Media Law for Producers, 4th Edition

7

Working with Guilds and Unions

For media producers, working with guilds and unions often means having to work through a thick tangle of rules, restrictions, and requirements. First, you must be willing to guarantee that performers and other guild or union members receive wages that are at or above “scale,” and you must also agree to contribute an additional percentage of the members’ wages to the applicable guild or union's pension and health plans. Second, you must also make sure that working conditions on the production (e.g., total working time, meal and rest breaks) satisfy the stringent specifications laid out in guild and union agreements. Just as important, in the case of performers and other “above-the-line” talent, you must ...