employee said we should probably think about joining Union.  I know that my daughter cannot become a member of SAG until she has a few more items under her belt. - Will she be more attractive for jobs if she is Union or Non- Union????  Thanks so much in advance.  Your site is very helpful and you are doing a great thing for these parents & kids.   Trish

Answer
Trish,

Thanks for writing. The true advantage to being a member of SAG is that you have an organization to fight for your rights. As a member of SAG, a producer who is producing his/her film under a SAG agreement MUST pay SAG actor mimimum's for daily and weekly work. Daily salary is roughly $700 per day and weekly salary is roughly $3,000 per week. If an actor works under a non-union agreement, then the producer is only required by Federal law to pay the national minimum wage which is an hourly rate of $5.15 per hour.

As a member of SAG, you are also provided Pension, Health and Welfare benefits, something one must pay for on their own when they ARE NOT a member of a union.

SAG actors earn residual payments when their film or TV show re-appears on TV, or each time their commercial runs on TV. Non-union actors do not receive this additional income.

Also, there are strict working conditions set down in a SAG agreement that protects an actor that is not found in a non-union agreement.

But the most important thing is that most studios, networks, and major producers won't even let you audition for their projects if you are NOT a member of SAG. All of the major films and TV shows are produced under SAG agreements, so without being a member, it can often be difficult to obtain an audition for them.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Phil