Actor Unions 2024: The Ultimate Guide

By the end of this article, you'll know everything you need to know about the major actor unions, plus specific, actionable steps to get accepted into them so you're protected and start getting paid what you're worth.

No fluff in this guide, just real, actionable advice. Ready to get started?

Actor Unions

​Actors' unions in the United States help actors get paid fair rates, negotiate actor contracts, and access health benefits. Since every set is different and most actors move from gig to gig, unions like Equity and SAG-AFTRA help establish certain workplace standards, which allows actors to more easily build stable careers in such an unpredictable industry.

The two biggest unions, SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and AEA (Actor's Equity Association) oversee most major, legitimate productions that take place in the United States. Joining either union has often been considered a rite of passage for actors because of how hard it is to do so. Once you join, it feels like you've "made it" as an actor.

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​How Do Actors Unions Work?

SAG-AFTRA and AEA are both labor unions that represent the interests of actors working in film, television, theater, radio, and more. These unions negotiate with studio executives to improve pay, benefits, and working conditions for actors, and all productions that employ union actors must agree to those conditions.

This negotiation process is done so that individual actors don't have to worry about it themselves, which allows them to spend more of time focused on their creative work. Here are the most commonly negotiated items:

• ​The minimum amount an actor must be paid each day (called "scale").
• The maximum amount of time an actor can be required to work each day (plus the amount of money they must be paid should they need to work longer than that).
• Industry safety and work conditions.
• Healthcare and retirement packages.
• Legal counsel (should a production breach a contract).
• Lobbying for certain legislation that will help actors, such as changes to tax codes and bans on technology that can repurpose or animate an actor's likeness (called "deepfakes")
• Assistance with finding work and training opportunities.

Because of how competitive acting is, and the fact that most projects are WAY shorter than a standard employment contract in any other industry, actors often get exploited by being asked to work in unsafe working conditions, or for extremely low pay.

Actors' unions are meant to guarantee income and decent working conditions no matter who hires them, and because these major unions have much more strength than any individual actor does, they can better negotiate and set terms.

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​What are the Major Actor Unions in the United States?

There are two primary actor unions in the US: AEA and SAG-AFTRA. AEA represents stage (live) actors, and SAG-AFTRA represents film, television, and radio (recorded) actors.

AEA is headquartered in Times Square, New York and has offices in Orlando, Chicago, and LA, with roughly 51,000 members.

SAG-AFTRA is headquartered in LA with offices in NYC and smaller local offices throughout the country. It has about 160,000 members (SAG merged with AFTRA in 2012).

To increase their bargaining power, AEA and SAG-AFTRA often parter with one another, or with other prominent entertainment industry labor unions, including Associated Actors and Artistes of America, The Dramatists Guild of America, The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, The Director's Guild of America, and The Writers Guild of America.

How to Join SAG-AFTRA

There are three primary ways to become eligible to join SAG-AFTRA:

1. If you're cast and hired as a speaking role in a SAG-AFTRA signed production.
2. If you've been a member of an affiliated performers' union for at least one year.
3. If you've worked as a background actor on a SAG production for at least three days and received vouchers each day.

Once you've completed one of the above requirements, you'll be eligible to join SAG-AFTRA and can submit the necessary paperwork, along with the initiation fee, and you'll receive your SAG card in the mail.

Once you've joined SAG-AFTRA, you are no longer allowed to work in non-union productions. If you do, you risk having your membership terminated.

To dive deep on joining SAG-AFTRA, along with step by step action steps, check out this guide: How to Get Your SAG Card, Step by Step

How to Join AEA

There are three primary ways to become eligible to join AEA:

1. If you're cast and hired on an Equity contract.
2. If you've been a member of an affiliated performers' union for at least one year.
3. If you've completed the Equity Membership Candidacy Program (25 weeks working at an Equity theatre which offers the candidacy program).

​Once you've joined AEA, you are no longer allowed to work in non-union productions. If you do, you risk having your membership terminated.

The Equity Membership Candidate Program was created for actors who want to credit the theatrical work they do (in certain Equity theaters) towards eventual membership in the union. It's a great way to begin working towards membership while still doing plenty of non-union work. You don't even have to do all your EMC weeks consecutively if you don't want to.

​What is "Union Status?"

Union status simply refers to what your status is as a union member – are you eligible to join? Are you non-union? Are you a member?

Including your union status on your acting resume tells casting directors whether you're a union member or not so they know if you'd be able to get hired on their project (for instance, if it's a non-union project, they won't be able to hire you if you're part of a union).

