How to Fill Out and Submit the SAG-AFTRA Taft-Hartley Report

A SAG-AFTRA Taft-Hartley Report is the form a signatory producer files with the union whenever it employs a performer who isn’t already a SAG-AFTRA member. It must reach the union within 15 days of the performer’s first workday, or 25 days if the production is shooting at an overnight location, and it has to include a written reason for hiring a non-member along with the performer’s headshot and resume.¹ The filing starts a 30-day federal grace period during which the performer can work union jobs before they have to join or pay dues.²

When You Have to File One

SAG-AFTRA’s collective bargaining agreements include “preference of employment” clauses that require signatory producers to make a good-faith effort to hire union members before looking outside the union.¹ When no available member fits the role, the producer can hire a non-member, but the Taft-Hartley Report is how the producer accounts for that decision to the union.

The report covers principal performers, meaning actors with dialogue, singers, dancers, and stunt performers. Background actors trigger the requirement differently. Filing is the producer’s responsibility, not the performer’s, and the union security and preference-of-employment provisions carry liquidated damages, so late or missing reports have a financial cost written into the agreement.¹

Background Actor Minimums

For background actors, the producer has to meet a minimum number of covered (union) background performers before bringing in non-members. Those minimums depend on production type and zone:

Los Angeles zone (75-mile radius), plus Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Hawaii, and Las Vegas: 57 covered background actors for features, 22 for television.
New York zone (300-mile radius): 85 covered background actors for features, 25 for television.
Low-budget new media and music videos: 10 covered background actors in the applicable zone.
Commercials: 45 covered performers.
Corporate and educational productions: 10 covered performers.

These numbers come from the applicable SAG-AFTRA agreements.³ Once the covered minimum is filled, non-members hired beyond it get Taft-Hartleyed.

Which Form to Use

SAG-AFTRA publishes two versions of the report. One is for theatrical and television productions and covers principals only.⁴ The other covers commercials, corporate, and educational work, and adds a performer-category field for on-camera actor, announcer, voiceover, stunt performer, singer, dancer, extra performer, or hand model.⁵ Pick the one that matches the project before filling anything in.

Filling Out the Form

Performer Information

The top of the form asks for the performer’s full legal name, Social Security number, mailing address, phone number, and email. For a minor, add a date of birth.⁴

Production and Employment Details

Enter the project title, production company name, work date or dates, and the contract type. The theatrical/television form has checkboxes for daily, three-day (television only), or weekly contracts.⁴

Reason for Hire

This section carries the weight of the filing. Check one category and attach the documentation it calls for. The theatrical/television categories are:

Special skill or unique physical appearance. Describe the skill or attach a photo.
First employment of a trained professional performer. Attach a photo and resume showing relevant training or experience.
Member of a recognized specialty group. Attach documentation and a photo.
Important, famous, or well-known person portraying themselves. Attach a photo and bio.
Background actor adjusted for non-scripted lines. Attach a photo.
Child under 18. State the age and attach a photo.
Owner or operator of a special or unique vehicle or equipment. Describe the vehicle or equipment and attach a photo.
Stunt coordinator. Attach a photo and resume.
Body double for scenes requiring nudity or sexual conduct. Attach a photo.
Other. Describe the reason and attach a photo and resume.

Every category needs a photo at minimum. Most also need a resume or written description. A vague reason for hire is the fastest way to get a report challenged, so the narrative should name the skill, describe what makes the performer’s look right for the role, or explain why no union member was available.⁴

Submitting the Report

The completed form and all attachments must reach SAG-AFTRA within 15 days of the performer’s first work date, or 25 days if the production is shooting at an overnight location.⁴ There’s no informal extension.

Signatory producers can submit through SAG-AFTRA’s online portal, and regional offices also accept submissions by email or fax. Because regional offices process filings for their own jurisdictions, checking with the local SAG-AFTRA office for the production’s territory is the most reliable way to confirm the right channel. Keep the submission confirmation, whether that’s a portal receipt, fax confirmation, or email reply, as proof of timely filing.

What Happens After the Union Receives It

SAG-AFTRA reviews the reason for hire. If the justification holds up, the performer’s name enters the union’s system as a prospective member and the 30-day clock starts. If the union finds the justification thin, or believes a member could have filled the role, the report can be challenged. A challenge does not necessarily stop the performer from working right away, but it can produce a grievance against the production company under the preference-of-employment clause.¹

The 30-Day Grace Period

Federal law lets a union-shop agreement require membership only after 30 days of employment. Under 29 U.S.C. § 158(a)(3), an employer and union can agree that workers must join “on or after the thirtieth day following the beginning of such employment.”² For a Taft-Hartleyed performer, that means 30 days of work on union productions without joining or paying anything.

SAG-AFTRA sometimes extends the window by clearing the performer for additional 30-day stretches, informally called an “OK-30.” The extension isn’t automatic; the union grants it at its discretion.

When the grace period runs out, the performer moves to “Must Pay” status. Any production running a Station 12 cast clearance check will then see that the performer can’t be hired for union work until they pay the initiation fee and current dues.⁶ Signatory productions are required to clear every cast member through Station 12 before hiring, using the online portal or regional email and fax.⁷

What Joining Costs

The national initiation fee is currently $3,121.⁸ Some locals charge less. The New Orleans local, for example, has a reduced initiation fee of $759, and a performer who joins at a lower-fee local and later works in a higher-fee jurisdiction owes the difference.⁹

Members also pay annual base dues of $246.14 plus work dues of 1.575 percent on covered earnings up to $1,000,000.⁸ Work dues are usually deducted by the production and remitted to the union, so they show up as a paycheck deduction rather than a separate bill.

Financial Core as an Alternative

Some performers who reach Must-Pay status choose financial core, or fi-core, instead of full membership. A fi-core performer becomes a Fee Paying Non-Member: they pay the equivalent of dues but are not a SAG-AFTRA member, and they can accept both union and non-union work.¹⁰

The trade-offs matter. Fi-core performers can’t call themselves SAG-AFTRA members on headshots, resumes, or casting submissions. They lose member-only benefits, including SAG-AFTRA Foundation programs and the Conservatory, and they lose the protection of SAG-AFTRA’s legal staff if a producer fails to pay or violates an agreement. They also give up eligibility for the SAG-Producers Pension Plan and the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan. Reinstatement to full membership after going fi-core isn’t guaranteed; the process requires a petition, can take a long time, and involves additional financial obligations.¹⁰

1
SAG-AFTRA. What Is a Taft-Hartley Report
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 158 – Unfair Labor Practices
3
SAG-AFTRA. Background Actors Digest
4
SAG-AFTRA. Theatrical/Television Taft-Hartley Report
5
SAG-AFTRA. SAG-AFTRA Taft-Hartley Report – Commercials Corporate Educational
6
SAG-AFTRA. Pre-Production
7
SAG-AFTRA. Casting Professionals
8
SAG-AFTRA. Membership Costs
9
SAG-AFTRA. Membership and Reinstatement Q&A
10
SAG-AFTRA. Financial Core