Message from Local President Rik Deskin

Hello Sisters and Brothers,

This past week, I had the privilege of working on a commercial as an extra. Since I normally book work as a principal performer, I needed to review the new Commercial Performer’s Agreement that we all have access to at the SAG-AFTRA website in the Production Center.

I did some review, and then arrived on set, receiving my contract and support documents to sign, and when I got down to the wardrobe section, I marked “3” since I had been asked to bring three items of wardrobe by the production supervisor, and I remembered having marked “3” the last time I worked as an extra under this agreement. 

As I was filling it out, the first AD noticed that I had marked “3” and then said I had to white it out. I told him I thought that since we brought three items with us, that we were then compensated for three items per the contract. At that time, I second-guessed myself and wanted to confirm my info, and a fellow actor from L.A. said that she was fairly sure that we all needed to mark “3,” so we were both looking up the info on our smartphones, and about a minute later the first AD came back and said that we were correct. 

I still wanted to be sure that we were all correct and then found the info, verifying what I thought I knew in the FAQ section of the commercials page. I was correct! There is a very helpful 55-second video featuring one of my fellow SAG-AFTRA colleagues that says that we do get paid a wardrobe allowance for every full set of wardrobe we are asked to bring in, which is typically three.

At the end of the day, I had another item to follow up on. One of my Portland colleagues was also on the shoot, engaged as a principal for two non-consecutive days plus a third-day fitting. They thought that they were hired in Seattle as a “local hire.” That was a red flag for me, as the issue of “local hires” has been a topic of conversation of late. I called staff and then emailed back and forth until everyone had the proper info, which was as I thought: She would be due travel pay on top of her scale (minimum per contract) rate. They were technically not a “local hire.”

Being a vigilant member, knowing our contracts and where to look is a benefit to all of us performers, regardless of your classification or which SAG-AFTRA agreement you are employed under. 

When you have time, explore the SAG-AFTRA website. You never know who you might be able to help with that knowledge.

In solidarity,

Rik Deskin
President, SAG-AFTRA Seattle Local

This item was originally featured in the August 2016 local newsletter.