Broadway actors reach deal, but musicians still threaten strike
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The union representing Broadway’s actors and stage managers had been seeking higher wages and greater healthcare benefits.
PHOTO: SARA KRULWICH/NYTIMES
Michael Paulson
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NEW YORK – The union representing Broadway’s actors and stage managers reached a tentative agreement with the industry’s commercial producers on Oct 18, but a potential strike still looms because musicians have yet to make a deal.
Details of the agreement between Actors’ Equity Association and the Broadway League, which represents producers and theatre owners, were not immediately available. The union had been seeking higher wages and greater healthcare benefits.
The previous Actors’ Equity contract expired on Sept 28, and the union had authorised its leaders to call a strike if necessary, putting the industry on edge.
“After a marathon mediation session lasting until 6am, Equity and the Broadway League have reached a tentative agreement on the production contract,” the union’s executive director, Mr Al Vincent Jr, said in a statement, referring to the contract that governs work by actors and stage managers working on for-profit Broadway shows.
“This three-year agreement,” he added, “saves the Equity-League Health Fund while also making strides in our other priorities including scheduling and physical therapy access.”
The Broadway League also welcomed the progress. “We’re pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on terms both parties are comfortable with,” Mr Jason Laks, the group’s president, said in a statement. “Our focus has been negotiating in good faith at the bargaining table to reach a fair contract, and we thank our mediators for their diligent work bringing us together.”
The union will next share details of the agreement with its national council, which will vote on whether to recommend ratification. If it does, the agreement will be voted on by a subset of the union’s membership.
Although Actors’ Equity has more than 51,000 members, only those who have worked on Broadway since 2019 are eligible to vote on the contract. The union estimates that number at just under 4,000 members.
American Federation of Musicians Local 802, which represents musicians who work on Broadway, continues to warn that its members could walk out if they do not reach their own deal with the Broadway League. That contract expired on Aug 31.
The musicians are also hoping for higher wages and improved healthcare benefits, and they want to fend off an effort by producers to reduce compensation for instrumentalists who are paid additional money to take on some administrative tasks.
The musicians union is seeking to meet the Broadway League again over the coming week.
“We are thankful that our brothers and sisters in labour at Actors’ Equity have reached an agreement,” Mr Robert Suttmann, president of the musicians union, said in a statement. “Local 802 is still in negotiation for a fair contract, and everything remains on the table, including a strike.” NYTIMES
