When I first started working as an extra, there was a union known as the Screen Extras Guild (SEG). Shortly thereafter it was absorbed into the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which was a disappointment to many SEG members. I'm not very familiar with the politics that went into this, so will touch on it only briefly. SEG was exclusively for extras and worked on their behalf. SAG represents primarily the many actors and actresses that work in movies and television. Now, SAG also represents union extras. As a result extras do not get the benefit of union voting, because there are many more actors than extras in SAG, and human nature dictates that everyone looks out for themselves.
Another union in the mix is the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Productions can be SAG, AFTRA, or non union. The vast majority of shows that I've worked on are SAG. This chapter will not concern itself with AFTRA, because I have no experiences with AFTRA to relate and know very little about them.
It is somewhat difficult to register as a SAG extra. To my knowledge, there are two ways to become eligible to register with SAG as an extra. One method is to work on three SAG vouchers, and the other way is to be "taft-ed". I'll begin my explanation of these by giving a brief thumbnail description of a voucher.
When a casting company casts an extra on a show, a voucher is prepared. The voucher includes information such as name, address, IRS W4 information, call time, and base pay rate. Vouchers for all the extras cast by a casting company for a particular show are sent to the production company. When the extra arrives on the set he/she gives his/her name and receives his/her voucher. At the end of the day, the extra fills in information such as hours worked, lunch breaks, other information as required, and signs the voucher. It is then turned over to the production company for approval and returned to the casting company. The voucher is then used in the casting company's payroll processing.
A voucher may be a SAG voucher or a non union voucher. A SAG voucher has a higher base pay rate, and along with it come rights and privileges that may or may not be available to non union extras. Non union extras are at the mercy of the production companies, who may or may not provide some of the benefits to which SAG extras are entitled. Later, I will elaborate on the some of the other advantages and disadvantages of being a SAG extra versus being non union.
As I said earlier, one way for an extra to become eligible to join SAG was to work on three SAG vouchers. I'll go into some of the ways in which a non union extra can get a SAG voucher. SAG contracts specify that a minimum number of SAG extras must be employed on a given day before employing non union extras. This minimum is 30 for feature films and 15 for television. Since production companies generally don't want to employ more SAG extras than required, in order to save money, usually only the minimum have been cast before they begin to cast non union extras. If someone is sick or doesn't show up for some other reason, the SAG voucher still must be assigned. Often the only extras available to work on the SAG voucher on such short notice are non union. As a result a non union extra may work on the SAG voucher. I got my first SAG voucher when I went on a "rush" call to replace a SAG extra on a TV movie called "Ride With the Wind".
Another way an extra can become eligible to join SAG is to become "taft-ed". This comes from the Taft Hartley labor law that was enacted over fifty years ago. If a non union extra is asked to say a line, the production company is fined by SAG and that extra becomes eligible to join SAG. This happens rarely because usually there are enough SAG extras around, and SAG extras can say a line whenever the director wants with no fine. The only difference is that the SAG extra becomes an actor for that day and his/her pay will be about ten times as much. Also, once an extra gets a line, he/she must be paid at the higher actor's rate each subsequent day that he/she appears in the same role.
An example of a non union extra getting a speaking role occurred in the feature film "Dave". A man I had worked with in my earlier career had also retired and become an extra. A scene in "Dave" was filmed at Warner Brothers studio in a mock up of the White House press room. A press conference was being held and this man, whose name is John, happened to be sitting in the front row next to Helen Thomas, a White House correspondent in real life who was in a cameo role as herself. As the scene was being rehearsed, Ms. Thomas said "good morning" to John, who replied "good morning". John was told not to speak when the scene was filmed. Ms. Thomas objected, saying that it would not be natural for him not to say anything. So he was allowed to repeat the line in the scene and as a result was paid over ten times as much and became SAG eligible. Since they had already incurred this additional expense and it would cost no more to use him further, John was asked to ask a question in a subsequent press conference scene.
As I said earlier, there are advantages and disadvantages of being a SAG extra over being a non union extra. I will first discuss some advantages and then some disadvantages of SAG membership.
