Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists | |
 | |
| Founded | March 30, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-03-30) |
|---|---|
| Merger of | |
| Type | Trade union |
| 45-4931719[1] | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(5) organization |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles,California, US[2] |
| Location |
|
| Members | |
President | Sean Astin |
Executive director | Duncan Crabtree-Ireland |
| Affiliations | |
| Staff | 664[1] (2018) |
| Website | sagaftra |
TheScreen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists[1] (SAG-AFTRA,/sæɡˈæftrə/) is an Americanlabor union formed in 2012 by the merger of theScreen Actors Guild and theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists. It represents approximately 170,000 media professionals worldwide. SAG-AFTRA is a member of theAFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.[5] SAG-AFTRA is also a member of theInternational Federation of Actors.[6]
The organization was formed on March 30, 2012, following the merger of theScreen Actors Guild and theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists.[7] In January 2013,Variety reported that the merger had proceeded with "few bumps", amid shows of good will on both sides. The stickiest remaining problem was reported to be the merger of the twopension funds, in part as a way of dealing with the issue of performers who paid into each plan but did not quite earn enough under either of the old plans to qualify for a pension.[8]
SAG-AFTRA is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, and in New York City, in addition to other local offices nationwide.[2]
The Screen Actors Guild Awards is an awards ceremony founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie and prime time television. It has been one of the major awards events in theHollywood film industry since then, along with theGolden Globe Awards and theOscars. The awards focus both on individual performances and on the work of the entire ensemble of a drama series and comedy series, and the cast of a motion picture.
The 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA was followed by the joining of each former union's health care and pension plans. The Plans are administered by trustees representing the industry, as well as performers.[7] In 2024, a proposedclass action lawsuit was filed in theUnited States District Court for the Central District of California against the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan for negligence, subsequent to acyberattack resulting in adata breach. The suit resulted in a settlement by the union and its members in August 2025.[9]
SAG-AFTRA has a diverse membership consisting of actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, disc jockeys, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voice-over artists, and other media professionals.
Membership in SAG-AFTRA is considered a rite of passage for new performers and media professionals. It is often procured after getting hired for their first job in a studio that has a collective bargaining agreement with the union.[10] SAG-AFTRA work is considered to be substantially more prestigious than non-union jobs. Due to the size and influence of the union, most major media firms have a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA through theAssociation of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Studios that have signed a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-AFTRA are notclosed shops but are generally required to give preference to union members when hiring.
Nearly all professional actors working for medium or large-scale American media firms are union members. According to SAG-AFTRA's Department of Labor records since its founding, around a third of the union's total membership has consistently been considered "withdrawn", "suspended", or otherwise not categorized as "active" members. These members are ineligible to vote in the union.[11] In April 2014, "Honorable withdrawals" constituted the largest portion of these, at 20% of the total membership, or 46,934 members; "suspended payment" members were the second-largest, at 14%, or 33,422 members,[4] with the merged union using a classification scheme carried over from the Screen Actors Guild,[12] rather than the one previously used by AFTRA.[13]
The union is perceived as having two factions. The larger faction ("United for Strength") says it is focused on creating job opportunities for members. A second faction ("Membership First") has criticized the current administration for being too quick and soft when it comes to negotiations with studios.[14]
