VCC Ep 46 Union vs NonUnion 20260505
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[00:00:00] It's not about status anymore, whether you're union or non-union. It's about sustainability. How are you going to sustain a career, an income? You have to do what's going to work for you, and not worry about what anybody else is gonna think or say or what works for them. You're listening to the Voice Over Casting Corner podcast.
VCC is brought to you by The Voice Caster, the country's first and oldest voiceover casting house, established in 1975. The Voice Caster casts thousands of voices every year across all genres, and we're excited to give you an inside look at the casting process direct from our casting team. Hey, everyone, and welcome to Voice Over Casting Corner.
My name is Kelly Moscinski. I am the owner and head of casting here at The Voice Caster. And I'm Kathryn Horan. I'm the senior casting director here at The Voice Caster. So today we are talking about union versus non-union, so when to stay non-union, when to join the union, and all the things that we can possibly share with you on what to [00:01:00] know.
Mm-hmm. So one of the things I feel like we get asked a lot is should I join SAG? So SAG-AFTRA is the actors union here in the US, and a lot of people, it is something, you know, that they're... When do I do this? Mm-hmm. How do I do this? And honestly, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It is one of those things where it's very personal.
It just depends on your timing. It depends on what's happening in your career. It depends on your goals. Joining SAG too soon can put some limits on you, so it's really kind of figuring out the right time- Mm-hmm ... on an individual basis. It's also expensive. Mm-hmm. Um, keep that in mind, too. When you have to first pay your dues to join, it's not cheap.
Mm. So make sure you've got that money saved and ready to go. What is the difference? What, what is union? What is non-union? Why, why do people want one or the other? So the nice thing about when you get a union job or when you join the union, [00:02:00] you get set rates. You get protections. You get... Everything's a little more standardized.
You go into a project, uh, and you kinda know what to expect, versus non-union, which is a little more of the Wild West. It, it's- Mm-hmm ... it can be a little all over the place. There are no set one, one-size-fits-all type things. Uh, we, we do that here even when people come to us for casting. We can- work at whatever their budget is.
It's a, it's a little more flexible. The pay can be all over the place because there aren't set rates for non-union stuff like there is- Mm-hmm ... for union. So that's a big difference there. Um, non-union work has less built-in protection. You know, with union you sometimes get residuals. Um, a lot of times when you're in the union, you work a job, some of that money goes to pay for your insurance.
With non-union- Mm-hmm ... you don't have that kind of stuff. Everything's kind of up to you. And union work tends to [00:03:00] have more protections. They make sure that you get paid. They make sure that, uh, these commercials are running for the set term, you know, if it was a 13-week buyout, that it doesn't keep running past that.
Mm-hmm. You have things in place to, to kind of monitor that a little bit better. But yeah, both paths are valid. There are a lot of actors that are non-union their entire life, and they make a great living doing that kind of stuff, and that's awesome. There are u- actors that join the union and have great success there, too.
So it's not like one is better than the other. It just kind of depends on what you're looking to do. Yep. Completely individual, and it depends on the opportunities that you're getting, you know? If you're not getting union opportunities, why would you wanna join the union? Yeah. There's a lot of different factors there.
I've been here since 2012, and when I first started- We did more union casting than non-union. And just over the years, that has completely flipped, and we now do considerably more non-union casting than union. Yeah. We're at 80% [00:04:00] non-union, 20% union now, and it's... I just heard an agent saying the same thing the other day, that that's what they're seeing.
And 10 years ago, that was, that was flipped. Mm-hmm. It was 80% union, 20% non-union. So it, it has really changed. Mm-hmm. Benefits of staying non-union, especially earlier on in your career, is that you're gonna have more opportunities and more auditions while you're trying to build that experience. You know, more opportunities hopefully means more bookings, you know?
So it's, you're building a career from there, you know, and SAG might be your ultimate goal, and that's fantastic. Or you might be like, "I'm making such an amazing living just doing non-union work, 'cause there's so much of it out there, that I'm gonna stay right here." But you have that ability to then work across all types of projects.
There aren't the restrictions that you'll have as a SAG [00:05:00] member. So, you know, you can, you can grow a little bit faster as well, just with the, the number of opportunities and things that you have. And even 10 years ago, you know, agents didn't play on non-union stuff. So if you wanted to book union jobs, you pretty much had to have an agent.
