The dubbing industry is booming and more content is being produced than ever before by Netflix, Amazon, Sony and the like. With this kind of growth, there has never been a better time to make sure that actors are not left behind.

Historically, workers across all industries have made gains by bargaining collectively with their employers: dubbing actors should be no different. Through collective bargaining, actors are able to have a voice in shaping industry standards through the creation of a contract that makes sense for everyone (including employers!). We believe that making our industry union will bring dubbing work up to the same professional standards that our colleagues in union voice acting have already achieved. Additionally, more union work means more opportunities for actors to become members of SAG-AFTRA.

We are the union! A union is a group of workers who want to make the changes together that they can’t make alone.

A union bargains with employers, empowering workers to achieve benefits and to protect their rights and livelihood. When workers have come together to bargain with their employers they have won standardized breaks, vacation days, maternity leave, sick days, overtime pay, health insurance, and worker’s compensation, among many other things!

Building a union is hard, but we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. SAG-AFTRA already exists to represent performers of all kinds across the entertainment industry. As with many labor unions, members democratically guide what the organizing priorities are and we’re excited that dubbing is one of them.

For a list of other benefits of SAG-AFTRA membership, click here.

Fair question. The existing SAG-AFTRA dubbing agreement is now sixteen years old and largely, outdated. Working together with SAG-AFTRA staff, we intend to update it so that it makes sense for the current state of the industry. SAG-AFTRA has created a brand new Voiceover Department in order to better address the concerns of those in our field. We have a very exciting opportunity to take an active role in establishing standards for the employment of dubbing actors. not only those of us who work in this industry now, but for future dubbing actors as well.

There’s no reason that has to be the case. The Coalition of Dubbing Actors includes both union members and non-union members, and this campaign is intended to help us all. Non-union actors are always eligible to audition for union projects, and the process of becoming eligible for the union is far simpler than many would have you believe. If you’re hearing otherwise, please contact us and we would be happy to go over what this process entails!

Yes you can! SAG-AFTRA members live all over the country — — and many in RTW states. We need as many people to join as possible because we are only as strong and effective as our membership. Additionally, a union contract negotiated in RTW states applies to all actors regardless of union status. Of course union membership means access to services unavailable to non-members, including voting for union leadership, joining member committees, or attending caucuses. Workers in RTW states will never be forced into joining; while we hope you’ll join, ultimately it is your decision and it’s not one you have to make right away.

Not at all! There’s a lot of misinformation about the ease with which a production can go union. SAG-AFTRA staff are always available to help producers through this process. More importantly, if union work becomes the norm, there are standards in place which prevent companies from being able to undercut one another by under-bidding for work. If you’re a producer who is curious about the process of taking a project union, click here.

Our ultimate aim is to negotiate with our employers to ensure that actors are not left behind as our industry grows. A strike doesn’t happen lightly or overnight, and would only happen if every effort to negotiate completely fails. It is our sincere hope and belief that studios will listen if we come to them as a unified group, ready to negotiate and come up with a contract that benefits both parties. We would never call for a targeted work stoppage without majority support from all working dubbing performers. We expect and want this to be a positive and collaborative effort for everyone – including producers and clients.

We are all actors who deeply love this industry and know how difficult it is to make a life out of this work. None of us want to make our fellow actors’ lives harder, or negatively impact our industry. While a work-stoppage is the most powerful tool a group of actors can decide to use, most of the time workers don’t have to use it.

CODA is currently led by performers in Los Angeles, New York, and Texas – we’re in this together! Moreover, there’s more work right now than there’s ever been before. They need us – without our voices, no content can be produced. Quality work is important to clients and we believe they will appreciate that we are committed to improving this industry.

Dubbing requires a very unique skill set — the work we do is not easy! While it is possible to teach new actors how to dub, to do so with entire casts of several projects at once would be prohibitively time consuming and expensive. Further, it is illegal for studios to blacklist actors for organizing, as organizing is legally protected on both state and federal levels. If we all band together it will be impossible to replace us all. No one is doing this alone!

Under both state and federal laws, ALL workers have the right to organize collectively and are protected from retaliation. As long as you are continuing to perform what your job mandates, you are protected. To learn more about your rights, click HERE. For more information pertaining to your respective state, please contact us.

If you’re an actor, you can sign our open letter and make sure we have your email so that you can receive updates on upcoming events.

If you’re a producer, you can contact SAG-AFTRA for help making a project union or to share your input towards developing a contract that makes sense for the industry as a whole.

We love our fans and your support means more than anything to us! Please follow us on Twitter for updates and tweet our hashtag to tell the world you support our cause. Aaaand of course we’ll see you at conventions! Come say hi!