Global Rule One states: "No member shall render any services or make an agreement to perform services for any employer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the union, which is in full force and effect, in any jurisdiction in which there is a SAG-AFTRA national collective bargaining agreement in place. This provision applies worldwide."[15]
Simply put, a SAG-AFTRA member must always work under a union contract around the globe.[16]
"Do not work" orders are formally issued to denote productions that have not entered into the required agreements.[17]
After approximately a year and a half of negotiations, SAG-AFTRA issued a strike on October 21, 2016, against eleven American video game developers and publishers, includingActivision,Electronic Arts,Insomniac Games,Take 2 Interactive, andWB Games. The strike resulted from attempted negotiations since February 2015 to replace the previous contract, the Interactive Media Agreement, that expired in late 2014.[18] There were four major issues they fought for with this strike: establishing transparency in contract negotiation; preventing vocal stress from long recording sessions; providing safety assurances for stunt coordinators on performance capture sets; and giving payments ofresiduals based on sales of a video game,[19] which have traditionally not been used in the video game industry. SAG-AFTRA members sought to bring equity for video game actors as in other industries, while the video game companies feared that giving residuals to actors would overshadow the contributions of programmers and artists that contribute to the games. It was the first such organized strike within the video game industry and the first voice actors' strike in 17 years, as well as the first strike within the merged SAG-AFTRA organization. As of April 23, 2017, it became the longest strike within SAG, surpassing the 95-day1980 Emmy Awards strike, and the2000 commercials strike.[20]
An agreement was reached on September 23, 2017, ending the 340-day strike.[21]
On September 20, 2018, SAG-AFTRA called a strike against global advertising agencyBartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) after the company announced they would no longer honor a long-standing contract with SAG-AFTRA. SAG-AFTRA launched a successful strike action that drew thousands of members to picket lines and strike actions across the country.[22] At the close of the strike, BBH agreed to return to SAG-AFTRA's contract.[23]
In 2018, BBH had withdrawn from their contract with SAG-AFTRA, which was first agreed on in 1999, over contractual terms that stated BBH would not be allowed to hire non-union actors. BBH stated it put them at a competitive disadvantage as many of their peer agencies were not signatories.[24][25][26]
SAG-AFTRA members' successful strike actions, including pickets and rallies throughout the US, proved a success for SAG-AFTRA. Several actions of note included a rally of 1,000 SAG-AFTRA members and supporters near SAG-AFTRA Headquarters at theLa Brea Tar Pits, and a picket line at BBH Headquarters in Los Angeles that drew an estimated 1,000 members standing in solidarity on the picket line.[27]
On July 20, 2019, SAG ended its 10-month strike against BBH after the advertising agency agreed to sign the union's new commercials contract.[28]
On February 7, 2021, SAG-AFTRA announced that PresidentDonald Trump, who resigned from the union three days earlier, was barred from rejoining for his perceived attacks on SAG-AFTRA journalists and support of theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack as president of the United States.[29]
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In June 2023, the guild voted to authorize a strike if its negotiating committee failed to reach an agreement on a new contract with major Hollywood studios by June 30. On June 27, over 300 actors signed a letter threatening to go on strike. Signatories includeJennifer Lawrence,Meryl Streep,Rami Malek andAmy Schumer.[30] The next day, signatories had reached 1,000 members.[31] Key issues in the negotiations include issuingresiduals based on viewership data and finding a uniform metric on which to judge all streaming platform data. Further issues include limiting the use of self-tape auditions and preventing the use ofartificial intelligence and computer generated voices and faces within the entertainment industry.[32][33][34] On July 10, 2023, SAG-AFTRA laid out potential strike rules including: no shoots, no press, and no social media promos for any actors or actresses under the guild.[35] A representative of theAlliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers spoke about the compensation offered to actors to avoid a strike. The alliance, which negotiated with the union on behalf ofNetflix,Disney, andWarner Bros. stated that SAG-AFTRA deliberately distorts the course of negotiations. The deal, which SAG-AFTRA refused on July 12, included more than $1 billion for an increase in salaries, pensions and health insurance, was designed for a three-year period and included the protection of actors from the use of their images byartificial intelligence.[36]