Here are some common union statuses:

• "SAG-AFTRA" or "AEA/Equity": List this on your resume to inform casting directors that you're an active member of the union.
• "SAG-AFTRA Eligible": If you've already landed a SAG-AFTRA role or have worked for 3 days as a background actor on a SAG-AFTRA production, you are eligible to join the union, and should list this term on your resume.
• "SAG-AFTRA OK-30": This is another way of saying SAG-AFTRA Eligible, but I generally don't recommend using it. It refers to the fact that you're allowed to work in as many union productions as you want for the next 30 days without being forced to join.
• "SAG-AFTRA Must Join": This is another way of saying SAG-AFTRA Eligible, but I generally don't recommend using it. It refers to the fact that the 30 days have now expired, and you MUST join SAG-AFTRA (and pay the hefty initiation fee) before you can be hired on another SAG-AFTRA production.
• "EMC": This refers to Equity Membership Candidate, and tells casting directors you're actively participating in the EMC program and likely to become a union member within the next 25 weeks. 
• "Fi-Core": Due to a labor law loophole, members who resign their union membership but continue to pay their dues are technically still allowed to work on union jobs. Financial Core actors can work both union and non-union jobs. That said, doing so is risky because many casting directors for big budget productions dislike Fi-Core actors since they undermine the unions, and therefore typically avoid hiring them on purpose.​

​Common Q&A About Unions

• Should I join SAG-AFTRA or AEA? Join SAG-AFTRA if you want to focus on screen acting, and join AEA if you want to focus on theater. Joining an actor's union is a good move, especially when you have at least 3-5 credits on your resume. If you don't have enough credits or experience however, it can be difficult to find acting work once you join the union since you'll be competing against more seasoned actors. But once you're ready, a union can protect you, ensure you're paid higher rates, and increase your chances of getting booked on major productions (since they usually ONLY book union actors). Learn more about when to join here.
• How much does it cost to join an actor's union? Unions charge a one-time initiation fee, yearly dues, and a percentage of your earnings. To see current initiation fees and dues, click the relevant link: SAG-AFTRA Dues & Fees or AEA Dues & Fees.
• What other things should I be aware of beyond the standard union benefits? Both major unions SAG-AFTRA and AEA offer other benefits beyond those which have been described in this article so far. These additional benefits include exclusive workshops and discounts, the right to vote in union elections (to ensure your voice is heard and they take your wants/needs into consideration in the future), and even certain casting platforms (such as SAG-AFTRA's iActor).

In Summary

At the end of the day, actors' unions like SAG-AFTRA and AEA help ensure the acting industry continues to progress forward. Joining should not be taken lightly, but neither should staying non-union.

I recommend that once you have a few non-union credits under your belt and you've saved up enough cash for the initiation fee, you bite the bullet and join. Hold yourself to a higher standard and believe in yourself – you WILL be able to compete against the high-level union actors, and you WILL be able to continue growing in your career.

The protections and benefits unions offer are totally worth it and you should absolutely not fear joining.

To learn more about how to decide if you're ready to join (and to learn exactly how to do so), read this article: How to Get a SAG Card, Step by Step.

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​Martin Bentsen (author of this guide) is an actor marketing coach who uses “outside the industry” thinking to help actors book more work. He’s helped over 6,000 actors with their careers and actor headshots since 2009 and his photography studio City Headshots is ranked #1 on Yelp. He’s spoken at NYU, The New England Theater Conference, The Actor’s Green Room, and other venues.
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Some Additional Q&A

​What Does Union Mean in Acting?

The term "union" means the same thing in acting as it does anywhere else. A union is a group of workers who organize and unite to make decisions about their workplace and conditions that affect their jobs. In acting, this means tens of thousands of actors have joined together to ensure they are treated fairly and earn decent wages when working on set.

​How Do You Get on a Union for Acting?

To get into a union for acting, you must first become eligible to join by following the steps outlined on this page. Once you are eligible, you can pay the initiation fee and submit an application to join the union.

​Are Famous Actors Part of a Union?

Yes, all famous actors are members of SAG-AFTRA and/or AEA. If you'd like to see a SAG actors list, just use this search feature on the SAG-AFTRA website. Alternatively, here's a liftoff famous union actors and how they got their SAG cards.

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​​Further Reading:

​If you enjoyed this article (Actor Unions: The Ultimate Guide), you might be interested in some of these:​
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• A Guide to the Different Types of Acting Techniques
• How to Learn Acting Skills at Home
• The 5 Best Apps for Memorizing Lines Fast
• How to Become a Union Actor