Equity, Broadway Reach Tentative Agreement
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Actors’ Equity (AEA) and the Broadway League—the national trade association for the Broadway and touring industry—have reached a tentative four-year contract, both sides announced today.
AEA Executive Director Mary McColl says the tentative deal is “a win for Equity members, League members and the theater-going public.”
“What we achieved at the bargaining table recognizes issues important to both sides, correcting issues that have not been addressed for decades while also acknowledging the fast-changing world we now live in.”
Broadway League Executive Director Charlotte St. Martin says, “We are pleased that both Producers and Equity members received worthwhile and important benefits in this agreement.”
300 Join Labor College Fundraising Gala
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Lara Manzione of the National Labor College reports on last night’s “Time to Build” fundraising gala at the college.
Following the first day of the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting held at the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., the college hosted a “A Time to Build” gala last night. The gala honored Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), and the presidents of five entertainment unions: Ray Hair, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM); Ken Howard, Screen Actors (SAG); Matthew Loeb, Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); Roberta Reardon, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); and Nick Wyman, Actors’ Equity (AEA).
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he selected the NLC as the location for this Executive Council meeting because “education is such an important part of the future of the labor movement, and a key way for us to transmit labor’s values during a time of change in our economy and our society.”
St. Louis Equity Members Collect $25,000 for Flood Relief
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This is a cross-post from the Actors’ Equity website.
Stages St. Louis opened its 25th season with the smash hit “A Chorus Line” and a check for $25,000 to the Red Cross benefiting the Missouri Tornado and Flood Relief Fund. The cast presented the check to Red Cross Executive Director Cindy Erickson at its June 29 performance.
Donations were accepted after each performance by members of the company and by the box office staff. Additionally a carwash was held and hosted by the cast at the Robert G. Reim Theatre. A big thank you goes out to the company for their time and efforts as well as to the Stages audiences who, once again, demonstrated their overwhelming generosity.
Equity Celebrates 98th Anniversary
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Happy anniversary to Actors’ Equity, which celebrates its 98th anniversary today, May 26. The oldest performing arts union in America, Equity represents more than 49,000 professional stage actors and stage managers nationwide.
On this day, 98 years ago, 112 actors gathered at the Pabst Circle Hotel in New York City to form Equity and to improve the wages and working conditions of all men and women working in the noble profession of acting and the American theatre.
Actors’ Equity Elects 14 New Council Members
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Actors’ Equity (AEA), which celebrates its 98th anniversary this week, elected 14 new members to five-year terms on the union’s National Council last week. Equity represents stage actors and stage managers nationwide.
The newly elected members include nine from the eastern region: Nancy Slusser, Julia Breanetta Simpson, James Ludwig, Bob Knapp, Gil Rogers, Brian Myers Cooper, Francis Jue, Ronald Brown and Jason Quinn.
The central region’s one open seat was won by Mark David Kaplan. Winners in the western region were Larry Cahn, Jennie Ford, Pat Loeb and Christian Bolender.
Join a Labor Day Tweet-a-Thon
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We’ve got a long Labor Day weekend in front of us and that means plenty of time to join American Rights at Work’s first-ever Labor Day Tweet-a-Thon along with celebrity union members—including actors, recording artists, Broadway performers, baseball players and broadcasters.
American Rights at Work’s Liz Cattaneo says the tweet-a-thon is a chance to “send a positive message about the value of unions.”
To showcase the strength, solidarity, diversity of our unions, we’re asking celebrities—along with anyone else who wants to show their union pride—to join us by sending a tweet with the hash tag #unionmember during Labor Day weekend. It’s a great opportunity to have well-known public figures frame unions in a positive light through a fun and influential medium.
Stars Light Up Broadway to Fight AIDS
The cast of three Hollywood-based daytime soaps recently came to the East Coast to show off their singing and dancing chops to help people living with HIV/AIDS.
Over the past six years, the show, “ABC Daytime Soap & Soapanet Salute Broadway Cares,” has raised more than $1.6 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA).
New York’s historic Town Hall theater was sold out March 21 for the two benefit performances by the stars of “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital.” Special guest Sherri Shepherd, co-host of the TV show “The View,” brought down the house with a full-on Tina Turner-style performance of ”Proud Mary.”
12,000 Alaska State Workers Reach Tentative Contract—and More Bargaining News
Some 12,000 Alaska state workers will vote soon on a tentative contract, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,200 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
NEGOTIATIONS
Multiple, State of Alaska: The Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME and the Alaska Public Employees Association/AFT have reached tentative agreements with the state that cover 12,000 workers. The three-year contracts, if ratified by the membership, would provide annual wage increases and increased employer contributions to health care.
Four Honored for Promoting Diversity in Entertainment Industry
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Committees of Actors’ Equity, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors (SAG) will honor four performing artists who have made important contributions to increasing diversity in their professions. The 2009 Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Awards will be presented in Los Angeles on June 29.
The awards celebrate individuals and organizations that take an active stand for diversity within the industry. This year’s theme, “Storytellers,” commends individuals who, by sharing their own stories, have encouraged cross-cultural understanding and enabled others to express their dreams and creativity.
The 2009 honorees are:
- Actor George Takei for his long-standing history of activism for artists of every race and creed, including his work with the Arts in Transit program that creates opportunity for artists within the public sector;
- Victoria Ann Lewis, writer, actor and teacher who established the Other Voices Project, which cultivates and produces writers and performers with disabilities;
- Cheryl Burke, a dancer who encourages children of all ethnicities to express themselves through movement;
- Charlie Hill, a Native American stand-up comedian and storyteller who uses humor to share elements unique to Native American culture and those we all share.
Actors’ Equity Launches Bid for Commemorative Stamp
Actors’ Equity has launched a nationwide campaign to become the first union honored with a U.S. postal stamp. The union is petitioning the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp commemorating the union’s 100th birthday on May 26, 2013.
Equity is applying for the stamp to spotlight a century of professional theater in America and Equity’s unique contribution to our nation’s art and culture. The process is highly competitive and must begin years in advance.
The postmaster general of the United States, who makes the final decision on which stamps are issued, requires applicants to start the petitioning process at least three years in advance of the proposed issue date.
