Once you're in SAG, you will always get SAG contracts when you work on SAG films, even the ones for which there is no pay (and if you don't, you should contact SAG so that they can be sure the producer is doing everything by the books, as a signatory).

-Taft-Hartley-ed

- You simply must go to the SAG membership office and pay your initiation fee and first dues prior to the clearance date for shooting the SAG project on which you've been hired.

- In a perfect world, you'd get a notification from SAG and everything would be very orderly. But, I've heard of actors having to take their proof down to SAG in order to join, so I'd be sure to keep a copy of all contracts, pay stubs, and (if it's extra work) vouchers, so that there's no mistake.

SAG e

SAG-Eligible on your resumé tells people that you are available to do SAG work without costing them much hassle or potential fees and you are available to do non-union work without violating SAG's Rule One.

Attention:

do NOT put SAG-Eligible on your resumé unless you have at least a grand put away in savings to put toward your initiation fees. I've seen an actor who was SAG-Eligible lose a part in a film due to the fact that, when it came down to it, she couldn't afford to visit the SAG membership department and "become official" prior to the clearance day for the SAG shoot for which she'd been hired. Since she was not considered "cleared" by SAG, she was off the project and the producers went to the next actor on the list. Ouch!

Taft-Hartley-ed

member of AFTRA for 1yr

3 extra SAG vouchers

continue to work non-union

-the casting director or producer writes a letter to SAG explaining why they have hired you for the SAG job, rather than hiring a current SAG member, and justifying your inclusion in the union with documentation that you are, in fact, pursuing a professional acting career and/or that you meet some specific criteria that they were not able to find in the current group of SAG members they auditioned

- arrange that you’re going to pay the Taft-Hartley fine in order to be hired on a SAG film

- have had a speaking role in AFTRA jurisdiction

- there are more (albeit usually lower-paying) options available to you, while you're still building your resumé and your demo reel (this is the time when most people become SAG-Eligible: when they have built a few good credits and are getting their first major demo reel together, approaching strong agents and/or managers for representation, and are about to leave the non-pro acting world behind in favor of risking less-frequent, but much higher-paying work in the industry).

Non-Union

options:

1. get SAG card
2. work non-union

-extra work

-Taft Hartley

-sister union work

-a biggie: book a union commercial

NO SAG membership with:

 SAG Student Film

SAG Short Film

SAG Ultra Low Budget Agreement

(Prior to 7/1/05 include

SAG Limited Exhibition and SAG Experimental Agreement)

- buy your SAG vouchers (extra) in order to be SAG e

- regarding extra work specifically, just know that SAG does not regulate you until you are working under the SAG Basic Codified Agreement (full-scale). A producer of a project under any of the SAG low budget contracts is under no obligation to pay extras (let alone present them with SAG vouchers), meaning you are no closer to joining SAG by doing extra work on a project below the SAG Basic Codified Agreement.

- audition for SAG contracts above the level of the SAG Experimental Agreement that allow for producers to Taft-Hartley non-union actors into SAG, either by paying a fine or submitting a letter to SAG that explains well the reason the production had to bring a non-union performer into the union, rather than using one of the many current SAG members instead.