Agreements 101 – Corporate/Educational

In our last installment, we discussed the Pacific Northwest Regional Commercials Agreement, and how local performers can make use of it to generate more work for regional commercials spots. Now, let’s move on to the Corporate/Educational Agreement and some of the ways this can be used to “flip” work to a union contract.

In addition to the National Co/Ed Agreement, the Portland Local recently received permission to offer a local waiver to the agreement. Under the waiver, first-time signatories can receive some additional benefits by using a One Production Only contract to engage members.

Under the waiver, signatories are allowed to hire a “mixed” cast of professional and non-professional performers. The producer would only be required to give a SAG-AFTRA contract to professionals. The producer would be free to engage non-professionals on a non-union basis.

Additionally, the waiver provides for a more simplified and streamlined signing process and local oversight of the production, which can save time when producers are under tight scheduling and deadlines, while at the same time giving them the ability to maintain high standards of production quality.

Member-to-producer outreach has proven to be the most effective way to get the waiver in front of prospective employers. Often, members already have some networking relationship with them, either as an employee of the company (your day job may offer you opportunities in this area neither you nor your boss have previously considered), or because the producer is looking to hire a particular individual with whom they may have worked in the past. The key element in all this is that you may already know someone who could be in a position to hire you for this work.

As with the Regional Commercials Agreement, signing onto the Co/Ed Waiver is a very simple process: Fill out a short application form, provide a copy of the shooting script and sign a Letter Of Adherence on a One Production Only basis. Employers can use the waiver multiple times during the contract period — although it is our hope that, once they see how advantageous it is to use union members on their productions, they will eventually consider signing onto the full-term agreement.

So, if you know someone — your boss, a professional colleague or a content creator — who you think might be a good candidate for the Corporate/Educational Waiver, please send them our way. Staff is ALWAYS open to a conversation about the tremendous benefits they can gain by hiring professional union talent!