Intimacy Coordinators Seek to Become Part of SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA has officially taken steps to represent intimacy coordinators by filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board. This marks the latest development in the union’s five-year effort to professionalize the role, which gained prominence in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Intimacy coordinators are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of actors during the filming of intimate scenes, including those involving nudity or sexual content.
In 2020, the union introduced guidelines defining the role and responsibilities of intimacy coordinators. In 2021, it established an accreditation program to set a standard for training and practice, and an official registry, which now includes about 70 people from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and other countries. The following year, SAG-AFTRA invited intimacy coordinators to join the union. Despite these advancements, many intimacy coordinators are still working without formal protections, standardized wages, benefits, health insurance, or pension: a gap that SAG-AFTRA is determined to close.
Recognition by the NLRB would enable the powerful performer’s union to bargain for minimum pay and working conditions. The counterparty in these negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming platforms, has not yet offered to voluntarily recognize intimacy coordinators. This means the unionization process must follow a longer path. Once the petition is submitted to the NLRB, intimacy coordinators must hold a vote to approve SAG-AFTRA representation.
“Working in scenes involving nudity or physical intimacy is some of the most vulnerable work an actor can do. Intimacy coordinators not only provide assistance in navigating these scenes, but they also create a safety net for performers, ensuring consent and protection throughout the entire process,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement. “Intimacy coordinators have our backs on set, and now it’s our turn to have theirs.”
Source: Variety
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SAG-AFTRA has officially taken steps to represent intimacy coordinators by filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board. This marks the latest development in the union’s five-year effort to professionalize the role, which gained prominence in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Intimacy coordinators are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of actors during the filming of intimate scenes, including those involving nudity or sexual content.
In 2020, the union introduced guidelines defining the role and responsibilities of intimacy coordinators. In 2021, it established an accreditation program to set a standard for training and practice, and an official registry, which now includes about 70 people from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and other countries. The following year, SAG-AFTRA invited intimacy coordinators to join the union. Despite these advancements, many intimacy coordinators are still working without formal protections, standardized wages, benefits, health insurance, or pension: a gap that SAG-AFTRA is determined to close.
Recognition by the NLRB would enable the powerful performer’s union to bargain for minimum pay and working conditions. The counterparty in these negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios and streaming platforms, has not yet offered to voluntarily recognize intimacy coordinators. This means the unionization process must follow a longer path. Once the petition is submitted to the NLRB, intimacy coordinators must hold a vote to approve SAG-AFTRA representation.
“Working in scenes involving nudity or physical intimacy is some of the most vulnerable work an actor can do. Intimacy coordinators not only provide assistance in navigating these scenes, but they also create a safety net for performers, ensuring consent and protection throughout the entire process,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement. “Intimacy coordinators have our backs on set, and now it’s our turn to have theirs.”
Source: Variety
Share:
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