The day that SAG actually enforces the rule that actors get paid to audition (yes actors– the SAG contract says you get PAID to AUDITION (1/2 day rate if you don’t book the part) that SAG doesn’t enforce)) – that’s the day I’ll go back to being a full sag member– for now? happy to be making well into the 6 figures doing non-union commercials a year and doing my handful of guest stars.. sag can call me a scab all they want– THEY are the scabs who don’t enforce rules that would give actors a chance to live a decent life without going non-union
Miki Yamashita
I see a lot of anonymous commenters here leaving complaints about our union, but I suspect they have yet to become actively involved in union service. I’m embarrassed that I used to be this way myself.
But I changed. I started making the effort to reach out to other members, listen to their concerns, and see how I could be part of the solution, even in a small way, at the grass roots level. I started learning about our contracts, our governance, and how much work is involved in collective bargaining for artists. I started to do more than just cut a check for dues and occasionally fill out a ballot.
WE ARE THE UNION. If you want better wages, working conditions, or leadership, you have to step up and educate yourself. It’s incredibly empowering and rewarding, I promise you. I agree that we need change, but that change is forged by all of us, together.
Anonymous
So the executive director makes $770,000 a year, before owing for his back vacation.
And how many union actors made their living solely as an actor last year? How many made $100,000? 50? 10? How many made their health insurance?
The union has focused too long on increasing contract pay yet doing nothing about increasing the amount of jobs there are.
Alan PietruszewsKi
Look at the “fearful actor” pandemic as professional actors, fearful of blowback over posting anything negative against the union meant to fight for them but CURRENTLY fighting ONLY for the folks willing to take the jab we all know from Fauci does not prevent you from getting the disease and does not stop you from spreading the disease are grotesquely discriminated against and cannot work.
So shame on SAG-AFTRA FOR EXTENDING return to worl protocols that clearly should be member choice and so sad for membership that is fearful to say that out loud.
Welcome to the most oppressive situation in entertainment.
This does not even touch on the dirty politics of their two party system that mirrors the national politics stage, the conflicts of interest the board has with actor/producers, leaders negotiating contracts while working on TV shows surely seemed to be at the very least “bribe-like” and the fact the HQ building has still not opened up again. Hell, we cannot even meet in committee online meetings even close to as frequently as we used to.
Employees’ pensions top out way higher than actors’ do, their workweeks are less that 40 hours per week, their pensions do not get the same decrement actors pensions do for drawing early.
As long as most of your members are too afraid to get in here and comment by name you gotta believe that there is just cause to be a fearful actor. I’m neither fearful nor disillusioned how this will play out.
Alan Pietruszewski
Look at the “fearful actor” pandemic as professional actors, fearful of blowback over posting anything negative against the union meant to fight for them but CURRENTLY fighting ONLY for the folks willing to take the jab we all know from Fauci does not prevent you from getting the disease and does not stop you from spreading the disease are grotesquely discriminated against and cannot work.
So shame on SAG-AFTRA FOR EXTENDING return to worl protocols that clearly should be member choice and so sad for membership that is fearful to say that out loud.
Welcome to the most oppressive situation in entertainment.
This does not even touch on the dirty politics of their two party system that mirrors the national politics stage, the conflicts of interest the board has with actor/producers, leaders negotiating contracts while working on TV shows surely seemed to be at the very least “bribe-like” and the fact the HQ building has still not opened up again. Hell, we cannot even meet in committee online meetings even close to as frequently as we used to.
Employees’ pensions top out way higher than actors’ do, their workweeks are less that 40 hours per week, their pensions do not get the same decrement actors pensions do for drawing early.
As long as most of your members are too afraid to get in here and comment by name you gotta believe with a warning like Deadline put up right before you comment that there is just cause to be a fearful actor. My name is Alan Pietruszewski and I’m neither fearful nor disillusioned how this will play out.
Anonymous
Record dues and yet it takes 4-5 months for residuals that have been cut and processed to reach members mailboxes. Disgusting.
Miki Yamashita
The residuals department worked diligently throughout the pandemic to process our checks even when most other union operations were shut down. They deserve our gratitude and respect.
Anonymous
Where is rightful affordable health coverage for ALL members of SAG?? Disgraceful the price gouging sky high insurance premiums paid each month because SO many of us were rolled during the pandemic and simply earnings did not qualify. Earnings? Ha! I’m paying over $1700 per month for health insurance via SAG for myself and spouse. Absolute disgrace.
