Surge In Number Of Actors Paying Dues Online

SCREEN ACTORS GUILD REPORTS SURGE IN NUMBER OF ACTORS PAYING DUES ONLINE

Los Angeles (November 17, 2004) –- A sharp increase in dues paid online during the current billing cycle indicates more members are utilizing the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) website (www.sag.org) than ever before. The first seven days of the present dues period saw a 450 percent jump in the number of members paying dues online compared with the same time frame last year, and over $1 million in dues has been paid in just the past six weeks.

“Moving the membership online is a top priority for Screen Actors Guild,” says SAG National Executive Director/CEO Bob Pisano. “This surge in dues paid online is a major indicator that we’re reaching that goal. Our members are increasingly more comfortable with online technology and our website has allowed us to make significant strides into the 21st century. As a result, we’re operating the Guild in the most cost-effective way possible and providing added convenience for many of our members.”

Furthermore, SAG’s interactive website now claims over 49,000 registered users, of whom 35,250 are SAG members. Compare that with November 2003 when the website had only 18,368 registered users, of whom 14,878 were SAG members. Since October 4, more than 6,000 performers have registered on the site to gain access to members-only benefits. SAG gets 6,500 unique visits a day – and that number is constantly growing.

The SAG website allows members to pay their bi-annual dues with credit cards in a secure setting. Along with paying dues, the site not only serves as an essential career tool for Guild members, but as a resource for the entertainment industry. It features in-depth coverage on contracts and legislative action, allows members to track their theatrical and television residuals, provides distributors with a signatory database, offers casting directors an actor locator, answers frequently asked questions, provides online production lists, and informs members of union benefits and discounts. There’s also a recently re-designed section on the Guild’s illustrious 71-year history.

About SAG

Screen Actors Guild is the nation’s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists’ rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos. The Guild exists to enhance actors’ working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists’ rights. SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Headquartered in Los Angeles, you can visit SAG online at www.sag.org