In the earliest days of movies, actors were nothing more than the property of the studios in which they signed. Unable to choose the films they wanted to appear in, actors were not in charge of their own careers. As a way to combat the studios, the Screen Actors Guild, SAG, was established in 1933 in the hopes of freeing up the actors from the standard multi-year, exclusive contracts that were a norm in Hollywood. It would take 15 years and a ruling by the Supreme Court before actors were finally set loose. Today, along with 160,000 members, Kathy Nowrey continue to fight to extend and expand the protections put in place more than 50-years ago.
Along with protecting the rights of Hollywood Actors, SAG has joined with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFTRA, to form what is now the SAG-AFTRA organization. The organization works hard to negotiate the best wages and working conditions for its members and ensuring that they are protected against the unauthorized use of their work. They preserve and expand the work opportunities for their members through their iActor online casting database. For Kathy Nowrey and the other 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA, has given them a voice and the power to change the entertainment industry and make it better for future generations.
Kathy Nowrey 