More and more agents are now open to the non-union stuff. Mm-hmm. It's getting rarer and rarer that an agent isn't playing on non-union things. Yep. So that's also no longer a restriction. If you're non-union, you can have an agent now. Mm-hmm. That's, that's, those two things no longer- And some of the top agents in the country too are actually telling us, like, "Hey, I'm looking for actual-" Mm-hmm
non-union talent. You know? Like, "We want to build up our non-union roster." Like, that's huge. That was not like that even just a few years ago, so. They're, yeah, they're not, they're not in a rush for you to join SAG, you know? And that's, that's always been my opinion, especially over the last few years. It's like, don't rush to join SAG right now, [00:06:00] especially in voiceover.
It might be different if you're doing on-camera and that sort of thing, and that's fine. But don't stress about it now, you know? Especially- No longer ... earlier on in your career, if everything's going good on the non-union side, you don't need to mess with it. Exactly. And then, yeah, as far as joining the union, I mean, don't join until you have to.
Join when you're a must join. Yeah. So the, the kind of process is, you know, it's you'll get a, a union audition. This is on the voiceover side. It's different for on-camera. You'll get a union audition- If you book it, then typically casting or the buyer will do a Taft-Hartley for you, and then that Taft-Hartley means that you can work that union project without having to join yet.
After 30 days, when your Taft-Hartley time period is up, then you become a must join. So the next union job you book, whether it's a week later or a year later, you are a must join. You cannot work that [00:07:00] union job until you join the union. So make sure if you're auditioning for union projects that you are ready to commit to that, because it does change everything.
Mm-hmm. And yeah, once you join the union, it does kind of open some nice doors for you as well. Um, these are gonna be typically better paying jobs, um, jobs that have a wider audience. You know, national TV commercials, animation projects tend to be... You know, Nickelodeon, Disney, a lot of that stuff's gonna be in the union.
Um, so some of these more higher profile things. You're gonna have access to those things now. So that's good, and that means more money in your pocket usually as well. Health insurance and pension opportunities- Oh, yeah ... through the union, and then all the protections that we talked about earlier, too. Yeah.
You know, just keeping yourself protected. So yeah, so what are some trade-offs? You know, we've, we've kind of discussed the benefits. So once you do join the union, [00:08:00] you cannot work non-union jobs. And like we were just saying, so much of the work out there is non-union right now. Mm-hmm. That is a big consideration you need to make.
You will be, in a way, limiting yourself potentially. Mm-hmm. So you might be getting fewer auditions overall, but the ones that you do get, in theory, are better opportunities. Um, you also have more competition. This is where kind of the top tier of, of, of actors are, are in the union. So you are competing against a more elite group of people, and you need to be ready.
You know, like Kelly was saying, you know, this isn't a, "Oh, let's try it and see what happens," you know? You know, it's not kind of thing. You need to be, be ready to hit the ground running once you join. So an alternative then is, you know, if you do join SAG and you're like, "Oh, my opportunities have been cut down so much, I'm not even getting the opportunity to make a living at this," then there is something called Financial Core or FiCore.[00:09:00]
So essentially that allows you... You apply for that with- SAG, you essentially tell them that you wanna go Fi-Core. There will be some back and forth. They will try to talk you out of it, of course. You know, hold, hold your ground if that's what you need to do. It is there because people need to have opportunities to, to make those choices based on their personal situations.
So, Fi-Core is essentially just a status that allows you to work both union and non-union jobs. So you're not a full union member anymore. You can still take union work, but you will lose the union benefits. You're gonna lose voting rights, you're not gonna get your, uh, screeners and things like that. It can be controversial.
So I know a lot of agents are actually preferring Fi-Core now because on the voiceover side it is not frowned upon. There isn't the stigma that it used to have. On the on-camera side, however, [00:10:00] going Fi-Core can hurt you. You know, there are some, whether it's agents, casting directors, production companies, whatever, who still frown upon Fi-Core.
They want you to be a full SAG member. So, you know, it's kind of, kind of looking at where your career is. But now it's really not on the voiceover side. It's like, "Oh, you're Fi-Core? Amazing. I can have you audition for anything. That's fantastic." Yeah, exactly. Um, I will add in, right-to-work states can also work union and non-union without necessarily joining the union.
