Actors' Equity Members Vote to Approve New 3-Year Contract Agreement

According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, members of Actor's Equity have voted to approve the 3-year collective bargaining agreement for Broadway shows and sit-down productions. Actors' Equity has been in negotiations with the Broadway League since September. The new agreement will be in effect through September 28, 2025.

Of the agreement, Equity Executive Director Al Vincent, Jr. said, "The Broadway League is the largest group of employers for Equity members, and coming to our first agreement after the pandemic shutdown and subsequent reopening is a major step. This was not an easy negotiation, and over 21 bargaining sessions everyone on both sides of the table had to make difficult choices. I am proud of the work the Equity team did to achieve a contract that makes significant strides on a number of issues that have been on our agenda for decades. And this agreement also lays important foundations that we will build on in negotiations to come."

President of Actors' Equity Kate Shindle said, "We went into this negotiation with an ambitious package reflecting the priorities of actors and stage managers working this contract. While we certainly didn't achieve all of them, we did make progress: fewer 10/12s, fewer rehearsal hours after opening, significant EDI advances, paid sick leave for the entire Equity company, more stage manager preproduction, increases in some chorus increments and our highest overall salary gains in decades.

"We will need to continue to build on this work. (For example, while we achieved our first-ever cap on split tracks for swings, five is still too many.) I hope our members will stay engaged, especially if they are asked to do anything that makes them feel unsafe. We are now prepping for bargaining both Touring and LORT, which have significant worker overlap with Production. The voices of mobilized actors and stage managers clearly made this a better deal than it otherwise would have been. That same activism and solidarity will also be crucial for these upcoming negotiations."

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks

THE BROADWAY LEAGUE (Charlotte St. Martin, President), founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters and general managers in nearly 200 markets in North America and internationally. Each year, League members bring Broadway to upwards of 30 million people in New York, on tour across the U.S. and Canada and around the globe.