BECOMING SAG/AFTRA:

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

BECOMING SAG/AFTRA:

 OK, you might think, because if I join SAG-AFTRA today, I'll land an agent bytomorrow and be booking jobs the day after.

  Sadly, it doesn't work that way. It's tough to get an agent and even harder to get booked on union jobs. If you don't have the chops and some good credits, the agent and the union jobs will be hard to come by -- even with that coveted card. And no, the union won't help you find representation or get work. It's just not one of the things it does.
  So, to build up those credits, extra work, collect vouchers, get qualified and you still may need to keep working nonunion jobs -- which you can't do once you've joined. Even SAG-AFTRA advises: "The time to join is when it makes sense for you. (Everyone's) situation is different." Don't get so impatient that you screw yourself out of opptys.
  Translation: Ask your acting teachers, friends, mentors, and coaches for advice. Then consider your options carefully.
  In some situations, though, you may have to join the union. If you work a union job and become SAG-AFTRA eligible, 30 days later you automatically become SAG-AFTRA Must-Pay. That means that before you work a second union job, you'll have to join. Producers are required to verify your status by checking with the union -- a process that SAG rather quaintly called Station 12. Must-Pay applies in California, New York, and many other states but not in "right to work states" such as Georgia,  North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and other, mostly Republican states.
Once you're in, you'll be part of a new union that is almost 80 years old and fights for wages, working conditions, residuals, and pension-and-health benefits for its members. Be proud of that SAG-AFTRA card -- you worked for it!