# What Is a Taft-Hartley? A Plain Guide for Actors > Where the name comes from, what the producer actually writes on the report, why some productions hesitate to file one, how to be an easy non-union hire, and what changes for you the day after you're Taft-Hartleyed. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/blog/what-is-a-taft-hartley - Published: 2026-10-25 - Last updated: 2026-10-25 The call comes on a Tuesday. You booked the co-star, two lines as a nurse at a front desk on a network drama. Then the casting assistant adds, almost in passing, "And we'll Taft you." You say thanks, hang up, and open a search bar. Every non-union actor hears the word eventually. It sounds like a medical procedure. Half the people on set use it as a verb, and the other half seem to think it's something you can apply for. The short version: a Taft-Hartley is a report a SAG-AFTRA producer files with the union when they hire someone who isn't a member. It names you, the job, and the reason they chose you over a member. The producer or casting office files it, not you, and it opens your eligibility to join: the first step. You can't make a production file one, but you can ask whether one is being filed, make yourself an easy hire, keep your own records, and know what the report changes the next time production checks your status. ## Where the name comes from The name belongs to a 1947 federal labor law, not to anything in show business. Its official title is the Labor Management Relations Act. According to [its Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft%E2%80%93Hartley_Act), it was sponsored by Senator Robert A. Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley Jr. President Truman vetoed it on June 20, 1947, and Congress overrode him: the House the same day and the Senate on June 23. For actors, one change matters. The [National Labor Relations Board's history of the Act](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/who-we-are/our-history/1947-taft-hartley-substantive-provisions) says it made the **closed shop** illegal. A closed shop is a deal where an employer hires only people who are already union members. What the law still allowed was a union shop: the employer can hire anyone, and the union contract can require that worker to join after a set time, from the 30th day of employment onward. That's why a union production can hire you at all when you're not a member. That's the law the paperwork is named after. Another part of the law, Section 14(b), lets states pass right-to-work laws that ban union-shop requirements. You'll hear actors mention right-to-work states when they talk about non-union work. The rules there are a question for SAG-AFTRA's local office, not set lore. ## What the report actually says SAG-AFTRA's [page on the Taft-Hartley report](https://www.sagaftra.org/what-taft-hartley-report) describes it as the written notice a signatory producer sends when they hire a non-member. Producers send it with your headshot and resume. On the theatrical and TV form for principals, it's due within 15 days of your first day of work, or 25 days on an overnight location. Other contracts set other deadlines. The heart of the form is the **reason for hire**. Signatory producers agree to give union members preference for principal roles, and, as [Acting Magazine](https://actingmagazine.com/2021/02/13/what-is-taft-hartley/) puts it, when they hire a non-member instead they "must provide an explanation for why the non-union actor was chosen." The principals form offers reasons such as these, according to SAG-AFTRA's own [Taft-Hartley report for principals](https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/taft_hartley_report_principals_6_1_2.pdf): - The performer is a member of a recognized "name" specialty group. - The performer is a famous person playing themselves. - The performer is military or government personnel. - The performer has a special skill or unique physical appearance, described on the form or shown in an attached photo. That isn't the whole list, and the exact wording differs between contracts. But look at the last item. It's the one you can do something about. Once the union has the report, SAG-AFTRA's materials say it creates a note in its system that you've worked on a SAG-AFTRA project for the first time. For a principal, that opens your eligibility to join, the first step toward membership. ## Why some productions hesitate If it's just a form, why doesn't every production happily file one? The reason has to hold up. SAG-AFTRA's New Media production checklist tells producers to be very specific about the reason. Its **Preference of Employment** rules let the union fine a production that hires a non-professional over a professional outside the allowed categories. The contracts call those fines liquidated damages, and the amounts depend on the contract. The line is often drawn at professionals. SAG-AFTRA's producer guide for its Interactive Media (video game) Agreement says that as long as the performer is "a qualified professional performer," there's no charge to the producer for the hire or the report. It describes that as someone with enough training or experience to qualify for a career as a performer, who intends to pursue one. Other contracts set their own rules. So the producer's question isn't really "is this actor union?" It's "can we explain this choice on paper?" Your job is to make that explanation easy to write. ## How to be an easy non-union hire The casting director Ramani Leah, CSA, wrote a short guide to the term for [The Casting Director's Cut](https://thecastingdirectorscut.com/?p=12675). From the casting side, Leah says it's much easier to Taft-Hartley actors on commercials than in TV. She also points to smaller film and new media projects as places where it's easier. Put her advice together with the form, and you get a plan: 1. **Audition for union commercials.** They're where casting offices most often go outside the union, by Leah's account. Our guide to [commercial auditions](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-commercial-audition) covers the room. 2. **Make your special skills real and specific.