Pay Rates & Minimums
"What do I have to pay a union actor?" There's a minimum — called scale — and it depends on your agreement and how the actor is hired. You won't find dollar figures here (they change), but you'll learn exactly how union pay is built so you can read any current rate sheet.
Every producer wants the number: what do I have to pay? The union's answer is a minimum — known as scale — which is the least you can pay a performer for a given kind of work under your agreement. You can always pay more than scale (and often will, to attract a specific actor), but never less. This chapter teaches the structure of union pay so you can pick up any current SAG-AFTRA rate sheet and read it correctly.
What "scale" means
Scale is the union minimum. Your low-budget agreement (Chapter 4) sets the scale for that tier — lower tiers, lower scale. When people say an actor is working "for scale," they mean at the union minimum. "Scale plus ten" means scale plus a 10% agent fee on top. The key mindset: scale is a floor, not a fixed price. Budget from the current scale for your tier, and add on top wherever a performance is worth it to you.
How an actor is hired changes the rate
Union pay isn't one number — it depends on the category of performer and how they're booked:
The practical takeaway mirrors the crew logic from the Budgeting course: book by the day for short engagements, by the week for long ones. If a lead is on for most of your shoot, a weekly deal almost always beats stacking daily rates. Look at each actor's number of days and choose the cheaper structure.
Overtime and the long day
Just like crew, union performers have a defined workday, and going past it costs more. Beyond the standard number of hours, overtime rates apply (typically time-and-a-half, then double time for the longest days). This is another reason the schedule and budget are joined at the hip (see the Budgeting course): a day that blows past its hours doesn't just tire your cast — it multiplies their pay. Plan realistic days and you keep actor overtime from eating your budget.
Reading a rate sheet like a pro
- Start from your exact agreement and tier. Rates are specific to the low-budget tier you signed — use that column, not a general one.
- Find the right performer category. Day performer, weekly, background — match the row to how you're booking each actor.
- Note it's a minimum. Everything on the sheet is a floor you can exceed, never a ceiling you must hit.
- Remember what's not on it. Scale is just wages — pension & health and other fringes come on top (next chapter). Never budget scale alone.
- Confirm it's current. Rate sheets are dated. Use today's version, because they change.
Two things about union pay took me longer to learn than they should have. First: scale is a floor, not the price — I used to think "SAG rate" meant a fixed cost, then realized I could (and sometimes should) pay above it to land the right actor, and that plenty of great performers will work at scale for material they love. Second: I once budgeted my leads at daily scale for a three-week shoot and was horrified at the total, until a line producer switched them to weekly deals and the number dropped hard. Same actors, same days, far less money — just the right booking structure. Learn the categories, always start from your tier's current rate sheet, and never, ever forget the fringes sit on top. That last one is next.
Scale is only part of what an actor costs you. The rest — the pension, health, and other fringes layered on top of every wage — is where budgets get surprised. That's the next chapter.
SAG-AFTRA runs on paperwork — agreements, cast contracts, Taft-Hartley reports, time sheets. The Contract Assistant helps you generate and track the right documents so nothing gets missed and you stay compliant.