So, um, if you're in a right-to-work state, that is, that is also an option- Interesting ... that you have to check and make sure you're in a right-to-work state. Fi-Core's really cool 'cause like you, you're saying it, it kinda just gets rid of those restrictions. You can feel free to audition without worry on union and non-union projects.
And yeah, it feels like the best of both worlds, so that's definitely a big, a big thing to consider, and it's just about doing what's right for you. And this is a very personal choice. Take the [00:11:00] time, you know, don't, don't do it lightly, you know, because you are losing some of those great things that make being a, a full union member worth it, you know?
Yeah. So again, but if that, if that work, if you need... I mean, that's, you know, at the end of the day, it's good to make a living and have that income, so. You need a roof over your head and you've got mouths to feed. Yeah. You do what you need to do. Totally. You know? And there's, there's no shame or judgment in that.
You know, do what you need to do. On the casting side, we don't, we don't frown upon any of it. You can be just union, just non-union, or Fi-Core. Mm-hmm. And we're totally fine with that. We wanna just- Right ... put you in whatever categories are best for you, you know? Best for you and your career. So, you know- Exactly
do, do what you need to do. And, you know, I can't stress that enough. Like, don't let other people determine what path you should take. Mm-hmm. Um, especially with, you know, old school thinking or, you know, anything like that. It's like nowadays- Yeah You do what [00:12:00] you need to do and- Exactly ... and make a living.
Yeah. So yeah, don't, don't feel like you've gotta rush to join the union. I know- Mm-hmm ... you know, just a few years ago, 10 years ago plus, there's always like, "Oh, I gotta join the union. I, I gotta do it as soon as possible because that's where all the jobs and the opportunities and the, the good gigs are gonna be."
And it's just not that way anymore. So you can really- Mm-hmm ... feel free to take your time- Yeah ... grow your career, you know, take, you know, whatever pacing feels good to you, and then when the time is right, then, then do it. You don't have to feel like you're missing out because you're not a SAG member. Yeah.
There's still lots of opportunities, lots of good work on the non-union side. Yep. Let your career kinda signal to you when, when it's time to take that step, you know? Trust your gut, trust your instinct, you know, you'll, you'll know when it's right. Exactly. It's, it's not about status anymore. You know, it used to be it's, it's one of those things where it's like, if, "Ooh, you're [00:13:00] SAG?"
You know, it's like, it's so fancy, and it's not that it's not fancy, but it's not about status anymore, whether you're union or non-union. It's about sustainability. How are you going to sustain a career, an income? You know, if you have a family, if you have people who rely on you, that's very different. Yeah.
So, you know, and there's all kinds of alternatives. I'm also just gonna throw out, if you are a voice actor, you should look into NAVA membership, because NAVA also has insurance options- Mm-hmm ... for non-union members, well, even union members who aren't getting their insurance through SAG, because there are restrictions on SAG insurance.
Just 'cause you're a union member doesn't mean you get SAG insurance. Right. You have to be making a certain amount of money. So NAVA, NAVA really fills that gap, so I highly recommend checking that out, because sometimes people are [00:14:00] like, "Oh, but I really want that SAG insurance." And it's like, yeah, SAG insurance is great.
I mean, it does- And you gotta keep it ... it's great. But how do you- Let's talk- ... keep it? Yeah ... actor stress about that all... That's all I hear sometimes. Oh, it's- "Oh, Diane, I, I lost my insurance 'cause I didn't book enough this year." And it's just- Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And things have changed as far as, you know, how the requirements of keeping your insurance and what the premiums are, and, you know, do residuals count towards that?
You know, at one point they, they actually switched that. It had to be all new work, no residuals, and things like that. So, you know, it's, it's, it's gotta be that sustainability. You have to do what's going to work for you, and not worry about what anybody else is gonna think or say or what works for them.
Play the long game. Trust your timing. Trust your instincts, and make your decisions. If you're, if you're in a good place doing what you're doing- Yep. That's awesome. That's great. Keep it up. Yep. Pros and cons to everything, so just- Exactly ... weigh those cons, pros and cons on an individual level. [00:15:00] Awesome.
Hopefully that helps, and we'll catch you on the next episode. Thanks so much, guys. Catch a new Voice Over Casting Corner episode every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Be sure to give a thumbs up, subscribe, and follow us at The Voice Castar on social media. Thanks for listening.
