The Trouble with Actor’s Equity

The union issues a strike threat for Broadway National Tours

FIONA SULLIVAN FIONA.SULLIVAN.20@CNU.EDU

Actor’s Equity, which is a union that represents more than 50,000 actors, stage managers, and other crew members, has been attempting to create a new touring contract with The Broadway League which is a similar union that represents producers and general managers, etc.

The problem is that Actor’s Equity’s executive director Al Vincent Jr. is now allowed to call a strike on all Broadway tours if necessary since the union has dealt with several issues during these tours.

According to Hollywood Reporter, Actor’s Equity’s current needs for the touring contract include increasing members’ per diem rates to cover the rising cost of food and housing on the road and also wage increases.

They are also asking for more coverage for actors and tech crew on tour since many don’t have any resources if they’re sick or injured. In the arts, there has always been the mentality of ‘the show must go on’ but illnesses must be taken seriously.

These are all actions that must be taken; however, for producers in The Broadway League, this would drastically increase their costs which is why they aren’t thrilled to negotiate and witness a strike.

The president of Actor’s Equity, Kate Shindle, spoke to Hollywood Reporter and gave progress on the deal with The Broadway League.

“We thought we were making progress. We believed that we would reach a deal last week, but ultimately, we just were nowhere close in terms of what we know our members need and what The Broadway League was willing to offer.”

The two unions have two more meetings scheduled for April 11 and 12 so the hope is that both parties can come to a resolution. However, the possibility of actors having to take a negative job action is becoming more and more real.

Hollywood Reporter stated that as of April 3, 89 percent of tour members had signed a strike pledge and the Actor’s Equity’s national council already voted to approve a strike.

An open letter to the Broadway league that was signed by more than 1000 past and present touring members was presented to the public in March where Equity members requested that the League to give a healthier, longlasting approach to touring.

“We are not asking to tour at an unreasonable level of luxury,” the letter stated. “We merely want conditions that enable us to do our work successfully without struggle.”

Actor’s Equity and The Broadway League have actually reached several agreements beforehand, the most recent being in December 2022 where they agreed on a new three year production contract that would govern Broadway shows and touring producitions. However, it was only approved by 57 percent of Equity members.

Ultimately, no one knows what might happen but the health and safety of performers and the technical crew comes first when it comes to staging Broadway productions.

“We don’t want to strike,” Shindle told Hollywood Reporter. “We want a deal. Everybody wants to continue working, especially after having so much time with no work at all. But we have to prepare for that, so that if we need to, we need to.”

The instagram @actorsequity will post updates in the following weeks as well as their website. In the meantime, Broadway professionals continue to speak out and advocate for their rights.