The Voice of Performers and Media Artists
SAG-AFTRA is the powerhouse American labor union that represents the talent seen and heard across the full spectrum of modern media. The name is a combination of its two predecessor unions: the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). With over 160,000 members, its jurisdiction is incredibly diverse, covering not only film and television actors but also stunt performers, voice-over artists, singers, dancers, puppeteers, recording artists, and broadcast journalists.
SAG-AFTRA functions as both a union and a guild, providing protections for its members as both creative artists and as laborers. Its primary mission is to secure fair compensation, provide benefits, and ensure safe working conditions for performers, who often work in a precarious, freelance-based industry.
The Historic 2012 Merger
For most of their histories, SAG and AFTRA were separate but closely aligned unions.
- Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was founded in 1933 by a group of actors to combat the exploitative studio contract system of classical Hollywood. Its primary domain was motion pictures.
- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was founded in 1937 to represent performers in the burgeoning fields of radio and, later, live television, news broadcasting, and sound recordings.
As technology evolved, the lines between their jurisdictions became increasingly blurred. A single project could involve work covered by both unions, creating confusion and inefficiencies. After decades of discussion, the memberships of both unions voted overwhelmingly to merge in 2012, creating a single, more powerful entity to negotiate on behalf of performers across all media platforms.
Key Protections and Contributions
SAG-AFTRA’s collective bargaining agreements provide numerous essential protections:
- Minimum Compensation (‘Scale’): Establishes the minimum pay rates for all types of performance work.
- Residuals: A critical form of deferred compensation. Residuals are fees paid to performers for the reuse of their work, such as when a film is sold to a streaming service or a television show is aired in reruns.
- Working Conditions: Enforces strict rules on working hours, mandatory rest periods, on-set safety (especially for stunts), and fair audition practices.
- Pension and Health Plans: Administers robust benefit plans that provide a crucial safety net for its members.