What Is A SAG Card? How People Join The Screen Actor's Guild - Metro

Those who work in film, television and radio will be familiar with the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, which is an American labour union representing performers and personalities in the media across the globe.

The union merged with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2012 to become SAG-AFTRA, and has grown to represent additional sectors, such as voice actors and performers in the video game industry.

A SAG card demonstrates membership of the union, which helps to establish status as a performer and provides workers’ rights.

Getting a SAG card used to be a rite of passage, with various celebrities having discussed getting the card in the post, and how it made them feel like they’d ‘made it’.

During her acceptance speech for the outstanding actress award in 2013’s SAG awards, Jennifer Lawrence mentioned how she got a place in the guild.

‘I did an MTV promo for My Super Sweet 16, [then] I remember getting [the card] in the mail and it being the best day of my entire life because it officially made me a professional actor.’

Cards used to be ‘earned’ by performers, with cards arriving for those who had made enough of a name for themselves in the industry – sort of like the lucky bunch who get a DM from Twitter saying they can have their account verified.

Now that the guild has merged with AFTRA, membership is slightly easier to obtain – but you’ll have to pay an initiation fee of $3000.

SAG-AFTRA recommends that people consider joining once they’ve received their first principal union job, as membership is widely seen as a rite of passage for working professionals in the media and entertainment industries.

SAG-AFTRA aims to provide competitve wages and high-standard working conditions for their members.

The organisation exists to create an environment in which members will be hired and have their welfare looked after once they’re in work.

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According to the official website, a performer is eligible for membership if they either work a job that’s covered by a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement, or they’ve been a paid member of an affiliated union for a year.

Applications and proof of employment are fully investigated by the Union to make sure they’re valid.

Any false information will result in an application being denied.

The national initiation fee rate is currently $3000, although this may be lower in some places.

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