The Spanish Union of Actors and Actresses (Spanish; Castilian: Unión de Actores y Actrices) is the professional and independent union that represents the interests of the profession in Spain.[1] Most of the film, theater and television actors in Spain are members; it currently has approximately 2,630 affiliates.
Its main functions are to oversee and defend the profession of actors, in order to positively influence the creation of a fairer working society and an autonomous culture.[1]
In February 1986 the decision to create the Union of Actors and Actresses was in response to Prime Minister of Spain Felipe González forming a ministerial cabinet committee to review a plan to pass a law that would declare actors responsible as individuals. Actors in the country mobilized against this, and in June they signed the declaration for the creation of the union.[2] [3]
The organization focuses on three areas:[1]
In 1999, the union requested the basic coverage of its artists to match that of the other registered workers in social security.[4]
In 2003, the Union protested against the War in Iraq, with a symbolic award ceremony of peace.[5] [6]
In 2006, the Union protested against the education law in Spain, for marginalizing culture and art for the benefit of the "most pragmatic subjects".[7]
See main article: Actors and Actresses Union Awards. Another of the objectives of the Union of Actors and Actresses is to promote those works that, in their opinion, deserve to be highlighted, whether they were made for film, television or theatre. To this end, the Spanish Actors Union Awards were created, which recognize the best acting work in each of these three areas.[8]