The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to create SAG-AFTRA.
Gabrielle Anne Carteris is an American actress and trade union leader. Her best known acting role is as Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills, 90210.
Francine Joy Drescher is an American actress, writer, producer, and trade union leader, currently serving as the national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). She is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the television sitcom The Nanny (1993–1999), which she created and produced with her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists, promo and voice-over announcers and other performers in commercials, stunt persons and specialty acts—as the organization itself publicly stated, "AFTRA's membership includes an array of talent". On March 30, 2012, the members of AFTRA and of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voted to merge and form SAG-AFTRA.
Ned Vaughn is an American film and television actor who served as vice president of the Screen Actors Guild prior to becoming the founding executive vice president of SAG-AFTRA. He resigned that position on 21 August 2013, when he announced he would run as a Republican candidate for California's 66th State Assembly district, representing Los Angeles County's South Bay region. However, he later withdrew from the race.
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of the cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media. Residuals are calculated and administered by industry trade unions like SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, and the Writers Guild of America. The word is typically used in the plural form.
Patrick Fabian is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul (2015–2022). His film roles include End Game (2006), The Last Exorcism (2010), Pig (2011) and Jimmy (2013).
Kim Roberts Hedgpeth has held a number of executive roles within the entertainment industry. She became the Administrator of the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund in May 2014, where she succeeded Dennis Dreith. She also has served as the National Executive Director of the American Youth Soccer Organization since March 2013.
Jay D. Roth is an American lawyer who for over two decades served as the National Executive Director of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the 17,000 member entertainment guild representing the economic and creative rights of directors and members of the directorial team working in film, television, documentaries, news, sports, commercials and new media throughout the world. Following his long-planned retirement in May 2017, Roth began a new role with the Guild as Senior Advisor.
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is an American labor union that reflects the 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA. It represents approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide. SAG-AFTRA is a member of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States. SAG-AFTRA is also a member of the International Federation of Actors (FIA).
Elizabeth Sarah McLaughlin is an American actress. She is known for playing Massie Block in The Clique and Valerie McAllister in the ABC television drama Betrayal. She recently played Alicia Hopkins in the Amazon Studios television series Hand of God.
From October 2016 to September 2017, SAG-AFTRA, representing video game voice actors, went on strike against American video game companies over failed contract renegotiation terms of the Interactive Media Agreements that had been in discussion since February 2015. The union sought to have actors, voice actors, and motion-capture actors who contribute to video games be better compensated with residuals based on video game sales atop their existing recording payments; the game companies asserted that the industry as a whole eschews the use of residuals, and by giving the actors these, they would trivialize the efforts of the developers who are "most responsible" for the development of the games. In exchange, the companies had offered a fixed increase in rates and a sliding-scale upfront bonus for multiple recording sessions, which the union had rejected. Other issues highlighted by the strike include better transparency in what roles and conditions actors would perform, more safety precautions and oversight to avoid vocal stress for certain roles, and better safety assurances for actors while on set.
A nationwide strike by the members of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists against the American Association of Advertising Agencies began on May 1, 2000, and ended on October 30, 2000.
The 1980 actors strike was a labor strike held in July–October 1980 by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), two labor unions representing actors in the American film industry. The strike was caused by a breakdown in labor contract negotiations between the two unions and representatives of film studios, television networks, and other independent producers. The primary point of contention regarded residuals from home media, such as videocassettes and pay television. Specifically, the union was seeking a form of profit sharing wherein they would receive a percentage of the revenue made from home media releases. Additionally, the unions wanted a 35 percent salary increase across the board for their members. By mid-July, the union and industry representatives were at an impasse, and the strike started on July 21. Several days later, the American Federation of Musicians also went on strike for similar reasons.
Matthew Belloni is an American entertainment journalist, podcaster, and former attorney. He is a founding partner of the digital media company Puck. Before that, he was the editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter.
From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA was on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). As the longest strike in SAG-AFTRA history, its combined impact with the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike resulted in the loss of 45,000 jobs, and "an estimated $6.5 billion" loss to the economy of Southern California. According to Deadline Hollywood, the "harshest pain" was "perhaps felt among the below-the-line workers who've had to sell or mortgage their homes, and wipe through IRAs to survive."
From May 2 to November 9, 2023, a series of long labor disputes within the film and television industries of the United States took place, mainly focused on the strikes of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. It was the second time two Hollywood labor unions were striking simultaneously — the first having occurred in 1960 – and as such, the American news media named this phenomenon the "Hollywood double strike", and surpassed the 1960 dual strike as well. By November 9, 2023, both the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA had reached tentative deals with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and ended their strikes.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is an American business executive and the national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA. He joined the trade union in 2000 and has also held the roles of general counsel and chief operating officer. Crabtree-Ireland has been a judge pro tem of the Los Angeles County Superior Court and an adjunct professor at the USC Gould School of Law. He is a board member of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the Entertainment Community Fund, and the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
Neville L. Johnson is an American attorney specializing in entertainment and media law. He is the senior partner and co-founder of Johnson & Johnson LLP, a boutique law firm based in Beverly Hills, California. Johnson is recognized for his expertise in handling high-profile cases, including the landmark privacy ruling in Sanders v. ABC. His achievements include recovering substantial amounts for artists and contributing to the development of privacy law in California.