On July 13, SAG-AFTRA announced that its television, theatrical, and streaming contract with the alliance had expired without an agreement to replace it. They announced that the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee had voted unanimously to strike. SAG-AFTRA also announced that their National Board would meet later that morning to decide on whether or not SAG-AFTRA would go on strike. SAG-AFTRA said they would make their decision known to the public at 12 p.m. PST in a press conference at SAG-AFTRA plaza in Los Angeles.[37] During the press conference, SAG-AFTRA presidentFran Drescher and national executive director and chief negotiatorDuncan Crabtree-Ireland confirmed that members had voted to strike and that the strike would begin July 14.[38][39] This marked the first strike that involved actors in the film and television industrysince 1980,[39] and also the first time since 1960 that both SAG-AFTRA and theWGA would strike at the same time.[39][40] The strike would last for almost four months, eventually coming to an end on November 9, 2023.[41] The deal received 78.33% approval among voting SAG-AFTRA members when the voting concluded on December 5.[42][43][44]
Starting 12:01 am PDT (UTC-7) on July 26, 2024, SAG-AFTRA began a labor strike against video game developers signed to the Interactive Media Agreement.[45] Roughly 2,600 people who were employed in the video game industry for voice acting, motion capture, and other work would participate in the strike.[46] On June 11, 2025, 12:30 pm (UTC-7) SAG-AFTRA suspended the strike. SAG-AFTRA members were given notice to return to work on productions that fall under the IMA.[47] On July 9, 2025, the tentative agreement was ratified with 95.04% of the votes in favor, officially ending the strike.[48]
On February 9, 2016,NBCUniversal,Telemundo's parent company, faced claims by SAG-AFTRA of operating under a double standard between its Spanish-language and English-language talent at NBC and Telemundo. In its response, the network released a statement claiming it is "committed to making Telemundo a great place to work for our employees and will continue to invest in them to ensure their salaries and working conditions are competitive with the rest of the broadcasting industry in accordance with market size and station revenues."
A few days later on February 13, 2016, SAG-AFTRA came back and added that Telemundo had been treating its employees like "second-class professionals" given that many actors do not receive basic workplace guarantees that SAG-AFTRA contracts provide, such as fair pay, water breaks, health insurance and residuals. At that time, Telemundo presidentLuis Silberwasser responded by saying that SAG-AFTRA asked for recognition of the union as the bargaining agent for employees — rather than seeking a vote by employees. However, SAG-AFTRA claimed that intimidation tactics had been taking place within the network to keep employees from unionizing and that they believe "there is no such thing as a 'fair vote' when workers are afraid for their careers and livelihoods, and live with the fear of retaliation if they are seen as actively wanting to unionize. SAG-AFTRA wants to ensure full protection forworkplace democracy and performers' rights to choose through a truly fair process."[49]
In August 2016, Telemundo once again found itself up against the union when the network refused to air an ad placed by SAG-AFTRA detailing the unfair wage gap and lack of benefits Telemundo employees face as opposed to unionized performers at NBCUniversal. The ad was set to air during the network's premiere people's choice awardsPremios Tu Mundo but was never placed into rotation. A Telemundo spokesperson responded saying, "After legal review, we have concluded the ad did not pass legal standards for issue-based advertisement." Meanwhile, other Spanish-language networks such asMegaTV andEstrella TV aired the ad nationwide.[50]
SAG-AFTRA continued to stand its ground, stating that "Telemundo's decision to censor 30 seconds of truthful commentary about its working conditions shows just how averse it is to having a transparent discussion about its refusal to fairly compensate Spanish-speaking performers."[50]
