Equity in the News Organizing

"They should all be union," said Actors’ Equity executive director Alvin Vincent, Jr. as the guild takes a closer look at the relationship between the Broadway producers and non-union touring producers.

The union said it was withdrawing the petition because the producers of the nonunion tour now plan to end its run in June.

Employees of a nonunion production are seeking improved compensation and safety protocols, saying a union version of the same musical pays better.

Actors’ Equity will seek to represent the actors and stage managers working on a non-union tour of “Waitress.”

Frey told Observer, “The labor movement was becoming hot, so to speak, and members were really getting activated and needed a way to organize and funnel that energy.”

Actors’ Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society are speaking out against the Supreme Court ruling on public unions, as organized labor groups face political pressure across the country.

Mary McColl, Executive Director of Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers, released the following statement after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Janus v. AFSCME.

As organized labor was left reeling from today’s Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME that public service employees don’t have to pay union fees, Hollywood guilds planted a flag of defiance.

On Wednesday, June 27, the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the case of Janus v. AFSCME. The majority opinion stated that public employees do not have to pay mandatory agency fees to unions, even if they benefit from the actions of those unions. Those fees usually cover the costs of collective bargaining, and are separate from the dues paid by members.

Labor unions across the country were dealt a devastating blow Wednesday with a landmark Supreme Court ruling that will have profound effects on organized workers.