Reprinted from Deadline Hollywood by David Robb on June 25, 2021.
A chorus of calls for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations – and the possibility that the industry soon might make them a requirement – prompted SAG-AFTRA to adopt new guidelines for employers who want to require proof of vaccination as a condition of employment. To date, vaccinations of casts and crews are not mandatory on film and TV productions under the industry’s return-to-work protocols. But those protocols expire on Wednesday and are being renegotiated by the major companies and Hollywood’s unions.
On Thursday, SAG-AFTRA’s national board of directors approved a motion that authorizes the union’s staff “to approve requests for mandatory vaccination policies in strict compliance with SAG-AFTRA’s standard parameters for mandatory vaccination policies.”
During the board meeting, SAG-AFTRA leaders presented letters from producers and members that urged the union to adopt policies that would allow producers to mandate vaccinations. SAG-AFTRA leaders noted that that they’d received such requests from producers on shows airing on HBO, Starz and MRC and from the Producers Guild of America, as well. …
