The actors and stage managers union did not gain voluntary recognition for the PAs from the Broadway League.
“The Broadway League and our members value the work of the Production Assistants that Actors’ Equity Association is seeking to represent. We believe that the National Labor Relations Board is the proper forum for determining whether an election is appropriate and we have encouraged the Union to seek a determination from the Board,” the League said in a statement.
“We had high hopes for a swift and collaborative process with The Broadway League, and are disappointed to hear they’ve chosen the more contentious path,” said Actors’ Equity Association 3rd vice president Erin Maureen Koster. “That said, these workers are giving a master class in solidarity and it’s honestly our honor to witness that and to continue to support them through every step of the organizing process.
The production assistants are hourly employees and conduct tasks such as preparing rehearsal materials, running errands and noting decisions made during the rehearsal process. The job typically runs from the time period before a show starts rehearsals through opening night. While the PAs are some of the rare non-unionized workers on Broadway, many are also early-career stage managers and are already members of Equity.
“These PAs are such essential members of the stage management team that when the employer hands out company contact sheets on the first day of rehearsal, they’re listed alongside the PSM and ASMs,” said Actors’ Equity Association president Kate Shindle.Does anybody really think it’s a coincidence that the vast majority of Broadway PAs are already Equity stage managers? This work clearly belongs on an Equity contract.
“If the Broadway League’s going to make us run an election, we’ll run an election, and we’ll see them at the bargaining table after the votes are counted,” Shindle said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
SAG-AFTRA Strike: Actors, producers to resume negotiating on MondayNegotiators for actors and the major studios will head back to the bargaining table Monday in an effort to end the ongoing actors strike.
Read more »
‘Purlie Victorious’ Broadway Review: Leslie Odom Jr. Keeps Ossie Davis’ Groundbreaking Comedy True To Its TitleLong before Slave Play, decades before Ain’t No Mo, there was Purlie Victorious, the Ossie Davis comedy masterwork that, like those descendant plays, fused broad comedy, satirical minstrelsy,…
Read more »
Review: ‘Purlie Victorious’ on Broadway is a romp indeedThis is a knockout show, as hilarious as it is cutting and as emotionally warmhearted as it is politically potent.
Read more »
‘Purlie Victorious’ Broadway Review: Leslie Odom, Jr. Keeps Ossie Davis’ Groundbreaking Comedy True To Its TitleLong before Slave Play, decades before Ain’t No Mo, there was Purlie Victorious, the Ossie Davis comedy masterwork that, like those descendant plays, fused broad comedy, satirical minstrelsy,…
Read more »
Hollywood actors to resume negotiations with studios next weekWith the Hollywood writers strike over, actors will now get a shot at cutting their own deal with studios and streaming services.
Read more »