The first and most obvious advantage to being a SAG extra is the base rate of pay. At the time I was working, SAG extras got $65 a day while the non union base rate was $40 per day. I'll elaborate more on compensation later. In addition to base rate there are other advantages to being SAG. The kind of rights and privileges that non union extras may or may not get, at the whim of the production company and to which SAG extras are entitled include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) Extra pay or adjustments for such things as:
- Personal props such as autos, pets, golf clubs etc.
- Hazardous work
- Wet work or smoke work
- Body make-up
- Haircut
- Costume fittings
- Wardrobe changes
2) Time and a half for each hour over eight but less than twelve hours per day.3) Double time for over twelve but less than sixteen hours per day.4) One day's pay for each hour or fraction thereof in excess of 16 hours per day.5) Meal penalty if no meal break is provided after a six hour period.6) Mileage allowance.
Usually these financial adjustments are provided to non union extras, but often at a lower rate than the SAG contract requires for their members. For example, when I worked on the feature film "Ed Wood", I worked one day from 5AM till 1AM the next morning, but was paid only double time for the hours in excess of sixteen. SAG extras would be required to be paid a day's rate for each such hour.
Some feature films with the highest budget can be the cheapest in providing fringes for non union extras, and many television shows treat extras very well by comparison. For example, two feature films on which I worked extensively were very cheap while one television show treated extras as well as the cast and crew were treated. The feature films were "Dave" and "Body of Evidence", both of which I'll discuss in later chapters. The television show was "Murder, She Wrote", and most sitcoms also treat extras pretty well.
Another example of how arbitrary a production company can be is an experience I had with the TV series "Second Chances". I worked on "Second Chances" two days. On the first day my voucher was amended to include mileage and I was subsequently paid. The second day we were asked to include mileage on our vouchers, but when the paycheck came, they had eliminated the mileage. Upon inquiry I learned that as a non union extra I had absolutely no recourse.
There are also perks other than financial that SAG extras get and non union extras may not get. When meals are served on location, extras usually must wait until the cast and crew are fed and sometimes are served different meals. SAG extras by contract must be fed the same food and fed at the same time as cast and crew.
The worst example of this that I saw was while working on the feature film "In the Line of Fire" with Clint Eastwood. I worked on that movie for a number of days over a period of four or five weeks. The scenes were shot at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The cast, crew, and SAG extras were served hot meals, which as usual were very good. The non union extras were served box lunches consisting of sandwiches, fruit, chips, cookies, and drinks. At first it wasn't all that bad, but after a while one gets tired of box lunches. I finally decided to pay for my lunch at one of the coffee shops or fast food places in or near the hotel. This is but another example of how high budget feature films pinch pennies when it comes to the extras while spending seemingly limitless money on other aspects of the production.
SAG extras by contract must have equal access to the craft services table as the cast and crew, but non union extras may be given an inferior selection of snacks. Once again, feature films are the worst at treating non union extras equally in regard to craft service access, while sitcoms almost always treat non union extras the same as everyone else as do many other television productions. I'll discuss craft services in more detail in the chapter on food. To be fair, feature films often have many more extras and logistics dictate separate treatment. On the other hand, feature films usually have much bigger budgets than television shows, but that's not always reflected in the treatment of non union extras.
Another advantage of being a SAG extra is that with the 15 or 30 requirement for casting extras, SAG extras usually get on the shows using very few extras. It's usually a lot more fun to be one of a few extras on the set in contrast with being just one of hundreds. SAG extras are the first cast, get the best jobs, and are often treated better than non union extras.
These advantages notwithstanding, there are disadvantages to being a SAG extra. Since feature films and television are required to hire SAG extras only for the first 30 and 15 openings, respectively, all the rest of the jobs go to non union extras. There is much more work for non union extras than for SAG. I've talked to several extras that joined SAG and thereafter were able to get a lot less work than they had been getting before joining. Some said that the increased pay made up for it, but others said they had hardly gotten any work since becoming SAG members. I haven't seen John, the extra who got the speaking part on "Dave", since that day. I had worked with him several times prior to that.
Another disadvantage, or obstacle, to being a SAG extra is the cost. There is an ever increasing initial fee of over $1000 plus annual dues. This is difficult for many extras unless they have another source of income or get a lot of work.
The bottom line is that each extra has to weigh the advantages versus the disadvantages of joining SAG and decide for himself/herself whether to join once he/she is lucky enough to become SAG eligible.
This page was last updated on September 13, 2003
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