Why Attending Member Orientation Is Important

Your distinguished SAG-AFTRA membership card is an important symbol, one that proclaims to the world that you are a professional performer. But there is another feature of SAG-AFTRA membership that is often overlooked: union literacy, knowing what a union is and how yours works. 

Member orientation is not mandatory, but is an essential part of educating members on the benefits and responsibilities of being a union worker. SAG-AFTRA is a labor union led by members just like you, and its success depends on an informed, engaged membership. The contracts that govern your wages, working conditions and benefits have been hard-won over decades of collective bargaining and organizing. Orientations provide members with an important look into our collective history and are a primer for maximizing the advantages of membership.

Orientations are offered every month, and all L.A. members are welcome — new and seasoned alike. Developed and conducted by the L.A. Local Member Outreach, Relations and Education Orientation Subcommittee, attendees are guided by fellow union members in just under three hours through important information, punctuated by question-and-answer breaks. Topics covered include:

HISTORY - The founding of both SAG and AFRA (later AFTRA), the fall of the studio system and the 2012 merger. 

GOVERNANCE - SAG-AFTRA’s leadership structure, the 25 locals, how elections work and committee service.  

CONTRACTS – An overview of all of SAG-AFTRA’s contracts, how they protect members and the negotiation process. 

MEMBERSHIP - Membership categories such as principal actors, background actors, puppeteers/pilots, stunt performers and recording artists/singers, to name a few. Also, the rules of membership are discussed. 

BENEFITS - Health and pension information, residuals and royalties, deals and discounts, and partner organizations such as the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the Entertainment Community Fund, performer credit unions and our sister unions. 

GETTING INVOLVED - The four levels of involvement in the union: staying engaged and informed; grassroots involvement; committee, subcommittee and workgroup service; and leadership. 

STAYING INFORMED - Staying informed through emails, SAG-AFTRA magazine, the website, and MOVE L.A.’s Twitter and Facebook platforms as well as the SAG-AFTRA podcast.

“Our mission is to ensure every member of the L.A. Local becomes union-literate,” said L.A. Local Board member and Chair of the Member Orientation Subcommittee Shaan Sharma. “Knowing how your union works and our contracts work is an essential part of the job of a professional actor, and for too long and for too many of us, it hasn’t been a priority. I’m calling on all members to make it a priority.” 

The day-to-day life of a working performer can be isolating, and the rigor of our work can make it feel like members don’t have any support outside of themselves. As creatives, members are often made to believe that the path they’ve chosen is risky or inherently fraught with instability. Yet, being a member of the union is so much more powerful than you may realize. You are part of the entertainment labor movement, part of a community that acts to protect and increase the value of our art, part of a family of 160,000 members nationwide that have each others’ backs, and you now have another place to call home.

Attending a member orientation is the first step to learning everything you need to know. It reveals the full breadth of support that SAG-AFTRA and its affiliated organizations can provide. One walks away bolstered by the knowledge that life as a working performer can be creatively rewarding and comes with benefits that rival those of a more typical job. According to L.A. Local Board member and Communications Committee Vice Chair Thomas Ochoa, “You’ll soon realize that you not only belong to a vibrant community of professionals, but that there are also opportunities to get involved and help improve conditions within our industry for ourselves and for members who join in the future. Our union is complex, but a wonderful organization. I hope that members strongly consider attendance at an upcoming orientation. Even if you’ve been a member for years and years, you may be surprised by how much you never knew about your own union.” 

You can find a list of upcoming member orientation dates on the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local Events page.