In 1929, he became a founding member of British Equity, the actors' union, served on its council from 1949 and was three times its vice president from 1963 to 1965, 1975 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1982.[6] Goring's relationship with his union was fraught with conflict: he took it to litigation on three occasions. In 1978, regarding the issue of the supremacy of a referendum to decide Equity rules, he took it as far as the House of Lords and won his case.