SAG-AFTRA: One Union, Two Cultures

After 80 years of merger talks and attempts, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have officially merged.

The merger reflects a decades-long debate within the entertainment and media labor community regarding which strategy is better – having everyone in the same craft in separate unions, or getting everyone in the entire industry into one union.  SAG-AFTRA now encompasses over 150,000 performers and media professionals, including actors, broadcasters, DJs, and recording and voiceover artists, among others.

Sue Schurman, acting dean of Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations and lead facilitator for the merger between SAG and AFTRA, discusses the impetus for and challenges of bringing together two very different unions with very different cultures. 

Rutgers Today: What has changed about the entertainment labor landscape since SAG and AFTRA's last merger attempt in 2003?

Schurman: Just about everything. There was once a difference between the big screen of movies and the small screen of television – now there are screens everywhere showing digital content.  Ownership in the entertainment industry is highly concentrated. A small number of conglomerates own virtually all the networks and other content creation and distribution channels.  These companies have learned to make more money with fewer performers thanks to technology.  There are growing numbers of skilled non-union performers, not to mention the popularity of reality shows.  When the basic conditions of an industry change, workers and their organizations have to adapt.

Rutgers Today: The 2003 vote fell just 2% short of the required 60% majority approval by SAG members.  This time, 82% of the over 55,000 SAG members who voted approved the merger. Why do you think SAG members had a change of heart?

Schurman:  Many working actors earn their living by doing multiple jobs – movies, television, audio books, video games, theater, etc.  Does it really make sense to pay dues to several different unions and have your pension and health contributions dispersed over several plans making it difficult to achieve good coverage under any of them? If the new SAG-AFTRA does its job well, I suspect some of the other unions will want to merge as well – if for no other reason than to concentrate their pension and health contributions. 

Rutgers Today: Super-union proposals often break down due to concerns that one branch may dominate. Were such concerns unfounded in this context? 

Schurman: SAG and AFTRA have both been weakened already by the changes in their industry, and by fighting with each other instead of cooperating to bring workers in the new media parts of the industry into their unions.  Actors are the majority of the new union; they will need to work hard to make sure other performer groups retain a strong voice.  

Rutgers Today: How long will it take to actually combine the organizations and what does that entail? 

Schurman: The real work of building a new and healthy culture within SAG-AFTRA begins now.  There will be a transition period with co-presidents and a national board made up of the existing boards of both unions.  AFTRA local unions and SAG branches will also go through a merger process.  The new union will hold its first convention and elect a new slate of officers in the fall of 2013.  Much of the research on major organizational change suggests that it takes at least five years – if it is managed well.