Let’s start off by clearly defining some terms: Commercials produced under union contracts are required to provide actors with clearly laid out protections and compensation. Everything not produced under a union contract is “non-union,” which means no established rules. Non-union projects are the unregulated, wild west of acting and actors have to beware.
Here are five ways non-union commercial work can pose a risk to your health, wealth, and well-being:
1. SafetyUnion productions are required to provide certain protections for the safety of actors, including having insurance, restrictions on time spent on set (especially for children), breaks for meals, privacy, chairs, and much more. Non-union productions aren’t required to do any of that. If you get hurt on a non-union set, they may not be insured to cover it. They could make you work long hours without breaking for a meal or a rest, not provide safe transportation from base camp to set, and others threats to life and limb.
2. UsageFor union commercial projects, there’s no such thing as signing away the rights to your likeness forever, or what non-union contracts call “in perpetuity.” Every union project has a maximum period of use,
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