Latest in SAG AFTRA

With many TV commercials still being shot using actors working from home during the coronavirus shutdown, SAG-AFTRA is advising members and their agents to negotiate additional compensation if asked to perform non-acting duties such as self-filming, editing, directing and hair and makeup. "During the COVID-19 global…

SAG-AFTRA's unprecedented step of instructing members not to accept offers to return to work during the pandemic without first getting the OK from the union was authorized by top-level staff, according to a spokesperson for the union. Thursday's urgent safety notice said: "In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic and…

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA and management's AMPTP could be close to wrapping up their negotiations for a new film and TV contract, though no deal is in place yet. Sources tell Deadline the companies are hopeful that an agreement can be reached before Monday, when the AMPTP will start contract talks with the WGA. SAG-AFTRA…

SAG-AFTRA, in an urgent safety notice, is telling its members that they should not return to work or accept a contract for new employment without first getting the okay from the union. It's the first time the guild has ever required that of its members. "In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the attendant high…

Renowned public health official Dr. Jonathan Fielding has joined the SAG-AFTRA President's Blue Ribbon Commission on Safety to advise the union in developing and implementing new safety protocols for preventing the spread of COVID-19 when production resumes. Fielding served as Public Health Director and Health Officer…

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and IATSE hosted a virtual town hall meeting today Tuesday with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to discuss the impact of coronavirus on the entertainment industry and their efforts to get the industry back to work. The main thrust of the meeting was to explain the need for new legislation to close the…

As the economy begins to reopen, unions covering newsroom workers are encouraging employers to "protect as many jobs as possible during this crisis" and to adopt coronavirus testing and "strict contact tracing" protocols to prevent the spread of the virus among news teams. "Thousands of workers across the media…

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and IATSE international president Matt Loeb will host a virtual town hall discussion on Tuesday with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to discuss the impact of coronavirus, future relief efforts and getting the entertainment and media industry back to work. Schiff, who's often billed as…

Child actors and background performers – even show business babies – are eligible to receive enhanced unemployment benefits if their shows were shuttered or canceled because of the coronavirus shutdown, a spokesperson for the state's Employment Development Department told Deadline on Thursday. In California, they can…

The full reopening of the film and TV industry probably won’t be possible until a vaccine is developed to combat the coronavirus and testing and tracing of the virus’ spread are in place, according to David White, national executive director of SAG-AFTRA. White shared that view during a media conference call today…

Their job is to be invisible, blending into the background so as not to distract from the principal actors’ scenes while providing depth to each shot, bringing to life a restaurant or city street that otherwise would be eerily empty. Now, however, background performers could truly disappear. Already threatened by the…

More than 42,000 session musicians and singers will be sharing $62 million in royalties collected by the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, touted as the largest distribution in the fund's history. The unions say that the average payment to studio musicians and singers is approximately…