IATSE President Pens Letter To Atlantic Theater Board, Condemns Lack Of Progress In Bargaining

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees' International President  Matthew D. Loeb has written a letter to the Atlantic Theater Company's Board of Directors stressing the need for urgent intervention by leadership to settle outstanding crew negotiations and federal labor charges.

In February of 2024, the Atlantic Theater crew was the first group to unionize with IATSE from a major off-Broadway, non-profit theater. However, several months later, Atlantic Theater's negotiators have made minimal progress in achieving a first contract and have offered little to address workers' concerns. 

Recently, Atlantic's leaders have taken actions that seek to strongarm workers into accepting a watered down deal, including moves to starve out crewmembers by “postponing” the fall production season  indefinitely — an action that deprived audiences and prompted the Union to file an unfair labor practice  charge (ULP) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). 

The Atlantic has benefitted from substantial sums of public money in recent years, with records showing  over $4.3 million from a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) — derived from the 2021 Save Our  Stages law — as well as a total of $205,000 from several National Endowment for the Arts Grants over the past decade. “It is unconscionable that the Atlantic has taken millions in taxpayer dollars and is now  paying a high-priced union-busting attorney to stall negotiations,” said IATSE International President  Matthew D. Loeb. “The Atlantic Board must put a stop to this immediately and deliver a fair contract for  their dedicated crew.” 

The crew, which includes members covering carpentry, electrics, scenic, props, audio, video,  hair/makeup, and wardrobe, voted nearly unanimously in favor of unionization on February 20th, 2024.  The official National Labor Relations Board election results revealed overwhelming support for the  Union, with 129 “yes” votes and only 1 “no” vote. 

The Atlantic Theater is part of a growing movement of off-Broadway workers joining in Union to secure  better wages, benefits, comprehensive training, and robust safety measures. To join the movement and  learn more go to: offbroadway.iatse.net.