In this instructional video, Aaron Marcus breaks down the SAG‑AFTRA actors’ union for aspiring performers. He first explains what SAG‑AFTRA is, how it differs from Equity and ACTRA, and the core services it provides—including negotiated minimum contract rates, safety and meal rules, dispute‑resolution, health insurance, and pension eligibility. He illustrates the union’s value with a personal anecdote about a pay‑dispute on The West Wing that the union resolved. Next, Marcus outlines three pathways to membership: (1) being cast in a union‑covered role, (2) transferring membership from a sister union such as Equity after meeting work‑and‑dues requirements, and (3) working as a non‑union extra on three union‑extra slots, which then qualifies you for membership. He details the financial commitment—an initiation fee averaging about $3,000 (varying by market) and semi‑annual dues of roughly $227 plus 1.5 % of earnings. Finally, he offers a candid decision‑making framework: assess your acting skill and training, the availability of union work in your market, and whether you’re prepared to abide by the rule that union members may only work on union projects. He warns against dishonest non‑union work after joining, advises gaining experience on non‑union projects first, and suggests relocating or traveling to union‑heavy markets if needed. Throughout, he encourages viewers to comment, subscribe, and share the video.
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I get asked a lot if people should join SAG-AFTRA, the actors union. So I decided to create this video, and there are going to be 3 different sections to it. And this way you're going to be able to learn what SAG-AFTRA is all about, how you can go about joining, how much does it cost, things like that. And the 3rd part at the end is, should you join? So this way you can make a really intelligent an informed decision as to how to go about planning to join the union and if you should. Okay, let's get going. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to my Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actors Career Center, where I help people get started in the industry and also help people take their career to the next level as well. If you haven't done this yet, don't forget Click the subscribe button, and this is really important, the notification bell, so that way every time I upload a new video, you will know about it. And if you like the video, give it a thumbs up. That's always really helpful. So in today's video, I'm going to start off— this is section 1— about what exactly is SAG-AFTRA. So SAG-AFTRA, which just so you know, well, it's the actors union. There are 2 unions for actors. One is Equity, and that is strictly theater, and SAG-AFTRA covers really everything else from TV commercials, film, voiceover work, newscasters, features, training films. It covers a whole lot of different areas. And what the union does is they negotiate basic contract— one of the things they do, they negotiate basic contracts so that when you are working on a TV commercial or in a film or in a training video. There are basic minimums that you need to get. They're not— the minimums are not negotiable. Now look, you can ask, or your agent can ask for anything, but the minimums are negotiated with production. The other thing that they do is they are there to help you. They are there to help the actor. So if you run into a problem, you can contact the union. And they will take care of things. And to give you a perfect example, this was many years ago. There was a show you might not have ever heard of called The West Wing, and I appeared in one episode. And to make a long story short, we went a lot later than we had planned. It was an overnight shoot, and I had a flight the next morning that I absolutely had to catch. And so when I wrapped, I just ran over to one of the PAs who was filling out, you know, the checkout times for people. And I asked, I asked him if he could take care of it for me because I just didn't have time. I had to catch a flight. And he said, sure, no problem. When I got the check, I noticed that I was clocked out about an hour or 2 hours. I can't remember, hour or 2 hours before I really left. And so I got paid less money because we were in overtime. It was, you know, a significant amount of money. So what I did was I contacted the union and I explained the situation, how this is the time I actually was clocked out or actually left, and they clocked me out a couple hours early. Basically, the wind-up was the union got involved, they made sure I got paid the proper amount of money, and Things were settled. You know, if I didn't have a union, I certainly— it wouldn't have made financial sense to hire an attorney to go after, you know, $300, $400. And also, you know, trying to go up against, you know, a major network for a small amount of money just wouldn't have been worthwhile. But because I was a union member— still am— everything worked out really well. They also negotiate other things as well besides You know, just money. Yes, safety conditions, working conditions, things like we have to be fed every 6 hours or there are meal penalties. And once again, I don't want to go into all the details, and there are always some exceptions, uh, to, to the rule. But yeah, meal penalties certainly is one of them. You have to have a working bathroom near the set, you know, things like that. So it, it really— they can be incredibly helpful to actors. Part 2. So how do you go about joining? Oh, you know what? One thing I did forget to mention, uh, the other things that the union does before I get into part 2 is, uh, if you earn enough money, you can actually collect, uh, you have an insurance plan that is offered to you as a union actor. Um, I've been very fortunate. I've earned enough over— and once again, I don't want to go into all the details, but I've earned enough over a 10-year period or for 10 years, so I'm entitled to a pension, which I can tell you in today's time period, it's much harder to get. But yeah, I'm very fortunate that I qualify, and I try to increase that amount every year when I can, but you have to earn a specific amount. For, for the year, and you have to do that for 10 years. Doesn't have to be consecutive. Okay, here is part 2. How do you go about joining? Well, there are a few different ways that you can join. Number 1, you can audition for a role for a union spot, and if you get cast, then you can join the union. Another way is if you are a member of a sister union. So let's say you're a member of Equity, and the way it works right now— and once again, these things can change, and you can always check out the union website just to get more details, and I'm posting the address below so you can see it. If you're a member of a sister union like Equity and you've had at least one job in the year and you have paid, you know, the dues that you're supposed to pay, then you can join SAG-AFTRA. So that's another way that you can join the union if you are a member of a sister union. Another way that you can join the union And this is how a lot of people do it, which, which is a reason why just because somebody says