Thinking about LA? -- you must be in the union!

What do you mean, you ask, "I have to be in the union?"

Well, in Los Angeles (and this applies for elsewhere as well), being a member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) or AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is essential. If a producer hires someone who is not a member of these unions on his union shoot, he can be fined an extraordinary sum. Sure, there is non-union work, but it isn't the type of work actors usually aspire to do.

So how do you become a member of the union?

1) Extraordinary Talent. If you have a special talent (ride a unicycle blindfolded) that makes you stand out and the director just has to hire you because he or she can't find anyone else with that talent, the director may go ahead and bite the bullet and hire you even though you are non-union. This is extremely rare. Why would they want to pay a large fine if they don't have to, especially in this economy?

2. Member of Sister Union. If you are a member of a sister union, then you can join. For example, if you are a member of AFTRA, you can join SAG after a year of being active and after doing a certain amount of work with AFTRA.

3. Extra Work. Getting three SAG vouchers can get you into SAG. Simple, right? Not so much. SAG directors are required to have a certain number of SAG people on set. IF someone (a SAG extra worker, for example) is sick, they have to give out that voucher that day to show the union they had a certain number. At that point, it becomes a popularity contest. (After six weeks of extra work, I saw this happen once! And approximately 50 extras surrounded the PA, who stood on a ladder and held it up like meat to a dog asking who wanted it. Of course, it went to someone he was friends with). So it comes down to luck!

These are a few ways to get into the union.

If you are in other places, like South Florida, being in the union doesn't matter as much because Florida is a right-to-work state. So, you will see paid work available for non-union actors.

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