Financial Core Status and the SAG-AFTRA Stand-In (Updated Repost)

In 2015, we ran the following post on the topic of financial core status.

“Fi-core” status in SAG-AFTRA is a legally protected option that permits a stand-in to join the union as a “non-member” rather than as an “member.” In states like California and New York, that means the stand-in can pay the SAG-AFTRA to work union jobs much as a “full member” would, but the fi-core stand-in does not also have to follow SAG-AFTRA’s rules that it imposes on members.

We have updated the post a little, which mentions our sister website Fi-Core Central and its ebook The Fi-Core Workbook. Have a read if you have been interested to learn more about fi-core status and you work as a stand-in.

— The Editor

If you’re a stand-in in SAG-AFTRA, you may have heard of something called “financial core” or “fi-core.”

There is a lot of confusing, loaded, even wrong information out there about financial core status. The website Fi-Core Central exists to clear up a lot of the professional questions around financial core, and  The Fi-Core Workbook — a downloadable ebook by Ben Hauck available on the website — clarifies financial core and many of its implications, offering unbiased guidance and instruction for screen actors weighing financial core status.  (Nb. Ben Hauck is also the editor of Stand-In Central.)

But if you’re simply a stand-in in SAG-AFTRA and you’re not also a screen actor, you may be wondering what financial core status is and whether it would be worthwhile to become fi-core.

This article covers the topic of financial core and how it relates to SAG-AFTRA stand-ins.

“Financial Core” Defined

The term “financial core” originated in the 1963 case National Labor Relations Board v. General Motors. In dispute was whether workers had to follow union rules in order to work in a unionized workplace.

The Supreme Court of the United States decided that on jobs requiring union “membership,” what constituted union membership was, basically, the payment of fees and dues to the union. In other words, for a job requiring an applicant to be a union member, in order to be considered a union member, the applicant needed at the very least to pay, say, an initiation fee and periodic dues to the union.

The passage in the decision where the term “financial core” originated reads:

[The concept] “Membership” as a condition of employment is whittled down to its financial core.

This is to say that, according to the decision, you did not also have to follow union rules in order to be considered a member. You only needed to pay fees and dues. By paying the appropriate fees and dues, you could work in a union shop, and you were not obligated to follow union rules.

The term “financial core” was further refined in the 1988 case Communication Workers of America v. Beck, wherein just how much a financial core worker had to pay a union was clarified. The Supreme Court of the United States decided that financial core workers needed only to pay for union activities “germane to collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment.”

In other words, any additional activities beyond collective bargaining and enforcement of its contracts (for example, any political or ideological activities by the union),  the financial core worker did not have to pay for in fees. Therefore, a financial core union member in theory could pay less than a “full” union member insofar as the union did more than collective bargaining and its related activities.

All in all, the term “financial core” or “fi-core” has come to refer to a worker in nearly any union who works in jobs in a union’s jurisdiction, pays the appropriate fees and dues to the union, but does not have to follow union rules.

Financial Core & SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA has a rule called Global Rule One (aka “GR1”), which prohibits members from working on a non-union job in the union’s jurisdiction anywhere in the world.

Since financial core workers do not need to follow union rules, SAG-AFTRA members who declare financial core status do not have to adhere to Global Rule One and thus can work in non-union jobs without fear of union prosecution.

For the SAG-AFTRA actors and the like, “fi-core” tends to mean that the worker has the ability to work in both union and non-union jobs within SAG-AFTRA jurisdiction. However, “fi-core” specifically means that the worker merely pays fees and dues and does not have to abide by union rules. The ability to work non-union is a consequence of going fi-core in SAG-AFTRA.

Financial Core & Stand-Ins

If you work regularly and exclusively as a SAG-AFTRA stand-in, arguably, you will probably not open up many stand-in opportunities by declaring financial core.

This is because most stand-in jobs — that is, those largely found in the California and New York areas — are union jobs. Of those stand-in jobs that are not union (such as on non-union film and non-union commercials), most of these stand-in jobs likely pay less than union stand-in rates.