Anonymous
“.. does not endorse or contribute to political candidates?” Uh, yeah. Clueless.
Anonymous
Name a political candidate that SAG-AFTRA has endorsed or contributed to. Go ahead.
(crickets)
ActorsAdvocate
HERE YOU GO LISTEN TO GABRIELLE CARTERIS PODCAST WITH CHUCK SHUMER!!!! AND ADAM SHIFF. AND ANOTHER LOCAL CANDIDATE SHE WAS ENDORSING ON THE SAG AFTRA YOU TUBE CHANNEL! SAG AFTRA IS A POLITCAL PROPOGANDA ARM!!!
Anonymous
Maybe so many would not go ficore if sag actually advocated for their members, made actually meaningful toward that end i stead of all the lip service.
Anonymous
Yet, they can’t manage to include even the most basic health insurance coverage as part of the dues.
Anonymous
So what!?!?
Big friggin deal.
Not impressed by their moneys.
What matters is how they fight for their members… and that’s where they fail on every possible level.
Lousy union, with a lousy leadership.
Anonymous
Yup.
Anonymous
Your union working for you.
Jeffrey Reeves, L.A. Local Communications Committee, Vice Chair
Thanks for the article.
Seems like there’s some interesting information in that Labor Report. Do tell more.
In the meantime, there’s an oft-repeated misconception that comes out of SAG-AFTRA HQ that is repeated in the article.
The percentage of Financial Core former union members who have withdrawn from SAG-AFTRA is actually quite high when compared to other unions. SAG-AFTRA has the highest percentage of withdrawals– almost more than double the 2nd place holder, the DGA. Let’s compare our percentage of Ficore to our pattern-bargaining sister entertainment unions.
I’l also share this with you while you’re here.
The number of Ficore who have withdrawn from SAG-AFTRA is high when compared to most any other union covering any other profession.
The first step to solving a problem, as you know, is admitting.
As the esteemed and very likable Producer and sometimes actor, Tom Hanks once said on film: “Houston, we have a problem.”
I’m my opinion, SAG-AFTRA needs to accept the reality that we’re the leading union in Ficore withdrawals and deal with the sitch more aggressively. My suggestion would be using proven tools like education, inclusion, winning one occasionally for the little guy, and building solidarity.
The most recent Financial Reports filed by our sister unions note the following percentage of Financial Core. I’ll use the active member number compared to Ficore to get the percentage as this article did. (Statistically there are other options, but the result would be similar.)
*
SAG-AFTRA, Ficore: 2.6% (Active Members 171,157. Ficore 4,486)
Directors Guild, FiCore: 1.4% (Active Members 16,424. Ficore 238)
Writers Guild East, Ficore: 0.19%. (Active Members 6,768. Ficore 13)
Writers Guild West, Ficore: 0.14%. (Active Members 26,350. Ficore: 39)
If we go outside entertainment industry, SAG-AFTRA still leads in FiCore withdrawals. For example let’s use everyone’s go-to Union the our brothers sister and kin at the United Auto Workers Union.
UAW Ficore: 0.21%. (Active Members 372,254. Ficore 794)
As writer, David Robb writes above, the number of Ficore has doubled in the last decade of steady SAG-AFTRA withdrawals.
To further illustrate the issue, across the board, most union’s have less than 1% of members who quit by choosing FiCore. The first step to solving a problem is admitting there’s a problem. The second is correctly intensifying the magnitude.
Jeffrey Reeves, LA Local Communications Commitee, Vice Chair
Correction, final sentence : The second is correctly identifying the magnitude.
John B.
Destroyed the lives of their members for union dues.,. so many criminals
Anonymous
They are also killing independent productions with all their paperwork, fees, and covid compliance.
Anonymous
let’s not even talk about all the lazy, never available, wait until friday 5 pm to try to extort money SAG reps. Al Capone would have recruited from SAG for his enforcers.
Just asking
And you prefer independent productions that work with actors without complying with SAG mandated workplace safety procedures?
Anonymous
As a talent agent, I cannot tell you how many conversations I had with my clients willing to take any job no matter the pay just to try to qualify for health insurance during 2020. I had dozens of calls with actors in tears when they eventually didn’t qualify and lost their health insurance during a pandemic. To see an INCREASE in dues collected in 2020 from the previous year when thousands of members were losing their health insurance left and right is truly sickening.
