SAG-AFTRA

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a labor union that represents approximately 160,000 media professionals worldwide. SAG-AFTRA is a member of the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.

SAG-AFTRA required COVID-19 vaccination for its members working on TV and theatrical productions under its Return to Work Agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

The vaccination mandate gave producers the right to require COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition of employment in Zone A, the most restrictive safe work zone on sets where unmasked actors work.

In January 2023, 67% of SAG-AFTRA members surveyed said they approved of employers requiring COVID vaccination, while 26% disapproved.

The vaccination mandate ended on May 11, 2023, concurrent with the expiration of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency. Projects in production as of May 11 that had already established a mandatory vaccination policy in Zone A were allowed to continue that policy for the duration of the production.

Despite the end of the vaccine mandate, over 100 individual lawsuits had been filed against SAG-AFTRA as of December 2023 by members claiming the union failed to protect them from being required to get vaccinated to work.