Actors’ Equity & Broadway League “Still Very Far Apart” As Two-Day Mediation Yields No Agreement; Talks Will Resume As Union Prepares For Strike
Talks between Actors’ Equity and The Broadway League will continue late next week after two days of mediation this week failed to produce results in the rocky quest for a new production contract.
Al Vincent Jr., Equity’s Executive Director, said in a statement to Deadline: “We made some progress during our two days of mediation, but Equity and The Broadway League are still very far apart on some of our most pressing issues. We plan to resume talks on October 17. In the meantime, we will continue strike preparations in case we need to take that step.”
In a statement to Deadline, the League said, “Good-faith negotiations happen at the bargaining table, not in the press. We look forward to returning to the bargaining table next week and are ready to get these contracts done.”
Equity, which represents stage actors and stage managers, and The Broadway League, the trade organization of producers and theater owners, have been in negotiations for a new production contract since August 25. The most recent three-year contract expired September 28.
Among the points of contention are health care (specifically, the amount of money producers should contribute to the union’s health care fund); Equity’s push for the hiring of additional swings (the performers who cover absent performers) and backup for stage managers (absenteeism in general has been on the rise since Covid); and actor schedules, especially during the year-end holiday weeks when additional performances are added.
Equity members have already voted in favor of a strike authorization.
Broadway musicians, under Local 802 AFM, are currently voting on a strike authorization of their own. The musicians union, like Equity, is negotiating for a new production contract (it has been without a contract since August 31). Health care and wages are among key stumbling blocks.
Local 802 members began voting on a strike authorization yesterday, and the vote ends on Sunday. Results will be announced soon after.