Anonymous
And they can’t keep health care in force for their older and retired members?? How they treat those members and are leaving them high and dry after all their contributions and at their most vulnerable is unconscionable
Anonymous
You’re confusing the union SAG-AFTRA with the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. Two separate organizations. The union’s leadership doesn’t control the qualifying levels of the health plan. That’s up to the Health Plan trustees (half appointed by management) who were facing plummeting contributions due to the pandemic production shutdown. With less money the plan trustees had to make tough decisions based on mathematical realities. Dramatic changes were needed to avoid collapsing into financial insolvency. And nobody wants that. The problem is that medical costs continue to climb extremely fast each year and the pandemic made things even worse. I lost my SAG-AFTRA health insurance in 2021 because of no work for most of 2020. It sucked and I had to scramble but I understand math and the realities of having to balance revenue and costs in a responsible manner to keep the health plan solvent into the future. Now I’m going to qualify again and I’m grateful that it’s still around and making the tough decisions that grownups have to make to keep things we need safe and sound.
Jeffrey Reeves, LA Communications Committee, Vice Chair
The union’s leadership does control the amount of money that the contracts provide to the Health Plan. Saying leadership is not responsible for the deficits in the health plan and blaming cuts on trustees is like blaming the bank for repossessing a car you didn’t make payments on. “I have no control over what the bank does. The bank made the decision to take the car.”
Let’s move forward with honestly on this subject so we can move toward solutions. Members — especially our esteemed seniors with decades of equity paid into the health plan suffering our contract failures —deserve respect, not BS spin. We’re all better off when grownups tell the truth.
Every union member counts
The SAG-AFTRA leadership should hire a competent and honest fund management company to make sure the union funds are enough to cover the pension and healthcare needs of retired union members. With such a huge sum of union fees collected, they should also be able to dictate favorable terms from healthcare providers to give the members a decent healthcare plan.
Matt Kavanaugh
The “union” cannot dictate terms healthcare providers make available to the health or pension plan(s); in fact they cannot be directly involved at all. It would be an ERISA law violation for union dues to go to funding the health plan in any way. That’s not to say the union couldn’t have or can’t do more to ensure the health of the health and pension plans. They could negotiate better contracts with producers that funnel more money to the plans. They can appoint competent trustees that will do a better job of advocating for the plans’ participants, who wouldn’t make boneheaded decisions like merging with an AFTRA plan that didn’t have the reserves the SAG one did and essentially creating an unsustainable situation that doomed seniors.
Doug Tait
Miss you Sleestak.. Keep up the fight
Anonymous
The health and pension benefits plans are funded by employer contributions, not by union dues.
It’s actually illegal to co-mingle the union’s funds with health and pension funds. That’s why the benefits plans are managed by separate organizations.
The day that SAG actually enforces the rule that actors get paid to audition (yes actors– the SAG contract says you get PAID to AUDITION (1/2 day rate if you don’t book the part) that SAG doesn’t enforce)) – that’s the day I’ll go back to being a full sag member– for now? happy to be making well into the 6 figures doing non-union commercials a year and doing my handful of guest stars.. sag can call me a scab all they want– THEY are the scabs who don’t enforce rules that would give actors a chance to live a decent life without going non-union
I see a lot of anonymous commenters here leaving complaints about our union, but I suspect they have yet to become actively involved in union service. I’m embarrassed that I used to be this way myself.
But I changed. I started making the effort to reach out to other members, listen to their concerns, and see how I could be part of the solution, even in a small way, at the grass roots level. I started learning about our contracts, our governance, and how much work is involved in collective bargaining for artists. I started to do more than just cut a check for dues and occasionally fill out a ballot.
WE ARE THE UNION. If you want better wages, working conditions, or leadership, you have to step up and educate yourself. It’s incredibly empowering and rewarding, I promise you. I agree that we need change, but that change is forged by all of us, together.
So the executive director makes $770,000 a year, before owing for his back vacation.
And how many union actors made their living solely as an actor last year? How many made $100,000? 50? 10? How many made their health insurance?
The union has focused too long on increasing contract pay yet doing nothing about increasing the amount of jobs there are.
Look at the “fearful actor” pandemic as professional actors, fearful of blowback over posting anything negative against the union meant to fight for them but CURRENTLY fighting ONLY for the folks willing to take the jab we all know from Fauci does not prevent you from getting the disease and does not stop you from spreading the disease are grotesquely discriminated against and cannot work.
So shame on SAG-AFTRA FOR EXTENDING return to worl protocols that clearly should be member choice and so sad for membership that is fearful to say that out loud.
Welcome to the most oppressive situation in entertainment.