Of those stand-in jobs outside the California and New York areas, these stand-in jobs may fall outside of union jurisdiction, and if so, working on them would not violate SAG-AFTRA’s Global Rule One. SAG-AFTRA’s different collective bargaining agreements negotiated opposite film, television, and commercial producers outline whether stand-ins are covered by SAG-AFTRA — and not in all areas are stand-ins covered by SAG-AFTRA. For a SAG-AFTRA stand-in working in an area where SAG-AFTRA does not represent them, this means that the stand-in is working outside union jurisdiction, and therefore does not violate Global Rule One when standing in on these projects.  Interestingly, there are plenty of areas in the United States where principal actors may be represented by SAG-AFTRA — but not those actors’ stand-ins! Usually, stand-ins in markets far outside California and New York make less than stand-ins in the markets covered by SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreements.

Therefore, you are able to take non-union stand-in work even if you are a SAG-AFTRA member, but only when the union does not have jurisdiction over background actors and/or stand-ins on those projects. It is strongly advisable to contact your regional SAG-AFTRA local office to confirm this information before accepting stand-in work, if you fear taking it may violate Global Rule One.

Other stand-in jobs — like those on print shoots — are also outside union jurisdiction, so you would be free to stand in on them as long as there is no video or behind-the-scenes footage being shot involving you.  (Such video is under SAG-AFTRA’s jurisdiction usually in such cases.)

Financial Core & Stand-Ins Who Are Also Actors

But, if you are not exclusively a SAG-AFTRA stand-in, and if you are also, say, a SAG-AFTRA actor or another type of worker represented by SAG-AFTRA, you may open yourself up to other work opportunities in the non-union world by going fi-core.

In other words, if you work as a stand-in and also as a principal actor, declaring financial core status may allow you to work at union rates as a stand-in while also working union and non-union as an actor.

Financial Core as a Personal Decision

Many opinions swirl around for and against SAG-AFTRA membership and SAG-AFTRA rules. Many opinions also swirl around for and against financial core status and working non-union.

However, for all that can be said for and against going fi-core, declaring financial core status is ultimately a personal decision. No two financial core workers are alike, so no blanket characterizations can be made about their motives, interests, etc., in declaring financial core status. Many unique factors may figure in to a union member’s decision to go fi-core, which could include financial reasons, economic reasons, professional reasons, political reasons, etc.

Financial core status affords some SAG-AFTRA members the ability to make an income as, say, an actor, where they may have been historically unable to book union acting jobs.

Some may be faced with an inability to pay bills because of union rules against working non-union, so going fi-core enables them to pay their bills with non-union work.

Some may disagree with the political activities of the union, so going fi-core ensures they are not supporting speech or ideological activity with which they disagree.

Some may envision their professional success independent of union membership or jurisdiction, so going fi-core allows them professional freedom.

All in all, each financial core worker has different reasons for declaring financial core status. If a stand-in were to declare financial core status, only that stand-in could explain his/her reasons for doing so and what he/she intended by the decision.

Things to Consider When Weighing Financial Core

When you declare financial core status within SAG-AFTRA, you will lose some member-only privileges, like voting rights.

However, you will also keep some benefits that come with union membership. Notably, you will still be eligible to earn toward union health insurance and the pension plans when you work on union jobs.

You will also gain some benefits when you go fi-core — notably, you will have the ability to work on non-union jobs.

The Fi-Core Workbook goes into great detail about what you keep, lose, and gain when you declare financial core status. The ebook offers up questions to consider if you are a screen actor deciding whether financial core is right for you. Should you want to declare financial core status, the ebook gives instruction on the steps you need to take, as well as shows you what you should do after you declare financial core status.

So if you are a stand-in who is also a screen actor, and if you are weighing whether to declare financial core status, you may want to look into getting The Fi-Core Workbook.

Standing in When You Are Fi-Core

If you are a SAG-AFTRA stand-in who does declare financial core status, you may see little to no difference in your work experience.

As financial core, you keep your union number should you need it to write on your voucher.

As financial core, you lose your member card, but if you need to trade it for a prop, you can trade some other form of identification or collateral.

You will still be paid the same as when you were a card-carrying union member, have access to union reps on set if you have grievances, and earn toward health insurance and pension.

In fact, as defined under the contracts you work under, you are still considered a “member”! It’s just that in going fi-core, you give up your membership as defined in SAG-AFTRA’s Constitution.

More Information

For more information, visit Fi-Core Central and download its ebook, The Fi-Core Workbook.

Have you declared financial core status? What have you gained as a stand-in in going fi-core? Share your experiences below!