Screen Actors Guild

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is the labor union representing over 120,000 film actors in the United States. The guild guarantees members safe working conditions, a minimum wage on union productions ("scale" is currently $1,620 per week), and handles payment of residuals. Since 1995 the guild has also selected members for the Screen Actors Guild Award.

History

In 1925, the Masquers Club ^* was formed by actors fed up with the grueling work hours at the Hollywood studios, particularly for actors without contracts, who felt the brunt of cost-cutting measures during the Great Depression.

This was one major concern which led to the creation of the Screen Actors Guild in 1933. Another was that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which at that time arbitrated between the producers and actors on contract disputes, had a membership policy which was by-invitation-only.

A meeting in March 1933 among six actors started it all: Berton Churchill, Charles Miller, Grant Mitchell, Ralph Morgan, Alden Gay, and Kenneth Thomson. Three months later, three of those six and eighteen others became the guild's first officers and board of directors: Ralph Morgan (its first president), Alden Gay, Kenneth Thomson, Alan Mowbray (who personally funded the organization when it was first founded), Leon Ames, Tyler Brooke, Clay Clement, James Gleason, Lucile Webster Gleason, Boris Karloff (reportedly influenced by long hours suffered during the filming of Frankenstein), Claude King, Noel Madison, Reginald Mason, Bradley Page, Willard Robertson, Ivan Simpson, C. Aubrey Smith, Charles Starrett, Richard Tucker, Arthur Vinton, and Morgan Wallace.

Many high-profile actors refused to join SAG initially. This changed when the producers made an agreement amongst themselves not to bid competitively for talent. A pivotal meeting at the home of Frank Morgan (Ralph's brother, who would go on to play the title role in The Wizard of Oz), is what gave SAG its critical mass. Prompted by Eddie Cantor's insistence at that meeting that any response to that producer's agreement help all actors, not just the already established ones, it took only three weeks for SAG membership to go from around 80 members to more than 4000. Cantor's participation was critical, particularly because of his friendship with the recently-elected Franklin Roosevelt. After several years and the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, the producers agreed to negotiate with SAG in 1937.

Actors known for their early support of SAG (besides the founders) include Edward Arnold, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Dudley Digges, Porter Hall, Paul Harvey, Jean Hersholt, Russell Hicks, Murray Kinnell, Gene Lockhart, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, Chester Morris, Jean Muir, George Murphy, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Irving Pichel, Dick Powell, Edward G. Robinson, Edwin Stanley, Gloria Stuart, Franchot Tone, Warren William, and Robert Young.

Blacklist years

In October of 1947, a list of suspected communists working in the Hollywood film industry were summoned to appear before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was investigating Communist influence in the Hollywood labor unions. Ten of those summoned refused to cooperate and were charged with contempt of Congress and sentenced to prison. A climate of fear, enhanced by the threat of detention under the provisions of the McCarran Internal Security Act, permeated the film industry. On November 17, 1947, the Screen Actors Guild voted to force its officers take a "non-communist" pledge. On November 25th (the day after the full House approved the ten citations for contempt) in what has become known as the Waldorf Statement, Eric Johnston, President of the Motion Picture Producers Association, issued a press release: "We will not knowingly employ a Communist or a member of any party or group which advocates the overthrow of the government of the United States by force or by any illegal or unconstitutional methods."

Although declassified KGB documents showed that there was a Communist influence in Hollywood, none of those blacklisted were proven to advocate overthrowing the government; most simply had Marxist or socialist views. The Waldorf Statement marked the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist that saw hundreds of people prevented from working in the film industry. During the height of what is now referred to as McCarthyism, the Screen Writers Guild gave the studios the right to omit from the screen the name of any individual who had failed to clear his name before Congress. At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Blacklist Richard Masur said: "Only our sister union, Actors' Equity Association, had the courage to stand behind its members and help them to continue their creative lives, in the theatre..."

Commercial strike of 2000

The commercial strike of 2000 was a success in that it not only saved Pay-Per-Play (residuals) but it also increased cable residuals by 140% up from $1014 to $2460. In the wake of their strike against advertisers in 2000, SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists gathered evidence on over 1,500 non-members who had worked during the strike. SAG trial boards found Elizabeth Hurley and Tiger Woods guilty of performing in non-union commercials and fined each $100,000. In 1980, SAG called for a boycott against that year's prime-time Emmy awards, which took place during its labor strike. Powers Boothe was the only one of the 52 nominated actors to attend: "This is either the most courageous moment of my career or the stupidest" he quipped during his acceptance speech.

Beyond the major studios

SAG members may not work on non-union productions; many film schools have SAG Student Film Agreements with the guild to allow SAG actors to work in their projects. Some SAG members actually look down on non-member actors. SAGIndie was formed in 1997 to promote Independent filmmaking using SAG actors; SAG also has Low Budget Contracts that are meant to encourage the use of SAG members on films produced outside of the major studios and to prevent film productions from leaving the country. ("Runaway Production") In the fight against "Runaway Production", The SAG National Board recently voted unanimously to support the Film & Television Action Committee(FTAC)and its 301(a) Petition which asks the US Trade Representative to investigate the current Canadian film subsidies for their violation of the Trade agreements Canada already signed with the United States.

Dues and initiation fees

The fee to join SAG initially is a one-time charge of USD $1,432, and the first semi-annual dues payment of $50. Initiation fees outside of California may be less. Yearly dues are $100, paid in two $50 installments, plus 1.85% of a performer's yearly income from SAG projects up to $200,000 then the % is based on a sliding scale as income increases. Performers who stop paying dues without taking a leave of absence must later rejoin, again paying the full initiation fee.

Current events

There are a few ways to get into SAG. The most common is to be cast in a featured role in a commercial, feature film or television program that is covered under the SAG contract. Once that happens you will be "Taft Hartley'd" which means you will now be SAG eligible (allowed to pay the initiation fee and to become a full-fledged member of SAG). You do not have to join SAG until you do your next SAG job, at which point you must pay the initiation fee and join the union.

SAG Foundation

SAG Awards

SAG Awards have been one of the major awards events in Hollywood since 1995. Nominations for the awards come from 4200 randomly selected members of the union, with the full membership (98,000 as of 2004) available to vote for the winners. The awards have been televised for the past several years on TNT, but now also air on TBS.

Awards are organized into the following categories:

Film awards

Television awards