Here's how the joining process works behind the scenes at the union.

In case you're wondering, "Ben.... Where did you get this information? I've heard other things before...," my source is the Executive Director of Customer Experience at SAG-AFTRA.

And Cast Clearance is only checked on the first day on the job. I understand the concern, and I understand that on paper the process may sound like it's a roadblock to certain people in certain conditions. I can assure you that in practice, that roadblock doesn't actually exist.

Any cast members who have not already made this decision have a plan to do so when the time comes.

Not to mention that there are potential on-ramps for situations like an ongoing non-union project flipping union. Production waivers can be offered on any contract clause for extenuating circumstances

I understand the argument. It might even make sense in a different landscape. But in actuality, the only American actor who isn't prepared to one day make the choice between union or FiCore is a hobbyist. A game with this kind of market share isn't casting hobbyists, they are casting professionals.

So yes, "joining the union is bad" is an extremely uncommon opinion among active participants in the entertainment industry. Whether you support SAG-AFTRA or not, recognize its merits as well as its flaws or not, everyone knows that paying the initiation fee is a necessary step in your career.

It is also a process that has existed since the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Every American actor with aspirations of making it their career knows that union membership is a decision they will face at one point. SAG-AFTRA-covered jobs are the most highly coveted in the profession.

Unions are expensive to operate. This procedure allows every actor to earn their union eligibility and enough money to cover their initiation fee before they have to pay it, while also ensuring the union's resources aren't depleted by non-union actors benefiting from its contracts.

Must-pay means the actor cannot be hired for further SAG-AFTRA-covered work until they pay their initiation fee. Once they do that, they have the option to join the union or declare Financial-Core, either of which makes them eligible to be hired on union jobs again.

When an actor books their first union job, they become eligible to join the union. For the next thirty days, they are cleared to work union jobs. Upon request, they can get up to two more "OK-30" periods. After this period, they become a "must-pay."

It's hard to cover all the ways in which this characterization is off-base, so I'll focus on the main one: "must-join" is an incorrect term. "must-pay" is the actual term SAG-AFTRA uses for performers in the position most use "must-join" to refer to. (1/?)

This is false.

Thank you all <3