US Equity and the Broadway League agree on new pay deal

Published Friday 4 July 2008 at 17:15 by Judd Hollander

US Actors’ Equity and the Broadway League, the national trade association of theatre owners and producers, have reached a tentative deal on a new 39-month production contract.

If ratified by the Equity membership, the new agreement, covering actors and stage managers, will be retroactive to June 30 and run until September 30, 2011.

Unlike the contract negotiations between the league and the stagehands union last autumn, which resulted in a 19-day strike costing millions of dollars in lost ticket sales, the negotiations, while difficult, where much smoother.

The two sides began officially talking about a new deal in April and when the old contract expired on June 29, they continued to negotiate, with no real threat of a strike, until a new deal was struck.

Highlights of the new agreement include -

• A more than 11% increase in the overall compensation package during the life of the contract, including minimum salary as well as health and pension.

• More flexibility in publicity and promotion, allowing producers to pursue new avenues of marketing shows to a wider audience through digital and traditional means, while providing actors a monetary recognition of their participation and rights

• A revised touring arrangement that seeks to promote more league touring productions that will provide more employment for Equity members.

“In two months of tough bargaining, we achieved an excellent contract with significant gains for every Equity member working on Broadway and the road,” John P Connolly, the union’s executive director said in a statement. “Together, actors and producers worked tirelessly to craft an agreement that grows our business and takes care of our community and our audiences. It’s this same kind of creative partnership and innovative approach that imbues Broadway and touring productions with the magic that is live theatre.”

Charlotte St Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, added: “The collaborative spirit that prevailed throughout the talks allowed both sides to present their issues, understand the others’ concerns and negotiate a new contract that serves the industry and the theatre-going public.

“We resolved a number of important issues and Broadway and touring Broadway are stronger for it. We were encouraged by the process and are delighted by the result.”

When the negotiations were finished, both sides left the table with important gains. The actors received increases in terms of overall wages and increased contributions to their health and pension plans, while the producers won the right to expand their marketing efforts of Broadway shows through such mediums as television and the internet (with appropriate compensation to the parties involved). In addition, production contracts for touring shows will be revised somewhat in order to help promote more Equity tours (as opposed non-union ones) of Broadway shows.