Stage and Screen Star Ed Asner, Among Plaintiffs In Law Suit Against Actors' Equity, Has A Long History Of Labor Activism

With nearly all labor unions, anyone who would accept a job paying less than the standard rate would be considered a scab.

It's different with actors' unions, of course, where members are allowed, under contracted conditions, to work for no pay in theaters seating 99 audience members or less. In New York we have Equity Showcase productions. In Los Angeles they're called Equity Waiver.

As reported by BroadwayWorld members of the Los Angeles theatrical community have filed a lawsuit against Actors' Equity Association for its decision to eliminate its 25-year-old waiver of jurisdiction over 99 seat theaters, believing this will force theaters to close, reduce their production runs or persuade producers to hire non-union volunteer actors in place of union actors.

It's no surprised that one of the plaintiffs named is Ed Asner, the accomplished stage and screen actor most known to audiences as Lou Grant, the loveably gruff newsman from THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and the spinoff drama series LOU GRANT.

Off-camera and off-stage, Asner has a long history of activism on behalf of political and labor issues. He was a very vocal leader in the 1980 strike by the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) regarding compensation for the new phenomenon of movies on pay TV networks. That year he won the Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series, but was one of the 51 actors who boycotted the ceremony.

The next year he was elected president of SAG and served through 1985. Asner is an outspoken opponent of the 2012 merger between SAG and AFTRA, citing a negative effect on pensions and health plans and is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the union on that issue.

In 2013, Asner was honored with the Washington West Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. This video covering career highlights was a part of the ceremony.