This does not even touch on the dirty politics of their two party system that mirrors the national politics stage, the conflicts of interest the board has with actor/producers, leaders negotiating contracts while working on TV shows surely seemed to be at the very least “bribe-like” and the fact the HQ building has still not opened up again. Hell, we cannot even meet in committee online meetings even close to as frequently as we used to.
Employees’ pensions top out way higher than actors’ do, their workweeks are less that 40 hours per week, their pensions do not get the same decrement actors pensions do for drawing early.
As long as most of your members are too afraid to get in here and comment by name you gotta believe that there is just cause to be a fearful actor. I’m neither fearful nor disillusioned how this will play out.
Look at the “fearful actor” pandemic as professional actors, fearful of blowback over posting anything negative against the union meant to fight for them but CURRENTLY fighting ONLY for the folks willing to take the jab we all know from Fauci does not prevent you from getting the disease and does not stop you from spreading the disease are grotesquely discriminated against and cannot work.
So shame on SAG-AFTRA FOR EXTENDING return to worl protocols that clearly should be member choice and so sad for membership that is fearful to say that out loud.
Welcome to the most oppressive situation in entertainment.
This does not even touch on the dirty politics of their two party system that mirrors the national politics stage, the conflicts of interest the board has with actor/producers, leaders negotiating contracts while working on TV shows surely seemed to be at the very least “bribe-like” and the fact the HQ building has still not opened up again. Hell, we cannot even meet in committee online meetings even close to as frequently as we used to.
Employees’ pensions top out way higher than actors’ do, their workweeks are less that 40 hours per week, their pensions do not get the same decrement actors pensions do for drawing early.
As long as most of your members are too afraid to get in here and comment by name you gotta believe with a warning like Deadline put up right before you comment that there is just cause to be a fearful actor. My name is Alan Pietruszewski and I’m neither fearful nor disillusioned how this will play out.
Record dues and yet it takes 4-5 months for residuals that have been cut and processed to reach members mailboxes. Disgusting.
The residuals department worked diligently throughout the pandemic to process our checks even when most other union operations were shut down. They deserve our gratitude and respect.
Where is rightful affordable health coverage for ALL members of SAG?? Disgraceful the price gouging sky high insurance premiums paid each month because SO many of us were rolled during the pandemic and simply earnings did not qualify. Earnings? Ha! I’m paying over $1700 per month for health insurance via SAG for myself and spouse. Absolute disgrace.
“.. does not endorse or contribute to political candidates?” Uh, yeah. Clueless.
Name a political candidate that SAG-AFTRA has endorsed or contributed to. Go ahead.
(crickets)
HERE YOU GO LISTEN TO GABRIELLE CARTERIS PODCAST WITH CHUCK SHUMER!!!! AND ADAM SHIFF. AND ANOTHER LOCAL CANDIDATE SHE WAS ENDORSING ON THE SAG AFTRA YOU TUBE CHANNEL! SAG AFTRA IS A POLITCAL PROPOGANDA ARM!!!
Maybe so many would not go ficore if sag actually advocated for their members, made actually meaningful toward that end i stead of all the lip service.
Yet, they can’t manage to include even the most basic health insurance coverage as part of the dues.
So what!?!?
Big friggin deal.
Not impressed by their moneys.
What matters is how they fight for their members… and that’s where they fail on every possible level.
Lousy union, with a lousy leadership.
Yup.
Your union working for you.
Thanks for the article.
Seems like there’s some interesting information in that Labor Report. Do tell more.
In the meantime, there’s an oft-repeated misconception that comes out of SAG-AFTRA HQ that is repeated in the article.
The percentage of Financial Core former union members who have withdrawn from SAG-AFTRA is actually quite high when compared to other unions. SAG-AFTRA has the highest percentage of withdrawals– almost more than double the 2nd place holder, the DGA. Let’s compare our percentage of Ficore to our pattern-bargaining sister entertainment unions.
I’l also share this with you while you’re here.
The number of Ficore who have withdrawn from SAG-AFTRA is high when compared to most any other union covering any other profession.
The first step to solving a problem, as you know, is admitting.
As the esteemed and very likable Producer and sometimes actor, Tom Hanks once said on film: “Houston, we have a problem.”
I’m my opinion, SAG-AFTRA needs to accept the reality that we’re the leading union in Ficore withdrawals and deal with the sitch more aggressively. My suggestion would be using proven tools like education, inclusion, winning one occasionally for the little guy, and building solidarity.
