SAG-AFTRA Surveying Members About Industry’s Covid Vaccination Mandates & Other Issues

SAG-AFTRA is surveying its members about how they feel about the industry’s Covid vaccination mandate in advance of the January 31 expiration of the Covid protocols, per an oft-extended agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers and Hollywood’s unions.

“Do you approve of employers requiring Covid-19 vaccination as a condition of access to the set?” asks one of the questions. “If there are extenuating circumstances that mean a production will not go forward in the absence of an employer vaccine mandate, do you support the employer being able to implement such a mandate?” asks another.

The survey (see it here) also asks how familiar members are with SAG-AFTRA’s “development of Covid-19 safety protocols and policies” that have “created a safer workplace during a global pandemic.”

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher had asked for the survey. In the current issue of the SAG-AFTRA Magazine, she wrote:

“I continue to fight on behalf of our members who feel discriminated against because of the Covid unvaccinated or un-boosted status, which is keeping them from working in major studio productions. For those members not being fairly considered by studios with regards to their religious or health exemptions, help is on the way!

“As a result of this lingering policy, many performers have lost their representation, their medical benefits and their livelihoods. We want to take the pulse of the entire member body on this issue and many more, so watch for the national SAG-AFTRA survey, and answer all the questions to help our National Board best represent you.”

The survey also includes questions about how members feel about the importance of various services the guild provides, including contract enforcement and negotiations; communications; the guild’s safety hotline; residuals processing, and organizing new work opportunities, as well as their familiarity with SAG-AFTRA’s commitment to promoting diversity and equity; sustainability, and preventing and combatting sexual harassment.

“SAG-AFTRA is your union and we are here to serve you,” the guild told its members. “Please take a few moments to complete this important survey about the issues that matter most to you, how we can best communicate with you, and where we should focus our efforts to be most effective.

“We strive to make the industry more inclusive and equitable for every one of our members, and it all starts with you. Your feedback is important to continuing our good work in the years to come and to help us better understand and serve you, the members.”

All responses to the survey, the guild noted, are “anonymous and confidential.”