…that is the question
A recent British Actors’ Equity in LA soirée in the Hollywood hills – on a
perfectly British day – begged the question (or questions) on whether in this
climate it is good to be a member of a union.
So let me first break it down….
In Britain for actors we have British Equity that covers both TV, film, commercial and theatre. In the US we have American Equity for theatre and SAG-AFTRA for TV, film and commercials. There are tons of pros and cons as to why to join a union so I’ll go in to the history of the union system in general and why it was put in place.
Unions began forming in the mid-19th century in response to the social and economic impact of the Industrial Revolution. National labor unions in this country began to form in the post-Civil War era. The Knights of Labor emerged as a major force in the late 1880s, but collapsed because of poor organization, lack of effective leadership, disagreement over goals, and strong opposition from employers and government forces.
Today most labor unions in the United States are members of one of two larger umbrella organizations: the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) or the Change to Win Federation, which split from the AFL-CIO in 2005-2006. Both organizations advocate policies and legislation favorable to workers in the United States and Canada, and take an active role in politics favoring the Democratic party but not exclusively so. The AFL-CIO is especially concerned with global trade and economic issues.
In general Union members earn better wages and benefits than workers who aren’t union members. On average, union workers’ wages are 28 percent higher than their nonunion counterparts. Labor unions also give workers the power to negotiate for more favorable working conditions and other benefits through collective bargaining.
Now on the flip side (for actors in particular) there seem to be fewer opportunities for actors in Los Angeles, due to runaway production costs and the consequent upswing of non-union work. Not only is it getting increasingly harder for actors to join the union it’s even harder to make the minimums to qualify for health insurance.
To join SAG, a performer must pay an initiation fee plus the first semi-annual basic dues. The national initiation fee rate is currently $3,000 (initiation fees may be lower in some areas). Annual base dues are $201.96. In addition, work dues are calculated at 1.575 percent of covered earnings up to $500,000.
Yes, there’s a cap, for those at the top 1% tier who you see all the time in films, commercials and TV shows.
Anyone who is paying attention will know that there is far more content out there than ever before, especially on TV, especially that funded by deep-pocketed streaming giants including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and imminent Disney Plus channel.
But that doesn’t mean they are union jobs. Plenty of shows are made in the UK, sometimes under British Actors’ Equity and sometimes strictly non-union. Plenty of British actors of my acquaintance are willing to take these lesser-paid and lesser-protected jobs, because if they don’t, there’s a thousand others waiting outside who will do the job. Factor in the countless non-union productions across Eastern Europe
and you quickly realize it’s getting increasingly harder for actors to make a living.
I have had my share of those in-between jobs, but I feel more saddened for those artists in impoverished areas that don’t get the chances we enjoy solely by our privilege of living in Los Angeles. The reality is that the entertainment industry is subject to the same market forces as any other business: competition, changing market realities and ruthless cost-cutting for the front line workers while those in the executive suites (or the stars’ trailers, in my industry) are making money hand over fist.
At Equity event we learned how much are unions are doing to fight against runaway productions and the measures they are taking to encourage more production company to become SAG signatories. They are working on getting more protections for actors. So all in all if they could make it more affordable for actors be union members I think we would have a much stronger union, rather than making it increasingly harder.
What do you think? Are you pro union? With a global flow of labor are unions an outdated concept in the modern world or a vital tool to keep working men from falling below the poverty line? Let me know at craig@britsin.la
Till next time!
Craig Young