** The form asks the producer to describe the skill. "Athletic" gives them nothing to write. "Competitive figure skater, eight years" gives them a sentence. List only what you can do on camera today. 3. **Look like a professional on paper.** Training, credits, and a current headshot all support the idea that you're a qualified professional performer. Our guide to an [acting resume with little experience](https://www.offbook.com/blog/acting-resume-no-experience) helps if your list is short. 4. **Submit to smaller projects.** Leah names smaller films and new media as easier places to get Taft-Hartleyed. Remember that Ultra Low Budget, student, and short film agreements don't count toward eligibility, as our [SAG-AFTRA eligibility guide](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-become-sag-aftra-eligible) explains. 5. **Be ready if a background day turns into a line.** Leah lists an upgrade from background to principal as one of the ways actors get Taft-Hartleyed. The rules for when an upgrade counts are in the eligibility guide above. 6. **Produce your own union project, if you have the means.** Leah's last route: if you have the money and resources, you can produce a union project yourself and Taft-Hartley yourself onto it. And the question everyone asks: can you request one? The producer or casting office files the report, and you can't make a production file one, or make it pick you over a member. What you can do, once you're booked, is ask politely whether a Taft-Hartley is being filed for you, and keep your contract and pay stub together in case you need proof later. ## The background version There's a second form. SAG-AFTRA has a separate [Taft-Hartley report for background performers](https://www.sagaftra.org/taft-hartley-report-background), used when a production hires a non-member as background on a union job. One background day doesn't make you eligible the way one principal day does. The background route needs three days of union background work. And keep the pay stubs, not just the vouchers: SAG-AFTRA says vouchers aren't accepted as proof of work. ## What changes the day after you're Taft-Hartleyed Your eligibility is open, which mostly changes what happens the next time you book union work. Before your first day on a SAG-AFTRA job, production checks each performer's status with the union. SAG-AFTRA's [production checklist for theatrical and TV](https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/production_checklist_theatrical_television_4_7_2.pdf) says the answer comes back as one of a few labels: - **OK:** you're clear to work. - **Station 12:** you need to contact SAG-AFTRA to sort out your membership or what you owe before you work. - **Must-pay:** where the contract's union security rules apply, you have to pay the initiation fee and dues within 5 business days of starting work. For a newly eligible actor, the label mostly depends on timing. SAG-AFTRA's [Young Performers Handbook](https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/sa_documents/young_performers_handbook.pdf) says that after your first principal day under a SAG-AFTRA contract, you have 30 days in which you can take other work, union or non-union. After that, you have to pay the initiation fee before your next SAG-AFTRA job. The full rules, the fees, and the case for joining now or waiting are in our guide to [becoming SAG-AFTRA eligible](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-become-sag-aftra-eligible). Write down the date of your first principal day the day you work it. It's easy to lose track of later, and it's the date your 30 days count from. You'll see different versions of when the 30 days start in different articles, so if the timing is tight, call SAG-AFTRA and ask them to confirm your dates. ## Make the job that got you Taft-Hartleyed a good one A Taft-Hartley means someone went to the trouble of explaining why they wanted you. Show up as the actor they described. On a commercial or a co-star day, you may get your sides late and have only a few takes to land a line, so arrive word-perfect and ready to take a note. Offbook is built for that kind of quick, exact prep. Upload your sides, pick your role, and realistic voices read every other character while Offbook listens through your microphone and plays the next cue when you finish your line. Hide your lines for the last few runs, so you're testing your memory instead of reading. Our guide to [memorizing lines for film and TV](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-memorize-lines-for-film-and-tv) has more on working with late pages. Then keep your pay stub, note the date, and start counting. ## Questions actors ask ### What does it mean to be Taft-Hartleyed? It means a producer on a SAG-AFTRA job hired you as a non-member and filed a Taft-Hartley report with the union explaining why. For a principal role, that report opens your eligibility to join SAG-AFTRA, the first step toward membership. ### Can I ask to be Taft-Hartleyed? The producer or casting office files the report, and you can't make a production file one. Casting director Ramani Leah notes that if you have the means, you can produce a union project and Taft-Hartley yourself. Otherwise, once you've booked a union job, you can ask production whether one is being filed for you, and keep your contract and pay stub as your own proof. ### Does a Taft-Hartley cost me anything? The report itself doesn't. Joining the union does, and once your 30 days after your first principal day are up, you'll need to pay the initiation fee before your next SAG-AFTRA job. Our eligibility guide lists the current fees. ### Who fills out the Taft-Hartley report? The producer, or the casting director on their behalf. On the theatrical and TV form for principals, it's due within 15 days of your first day of work, or 25 days on an overnight location. Other contracts can set other deadlines. ### Is a Taft-Hartley the same as being a SAG-AFTRA member? No. It opens your eligibility to join, the first step. You become a member only when you apply and pay the initiation fee.