In March 2016, theNational Labor Relations Board administered a secret vote amongst 124 Telemundo performers, based on the amount of time actors had worked on telenovelas and other shows. SAG-AFTRA announced that 81% of eligible voters chose to unionize in a balloting process that began Feb 7 and lasted four weeks.[51]
On July 12, 2018, SAG-AFTRA announced it had reached a first-ever tentative agreement with Telemundo Television Studios covering Spanish-language television performers, after fifteen months of negotiations.[52] The agreement was later renewed, in 2021, with a fewfurther adjustments.[53]
In May 2023, in a partnership with the Motion Picture Association of America as well as other entertainment industry unions, SAG-AFTRA launched the Green Council Initiative that would aim to encourage and promote environmentally responsible entertainment. According toDeadline, founding members would includeFran Drescher,Cate Blanchett,Robert Redford,Meryl Streep,Jeff Bridges,Diane Keaton,Kevin Bacon,Kyra Sedgwick,Salma Hayek,Gloria Estefan,Peter Sarsgaard,Rosario Dawson,Billy Porter,Aida Rodriguez,Jason Momoa,Rachel Bloom,Chris Colfer,David Dastmalchian, andEllen Crawford."[54]
As SAG, there were 28 presidents from 1933 to 2012 (withRalph Morgan,Robert Montgomery, andRonald Reagan holding non-consecutive, separate terms in office),[55] and as AFTRA there were 22 presidents from 1937 to 2012.[56]
In 2012,Ken Howard (who had been the President of SAG since 2009) became the first president of SAG-AFTRA, the merger between theScreen Actors Guild and theAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists.[57][58] In addition, he worked as co-president with former AFTRA President Roberta Reardon from 2012 to 2013.[57] Upon his death in 2016, he was succeeded byGabrielle Carteris who served as President until 2021.[59] She was followed byFran Drescher (of the Unite for Strength faction), who first became President in September 2021,[60] and was re-elected in September 2023.[61] Duncan Crabtree-Ireland has also been the National Executive Director since 2021.[62]
On August 8, 2025, it was revealed that Drescher would not seek re-election to another term as SAG-AFTRA president, withSean Astin, a member of Drescher's 2023 political slate and negotiating committee, andChuck Slavin, a SAG-AFTRA New England Local board member, each vying to replace her. Voting on the new president began on August 13, 2025 and concluded on September 12, 2025.[63][64] Astin was elected president, andMichelle Hurd was elected secretary-treasurer.[65][66][67]
| President | Term |
|---|---|
| Ralph Morgan | 1933 |
| Eddie Cantor | 1933–1935 |
| Robert Montgomery | 1935–1938 |
| Ralph Morgan | 1938–1940 |
| Edward Arnold | 1940–1942 |
| James Cagney | 1942–1944 |
| George Murphy | 1944–1946 |
| Robert Montgomery | 1946–1947 |
| Ronald Reagan | 1947–1952 |
| Walter Pidgeon | 1952–1957 |
| Leon Ames | 1957–1958 |
| Howard Keel | 1958–1959 |
| Ronald Reagan | 1959–1960 |
| George Chandler | 1960–1963 |
| Dana Andrews | 1963–1965 |
| Charlton Heston | 1965–1971 |
| John Gavin | 1971–1973 |
| Dennis Weaver | 1973–1975 |
| Kathleen Nolan | 1975–1979 |
| William Schallert | 1979–1981 |
| Eddie Asner | 1981–1985 |
| Patty Duke | 1985–1988 |
| Barry Gordon | 1988–1995 |
| Richard Masur | 1995–1999 |
| William Daniels | 1999–2001 |
| Melissa Gilbert | 2001–2005 |
| Alan Rosenberg | 2005–2009 |
| Ken Howard | 2009–2012 |
| President | Term |
|---|---|
| Eddie Cantor | 1937–1940 |
| Lawrence Tibbett | 1940–1946 |
| Ken Carpenter | 1946–1948 |
| Bud Collyer | 1948–1950 |
| Knox Manning | 1950–1952 |
| Alan Bunce | 1952–1954 |
| Frank Nelson | 1954–1957 |
| Bud Collyer | 1957–1959 |
| Virginia Payne | 1959–1961 |
| Art Gilmore | 1961–1963 |
| Vicki Vola | 1963–1965 |
| Tyler McVey | 1965–1967 |
| Mel Brandt | 1967–1970 |
| Bill Baldwin | 1970–1973 |
| Ken Harvey | 1973–1976 |
| Joe Slattery | 1976–1979 |
| Bill Hillman | 1979–1984 |
| Frank Maxwell | 1984–1989 |
| Reed Farrell | 1989–1993 |
| Shelby Scott | 1993–2001 |
| John Connolly | 2001–2007 |
| Roberta Reardon | 2007–2012 |
| President | Term |
|---|---|
| Ken Howard | (Co-president 2012–2013 President 2013–2016) |
| Roberta Reardon | (Co-president 2012–2013) |
| Gabrielle Carteris | 2016–2021 |
| Fran Drescher | 2021–2025 |
| Sean Astin | 2025–present |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Strikes and impact | |
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| Parties and lead figures | |
| Related | |
