SAG-AFTRA has posted a baby’s first strike guide for content creators.
The guild hasn’t gone on strike since 1980, and also just started accepting content creator members in 2021, so when it voted to strike July 14, many creators weren’t exactly sure what that meant for them. Were they allowed to continue accepting new brand deals? What if they had a contract already in place with a struck company? Does fulfilling that contract make them a scab?
The answers to those questions are yes (so long as those deals aren’t with struck companies), fulfill the contract, and no, according to SAG-AFTRA’s influencer FAQ.
The FAQ has lots more information guiding creators who are currently part of the guild or want to become part of it in the future, but the biggest thing creators need to know is that, unless they have a prior contract they must fulfill, they shouldn’t be doing any work for struck companies.
That means no accepting new deals, no posting promo for struck companies on socials (whether the promo is paid or not–like, don’t post unpaid videos about how stoked you are for the next big Hollywood studio event), and no attending things like fan conventions (in an official/brand representative capacity; for fun is fine) or red carpet premieres. SAG-AFTRA also discourages cosplaying characters from struck companies and their IPs during the strike.
Creators who already have contracts with struck companies are allowed to fulfill those contracts without being in violation of the strike. Don’t extend those contracts or agree to any further work, though.
Creators who aren’t part of SAG-AFTRA but want to be in the future need to pay close attention to all this, too. The guild specifically says that any independent creator who breaks solidarity with the strike and “performs covered work or services for a struck company during the strike” will be barred from SAG-AFTRA membership forever.
Member creators who have less clear-cut situations–for example, they’re working on a cross-promotional brand deal where only one company is struck–can reach out to SAG-AFTRA for personalized help at influencer@sagaftra.org.
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