Union Status question

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 3/14/12 at 3:11pm

So I am a member of AFTRA, and I have been called in for a Non-Union gig. Since I am not yet a member of SAG could I take this work, because it could fall under their jurisdiction. Any advice would be helpful.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/14/12 at 3:47pm

Can't really say. They are still voting as far as I know. No radification has been passed as of yet.

[singtopher]

Posted: 3/15/12 at 12:00am

Not an expert, but the way I see it is the merger has yet to be approved, and even so, there would be a grace period.

Speaking of which, if I have worked two AFTRA contracts, and have yet to join the union (mainly because I don't have the $$$). I don't go for a lot of TV work, but I do get called in for commercials from time to time. Worth it for me to just join and cough up the dough just so I don't have to pay the obscene invitation fee it will be eventually?

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/15/12 at 10:24am

I'm not sure, I think you will have to be grandfathered into SAG by being a member of AFTRA for at least a year.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 3/15/12 at 1:08pm

I doubt they could ex post facto retract or invalidate your entering into a non-union contract because you later become a member of the union in question. But you might want to contact your delegate or the AFTRA office on this if you want a (hopefully correct) authoritative answer to the question. Having done so might indemnify you if it later becomes an issue. The risk is that your you might get incorrect advice or not the advice you want.

[~FloweryFriend~]

Posted: 3/28/12 at 4:10pm

I spoke to an AFTRA representative on a set about this recently.

Apparently, if you are in any one of the acting unions, you're in the 4As, which is their parent union. (Associated Actors and Artistes of America.) Therefore, you're not supposed to take non-union work that falls under any of the unions' jurisdictions. That means if you're in AFTRA, you're not supposed to take non-SAG work OR non-Equity work.

I have a major problem with that... I don't understand why joining one union should give you the limitations of three unions. ESPECIALLY since two of those unions are closed unions. If I can't get into SAG or Equity, then why should I be prevented from working non-SAG or non-Equity? They shouldn't be able to have it both ways.

This is exactly why we need the unions to merge.

Anyway. From what I've learned, it seems doing non-union work under a different union jurisdiction is frowned upon, but there isn't much that they can do to stop it. So whether you do it or not is really just a question of your own union loyalty and personal morality.