they are a union actor doesn't mean that they are necessarily a talented actor. You know, it's not like you take an acting test to get in. So here's how it works. When a casting director is doing extras casting They have a list, and once again, this is something that the union has negotiated. They have to hire a certain amount of union extras first, and then they can hire a certain amount of non-union extras. So if you want to become a union member, you can talk to the casting director and ask if you can be brought in under the group of union extras. And they know you're not union yet, but if they haven't fulfilled and filled all those slots yet for union extras, they can bring you in even though you're non-union. You will get paid union wages, you get treated like a union member, and if you do that 3 times, then you can join the union. Um, it's, it's expensive. to actually join, and your one-time initiation fee will vary a bit depending on where you live. The bigger the market, the more expensive it is. The average is around $3,000, and they do offer payment plans and things like that. And once again, in some markets it's going to be a little bit higher, some areas it's going to be a little bit lower. But, and then after that, you pay dues Twice a year. And I believe— and once again, you can check it out on the SAG-AFTRA website— it's around $227 twice a year, plus I think it's like 1.5% of whatever you earn. And that's what you will pay twice a year in union dues. So that's how you can join. That's the cost. of joining, and here is part 3. Should you join? So as I mentioned earlier, full disclosure, I am a vested member of SAG-AFTRA, meaning I've earned enough for a pension. And so I'm, you know, connected. I've been a union member for decades, and I really— I like the union. So I just wanted to let you know About that ahead of time. I also, um, I'm always a straight shooter with people, and, and, uh, I want to be very honest with you. Not everybody should be joining the union. Look, as a union member, I know that I should be trying to recruit as many union, you know, potential actors as possible, you know, to bring in as many union people as possible. But it might not be in your best interest right now to join the union. And that's how I feel. I feel much better sleeping at night knowing that I am being honest with, with other people. So here's the situation, you know, should you join? Well, number one, you want to make sure that you've got acting skills. Look, who knows, maybe you've never studied, maybe you're just getting started, maybe you are just innately incredibly talented. And, you know, that does happen for some people. You know, most successful actors— you know, I'm just throwing out a number— probably, you know, 98% of all the successful actors that you see have studied, and they're really good at what they do. So if you feel like you are ready to start auditioning for union projects and you know what you're doing and you've got auditioning skills as well as just basic acting skills, and you know what you're doing in front of a camera, which is very different than being on stage. And if you live in an area where there's union work, then yeah, it might be a good time for you to start looking into joining the union. Um, it gets tricky where If you're not quite ready, you need more experience working on projects, and maybe you can get those experiences working on non-union films. Maybe there are independent films that you can work on. Maybe there are student films that you can work on just so you can practice and watch and see yourself and learn to— and to know Whether you are ready to be auditioning for larger projects. The other thing too is, and I mentioned this a little bit earlier, where do you live? If you are living in a very small market and there are virtually no union projects happening there, then why? Why would you want to join the union? Because let me just make sure you know, Once you join the union, their number one rule is you can only work on union projects. So you don't want to be in a situation where you join the union and then say, well, who's really going to know if I do this small independent film? You just— look, once again, I'm going to be very honest with you. People do it. I don't think it's a good idea. I really don't. I don't think it's a good idea to run your acting business in a dishonest way. It's just not. It's not a good way to do it. Are you going to get caught? Maybe, maybe not. Chances aren't great. If you do get caught, then a lot of things can happen. But don't. That's just my recommendation to you. And I can tell you, I have been offered, uh, roles in projects, and sometimes even from agents who will say, look, it's, it's a small project, nobody's going to know, or it's an in-house training film for a company, nobody's going to see it, don't worry about it. And I just always say, thank you for, you know, thinking of me, I appreciate it, I'm just not going to work on anything that's non-union. So I don't do it, and that's my recommendation. And certainly, look, you're going to do whatever you want to do. So make sure that you are ready. Make sure that you are living in an area where there is union work. And, you know, once again, try to get as much experience as you can doing non-union projects first, and then Once you're ready, and if you are thinking about maybe moving to another market where there is more union work, or maybe, you know, you're working with an agent who is just, you know, submitting you for projects, bigger projects in other markets, and you're willing to travel there, yeah, then it could make sense to join the union. So I just want to make sure you know What the union is about, how you can go about joining, and then if this makes sense for you. In this way, you can make a smart decision because you just don't want to be in a bad place where you join, you do, you break rules, you get either tossed out or fined or suspended. You just don't want to deal with that kind of stuff. So anyhow, I wanted to let you know all about that. Once again, if You are thinking about joining or you've had some experience with all this stuff, please share your comments below. Let other people know whether you did decide to join, whether you were holding off, how you went about joining. Hey, let people know how you got into the union. That would be cool to hear. I'd love to know that. And once again, the whole reason for having this channel is for actors to help each other share information, and that way we can learn from other people's Throughout the world, you know, what has worked for them. Well, if you live out— if you live outside the United States, you're probably not a SAG-AFTRA member. If you're in Canada, then you are an ACTRA member. That's the union in Canada. But anyhow, please leave, leave a comment below so we can learn from you as well. And make sure, if you haven't done this yet, subscribe, click the notification bell. And if you like the video, give it a thumbs up and please share this link with other people so we can continue to build this family of people helping each other. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
