Film Accounting Glossary
Union fringes
What are union fringes?
Also called guild fringes, or union benefits.
Union fringes are the employer contributions required by a guild or union agreement on top of wages: pension, health and welfare, annuity or individual account, vacation and holiday pay, and in some cases training funds.
Rates are set by each agreement and tier, so the same crew position carries different fringes on a basic agreement than on a low-budget one. Fringes are audited by the plans themselves after wrap, independently of the production's own audits.
Example
The same camera assistant position carries a different fringe load on a low-budget agreement than on the Basic Agreement: different pension percentages, different health contributions per hour, sometimes a training fund. Budget off the wrong agreement and every labor line is wrong.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Remitted per the applicable agreement's schedule, then audited by the plans themselves after wrap, independently of the production's own audits.
Common mistake
Budgeting from a previous show's fringe percentages. Agreements and tiers differ, and last picture's rates on this picture's agreement is a systematic error.
Related questions
- What do union fringes include?
- Employer contributions for pension, health and welfare, annuity or individual account, vacation and holiday pay, and sometimes a training fund.
- Who audits union fringe contributions?
- The benefit plans themselves, after wrap, independently of the production's own audits. Underpayments found then are a real post-delivery liability.