Equity Honors Jones with Paul Robeson Award
 |
James Earl Jones is the recipient of the 2011 Actors’ Equity (AEA) Paul Robeson Award. The annual award honors performers who best exemplify the principles the legendary actor, singer, author and activist lived by.
Jones, who is currently starring in a London West End production of “Driving Miss Daisy,” says in a statement that he briefly met Robeson three times, including once when he had the chance to hear him sing.
I was standing in the back of the concert hall and can describe the experience best by saying it was as if my soul was being rocked. It was the first time I understood what human magnetism was. Mr. Robeson was blessed with many endowments—among them the scholarship and athleticism of his youth, and the activist commitment that followed his fame as a performer.
S.F. Mime Troupe Talks Union—Really—and Sings and Dances, Too
 |
|
Let’s get one thing out of the way right off the bat—contrary to popular belief, mimes can talk. The silent mime we’re all accustomed to is just one form of the ancient theater art. Not only do mimes talk, they sing and dance in the legendary San Francisco Mime Troupe’s “Posibilidad, or Death of the Worker.”
The play (click on the accompanying video for a preview) premiered last summer in California and tells the story of worker uprisings in two factories, one in San Francisco and one in Argentina.
Now the troupe—members of Actors’ Equity (AEA)—would love to bring it to a wider audience on the East Coast in a March “Union Hall Tour.” The play is scheduled as part of the centennial activities honoring workers killed in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. Click here to see how you can help and here to read the San Francisco Labor Council’s (SFLC‘s) resolution endorsing the tour.
Artists for Employee Free Choice
Yesterday, 47 top performers from Broadway and Hollywood launched Artists for Workers Choice, an exciting new campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act, sharing their support for this crucial working families’ legislation in a new video.
As one of the actors in the video, Jerry Stiller (also known as Seinfeld‘s “Frank Costanza”) says the freedom to bargain for a better life is critical to an economy that works for everyone.
I’ve belonged to three unions in my life and every one gave me the freedom to bargain with my co-workers for decent hours, benefits, and safe conditions. If all workers don’t have the freedom to form unions, I don’t see how we can fix our economy.
The Stars Align for Employee Free Choice Act
 |
|
| Esai Morales | |
 |
|
| Amy Brenneman | |
From the big screen to the Broadway stage, a stellar lineup of stars is joining the fight for working families.
Amy Brenneman, Nancy Giles, Esai Morales and Mike Farrell are among 47 performing artists who have taped a new video in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.
Brenneman, one of the television actors appearing in the video, says the freedom to form a union gives working families the economic security they need:
“People associate actors with fame and glory. The truth is for a long time my union contract was the reason I could support my family. That’s why I support the Employee Free Choice Act. Because each worker, regardless of their field, deserves the freedom to bargain for a contract, for a better life.”
Released today, the video and list of performing artists and their bios are available at the new website, Artists for Workers’ Choice (artists4workerschoice.org).
These artists—including Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony award winners and nominees—together with veteran writers and technicians, have created a clear, impassioned explanation of why America’s workers need the Employee Free Choice Act to restore balance in the workplace and have the bargaining power they need to rebuild a strong middle class.
