Actors’ Equity almost went on strike on Broadway for the first time in decades.
The union of actors and stage managers was so prepared for the possibility that they had drawn up schedules for picket lines and had posters at the ready if an agreement wasn’t reached. But after weeks of negotiations over the Broadway production contract, and a mediator stepping in, a tentative agreement was finally reached Oct. 18, which members later ratified.
Still, Equity leadership wasn’t sure which way it would go as the team began its Oct. 17 mediation session that lasted until the early hours the next day. The negotiating team began to see movement around midnight, meeting the deadline they had set, which helped clear the rest of the way.
“The goal is always to get an agreement. However, we were absolutely 100 percent prepared to strike, and we had the logistics set up. We had done all the groundwork, all the prep. We were always working towards getting an agreement, but it would have been irresponsible to not be prepared, because we knew it was going to be tough,” said Al Vincent Jr., executive director of Actors’ Equity.
If actors had gone on strike, dozens of Broadway shows would have gone dark for an untold period of time, which members of Congress warned would have a “significant economic disruption” on the city. Musicians were also on the verge of a strike at the same time, setting up the possibility for almost all shows on Broadway going dark.
The biggest sticking point in negotiations between Equity and the Broadway League, the trade association for producers and theater owners, was over healthcare contributions, according to Equity. This came in part as costs rise and as the healthcare fund, which producers make weekly contributions into, was projected to fall into a deficit by May of next year, according to Equity. (The League has a different characterization). The fund is now secured, Vincent said, as per the new contract, the employer contribution rate, which is currently $150, will increase at a rate of $25 a year for the next three years.
“Prior to the start of this negotiation, the Broadway League/Actors Equity health plan was one of the best funded health plans in the country and continues to be so. We are happy that we were able to reach a satisfactory deal that was supported by the League membership and ratified by the Union,” a spokesperson for the Broadway League said.
The gains come as Broadway had its highest grossing season last year, but as producers warn of increasing costs, as few musicals have been able to recoup their capitalizations. Asked if Equity had taken rising costs for producers into consideration in the negotiations, Vincent says the union was concentrated on its own members, including providing them healthcare. He claims the conversations between the two sides did not get “into the weeds” on economics and were more oriented around the “culture change” of paying increased healthcare.
In addition to the increased healthcare contributions, the new contract also provides a 3 percent pay raise annually on the minimum salary for performers on Broadway. The contract now imposes limits on how many times producers can schedule performers to work 13 or more consecutive performances without a day off (now four times a year and producers must then give the actor or stage manager a paid day off). They were previously allowed 16 shows in a row with no limits and no days off. The contract also includes new protocols to facilitate physical therapy on more shows, and to request more stage managers on a show.
Seventy-one percent of members who voted approved the deal, but only 45 percent (or 1,456 people) of the possible eligible voters cast a vote. Still, the pay raise is lower than what was achieved in prior contracts, and some members have been vocal about wanting more protections in the contract. Vincent said disagreement within a union is a healthy sign, but that they would continue speaking with members on priorities for future contracts.
“Our surveys, our conversations with our members reflected that the folks would rather see us securing health care going forward, having time to rest, having adequate staffing. Those issues were the priorities. And so we built in those first,” Vincent said.
While most of Broadway would have shut down in the event of an actors’ strike, it came out that Beetlejuice and Mamma Mia!, which came to Broadway as part of a touring production and are not on the Broadway contract, as well as the play Little Bear Ridge Road, produced by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller would have been able to go on. (Equity said at the time that the play was produced by “an independent producer” who is not a member of the Broadway League. Rudin resigned from the League in 2021 after allegations of workplace bullying).
The shows playing at nonprofit theaters on Broadway, including the musical revival of Ragtime at the Lincoln Center and the play Punch (which was playing at the time), also would have been unaffected as nonprofit theaters on Broadway have a different contract from the Broadway League’s production agreement.
Asked about Equity’s stance on this, Equity Communications Director David Levy stepped in to say touring contracts have had provisions for decades that allow for a Broadway stop. Additionally, when asked if Equity has the power to demand the Broadway production contract for a Broadway show, he pointed to the different contracts that already govern nonprofits.
Amid the actor negotiations, Broadway musicians were also in contract talks with the League and had vowed to cease work the day after an Oct. 22 mediation session if an agreement were not reached. Healthcare contributions were also one of their sticking points. Even with their own tentative agreement in hand, Actors’ Equity would not have crossed the picket lines.
The musicians did reach a tentative agreement after that session and ratified their new contract. Equity was in touch with leadership of Local 802 AFM, the musician’s union, throughout the process and says they plan to continuing working with them (they’ll also be on the same contract renewal cycle).
“We were talking every day, all the time. They’re amazing folks with similar issues around health care. And so it was really great to be with them. And honestly, it made sense. We’ll continue that relationship going forward,” Vincent said.
Vincent said he did also speak with SAG-AFTRA leadership and other unions to share stories and best practices, after the screen actors and writers strikes of 2023.
“For SAG-AFTRA and the WGA, AI was their issue. We had a different issue. And so, each has to decide how far they need to go. It’s a very different individual kind of situation each time, and so while we talk to those folks, it didn’t guide us,” he said.
