If you're not a celebrity or 18-30 years old and want to work in voiceover, Financial Core may afford you the opportunity to do so. They are hypocrates. The best thing to do is not to join a union until you have accrued enough non-union work to determine whether or not you may be competitive in the union work arena. However, one may have unique and singular reasons for becoming Financial Core, For me, it was a necessary and beneficial move. I would not have done it if the performer unions were more caring and effective in my right to work, addressing the practice of discrimination and enacting contract language that was more producer friendly.
Financial core allows former full dues paying members to work on both sides of the fence.
The trade off is that financial core members can't run for union office, vote, attend union meetings or get union publications. There are a lot of poorly negotiated contracts that do not allow producers to work freely. Many contract stipulations are unfair to producers. Good producers have no problem paying a fair wage for work or providing decent working conditions, but many union provisions tie their hands creatively as well as with paperwork, parasitic middlemen and unnecessary expense. Because of technology we are able to provide services rapidly around the country, from state to state, as well as around the globe.