The most recent Financial Reports filed by our sister unions note the following percentage of Financial Core. I’ll use the active member number compared to Ficore to get the percentage as this article did. (Statistically there are other options, but the result would be similar.)
*
SAG-AFTRA, Ficore: 2.6% (Active Members 171,157. Ficore 4,486)
Directors Guild, FiCore: 1.4% (Active Members 16,424. Ficore 238)
Writers Guild East, Ficore: 0.19%. (Active Members 6,768. Ficore 13)
Writers Guild West, Ficore: 0.14%. (Active Members 26,350. Ficore: 39)
If we go outside entertainment industry, SAG-AFTRA still leads in FiCore withdrawals. For example let’s use everyone’s go-to Union the our brothers sister and kin at the United Auto Workers Union.
UAW Ficore: 0.21%. (Active Members 372,254. Ficore 794)
As writer, David Robb writes above, the number of Ficore has doubled in the last decade of steady SAG-AFTRA withdrawals.
To further illustrate the issue, across the board, most union’s have less than 1% of members who quit by choosing FiCore. The first step to solving a problem is admitting there’s a problem. The second is correctly intensifying the magnitude.
Correction, final sentence : The second is correctly identifying the magnitude.
Destroyed the lives of their members for union dues.,. so many criminals
They are also killing independent productions with all their paperwork, fees, and covid compliance.
let’s not even talk about all the lazy, never available, wait until friday 5 pm to try to extort money SAG reps. Al Capone would have recruited from SAG for his enforcers.
And you prefer independent productions that work with actors without complying with SAG mandated workplace safety procedures?
As a talent agent, I cannot tell you how many conversations I had with my clients willing to take any job no matter the pay just to try to qualify for health insurance during 2020. I had dozens of calls with actors in tears when they eventually didn’t qualify and lost their health insurance during a pandemic. To see an INCREASE in dues collected in 2020 from the previous year when thousands of members were losing their health insurance left and right is truly sickening.
And they can’t keep health care in force for their older and retired members?? How they treat those members and are leaving them high and dry after all their contributions and at their most vulnerable is unconscionable
You’re confusing the union SAG-AFTRA with the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. Two separate organizations. The union’s leadership doesn’t control the qualifying levels of the health plan. That’s up to the Health Plan trustees (half appointed by management) who were facing plummeting contributions due to the pandemic production shutdown. With less money the plan trustees had to make tough decisions based on mathematical realities. Dramatic changes were needed to avoid collapsing into financial insolvency. And nobody wants that. The problem is that medical costs continue to climb extremely fast each year and the pandemic made things even worse. I lost my SAG-AFTRA health insurance in 2021 because of no work for most of 2020. It sucked and I had to scramble but I understand math and the realities of having to balance revenue and costs in a responsible manner to keep the health plan solvent into the future. Now I’m going to qualify again and I’m grateful that it’s still around and making the tough decisions that grownups have to make to keep things we need safe and sound.
The union’s leadership does control the amount of money that the contracts provide to the Health Plan. Saying leadership is not responsible for the deficits in the health plan and blaming cuts on trustees is like blaming the bank for repossessing a car you didn’t make payments on. “I have no control over what the bank does. The bank made the decision to take the car.”
Let’s move forward with honestly on this subject so we can move toward solutions. Members — especially our esteemed seniors with decades of equity paid into the health plan suffering our contract failures —deserve respect, not BS spin. We’re all better off when grownups tell the truth.
The SAG-AFTRA leadership should hire a competent and honest fund management company to make sure the union funds are enough to cover the pension and healthcare needs of retired union members. With such a huge sum of union fees collected, they should also be able to dictate favorable terms from healthcare providers to give the members a decent healthcare plan.
The “union” cannot dictate terms healthcare providers make available to the health or pension plan(s); in fact they cannot be directly involved at all. It would be an ERISA law violation for union dues to go to funding the health plan in any way. That’s not to say the union couldn’t have or can’t do more to ensure the health of the health and pension plans. They could negotiate better contracts with producers that funnel more money to the plans. They can appoint competent trustees that will do a better job of advocating for the plans’ participants, who wouldn’t make boneheaded decisions like merging with an AFTRA plan that didn’t have the reserves the SAG one did and essentially creating an unsustainable situation that doomed seniors.
Miss you Sleestak.. Keep up the fight
The health and pension benefits plans are funded by employer contributions, not by union dues.
It’s actually illegal to co-mingle the union’s funds with health and pension funds. That’s why the benefits plans are managed by separate organizations.