SAG-AFTRA Executive Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2021 Budget

LOS ANGELES — The SAG-AFTRA Executive Committee today overwhelmingly approved a fiscal year 2021 (May 1, 2020 - April 30, 2021) budget that responsibly corresponds to current and anticipated production shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget of $96 million includes $5 million from reserves.

The budget approval comes amidst financial projections of the industry’s sustained decline in production activity and the subsequent impact on budget. The SAG-AFTRA finance committee unanimously recommended the budget based on revenue preservation moves, including reductions in personnel costs and operating expenses.

The union will optimize workflow and technology savings by removing redundant positions and those functions that will no longer be an organizational priority. The budget also anticipates cost savings through employee furloughs and work-hour reductions. 

Employees whose workloads have been eliminated by the production shutdown will be furloughed until the industry returns to work. Other employees will be placed on a reduced-hours schedule to correspond to their decreased workload during this time. These measures will be implemented in a manner that takes advantage of available federal and state programs to help replace lost income for affected personnel.

SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said, "Our duty to our members and our obligation as stewards of the organization is clear. With this budget, thoughtful, responsible, and strategic decisions have been made that align operating expenses with our projected revenues in a time of extraordinary industry disruption. Now, as always, our top priority is the protection of our members."

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David P. White said, "In the face of an unprecedented global pandemic that has brought the economy and our industry to a virtual standstill, we must take the steps necessary to protect our membership and the financial strength of the union. This budget strategically responds to the severe challenges in the current business climate while ensuring we can emerge with strength to protect members when they return to work in the future.”

The union will continue to monitor this unprecedented situation closely and take appropriate measures as needed to protect SAG-AFTRA’s membership and operational priorities.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.