Global Rule One

Global Rule One states: No member shall render any services or make an agreement to perform services for any employer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the union, which is in full force and effect, in any jurisdiction in which there is a SAG-AFTRA national collective bargaining agreement in place. This provision applies worldwide.

Simply put, a SAG-AFTRA member must always work under a union contract around the globe.

Global Rule One is among the founding principles of our union: We stand together as members and do not work without a union contract where there are multiemployer industrywide agreements in place — for example, films, commercials, non-broadcast, scripted television, interactive, new media, student film and indie productions. It does not, however, automatically apply in jurisdictions where there are no multiemployer, industrywide agreements unless there is an active organizing effort underway.

SAG-AFTRA members can benefit from the protections of SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreements anywhere they work in the world. Working without a SAG-AFTRA contract harms your earning power and erodes the hard-won gains of our union, which hurts all members. Because SAG-AFTRA members have abided by Global Rule One, millions of dollars in contributions have been made into the pension and health funds that otherwise would have been lost.

SAG-AFTRA takes Global Rule One very seriously; violating it can result in disciplinary action ranging from reprimands to fines to expulsion. It is each member’s responsibility to ensure that a producer is a SAG-AFTRA signatory and to get a SAG-AFTRA contract wherever they work, even when working outside of the United States.

For information on Global Rule One, please contact the appropriate SAG-AFTRA Contracts Department as follows:

Theatrical Motion Pictures: (323) 549-6828
Television: (323) 549-6835
Commercials/Infomercials: (323) 549-6858
Corporate/Educational: (323) 549-6858
Sound Recordings and Music Videos: (323) 634-8150