EXCLUSIVE: With mediation between Actors’ Equity Association and the Broadway League continuing its second and final scheduled day Thursday, 31 members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, have signed a bipartisan letter urging “good faith negotiations” to avoid a strike that could have “significant economic disruption.”
Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for New York City Mayor, is pledging solidarity with Equity and musicians union Local 802 AFM “as they fight for the care every worker deserves.”
The letter from the congressional reps has been sent to Jason Laks, Broadway League president; Brooke Shields, Equity president; Tino Gagliardi, American Federation of Musicians president; and Robert Suttman, Local 802 AFM president.
Read the letter here.
Both Equity, which represents stage actors and stage managers, and the Broadway musicians union are in negotiations for new production contracts. Equity has already authorized a strike if negotiations break down, while Local 802 members are voting on a strike authorization beginning today ahead of continued negotiations next week.
Both unions are seeking, among other things including wage hikes, significant increases in producers’ contributions to their health insurance funds.
The bipartisan letter from members of Congress was organized by Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat, and was signed by the entire New York delegation including five Republicans (Lawler, Nicole Malliotakis, George Latimer, Andrew Garbarino and arts caucus co-chair Michael R. Turner) as well as Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the appropriations committee.
“A disruption to Broadway,” the letter states, “will result in significant economic disruption to not just the New York metropolitan area but harm theater workers and patrons across the country and around the world. As these negotiations have unfolded, Broadway workers have been very public about their demands at rallies and in the media, with scheduling, time off policies and health care receiving the most attention.
“We have a great understanding and appreciation for the demands placed upon the actors and musicians who bring theater to life. We respectfully encourage both sides to bargain in good faith and resolve these issues to avoid a strike.”
Finding “common ground,” the letter continues, “will benefit both labor and management – and the broader economy.”
“If these issues are not resolved, any work stoppage could be highly disruptive to workers and businesses in the theatre district and beyond. All New Yorkers and the more than 68 million tourists who visit the city each year are counting on you to come to a fair and speedy resolution on these contracts. We urge you to come to an agreement on a fair deal as soon as possible.”
In addition to Jeffries, Pingree, DeLauro and the five Republican members, signees include Jerrold Nadler, Dan Goldman, Ritchie Torres, Joe Courtney, Laura A. Gillen, Adriano Espaillat, Thomas R. Suozzi, Grace Meng, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Yvette D. Clarke, Nydia M. Velazquez, Ted W. Lieu, LaMonica Mciver, Joseph D. Morelle, Nellie Pou, Paul D. Tonko, Josh Riley, John B. Larson, Timothy M. Kennedy, Donald Norcross, Robert J. Menendez, Frank Pallone Jr and Gregory W. Meeks.
As the Equity-League mediation continued, it was unclear whether an announcement on the talks’ status would arrive today. The two sides have been in negotiations for a new production contract since August 25. The most recent three-year contract expired September 28.
Regarding Equity’s health care fund, the union has been seeking a producer contribution increase of about 0.21% of a show’s weekly grosses on average. That would amount to about $4 million annually. The union warns that its insurance plan could go into deficit next year without the increase in producer contributions, and says that Broadway producers pay less into the health fund per worker than other Equity venues in the nation.
Health care has become even more crucial, the union argues, with the possibility that rates under the Affordable Care Act may increase dramatically in coming months.
The League counters that the insurance fund for Broadway actors also receives a share of box office grosses, saying in a statement to NPR, “As the union knows well, the employer contribution rates under the contract are only one component of how our employers fund these benefits. In addition to these weekly contributions under the contract, the health fund receives millions of dollars each year from Broadway production grosses that add to the total benefits contributions of the health fund.”
Despite record-high grosses of $1.89 billion last season, the League remains concerned about Broadway’s ever-increasing production costs and the recent failures of big-budget musicals to recoup their investments.
Other issues that have been discussed in the negotiations are post-pandemic absenteeism rates among cast members, with Equity demanding that producers hire more swings and the League seeking other ways to address the issue. Actors’ schedules are another issue, particularly during the extra-performance holiday weeks. The union has said it seeks to “pivot toward humane scheduling, including providing appropriate paid time off, to keep everyone in the best shape possible to do the work.”
By last week, more than 1,000 actors had signed a letter expressing solidarity with Actors’ Equity including many of the biggest names from Broadway and Hollywood including Darren Criss, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Equity president Shields, Helen J Shen, Adam Lambert, Kara Young and many others.
Broadway musicians, too, are currently working without a contract — the most recent expired August 31. Local 802 members began voting on a strike authorization today, and the vote ends on Sunday. Results will be announced soon after.
In a statement today announcing the start of voting, Suttmann, the Local 802 President, said, “Broadway musicians are speaking loud and clear: we will do whatever it takes to win a fair contract. Audiences deserve the magic of live Broadway, but the artists who make the magic happen must be paid fairly and must not have their jobs and benefits taken away from them. The Broadway League recently reported its most successful season ever and can fully afford to provide fair pay and benefits, without reducing jobs. The Broadway League needs to know that musicians are considering the power of a strike if necessary. Their strike authorization vote is their strength.”
In a statement to Deadline last week, the League said, “We always prefer to negotiate with our union partners at the bargaining table rather than in the press. We look forward to reaching a fair agreement through good faith negotiations that benefits both sides and sustains Broadway as a destination for millions of people from around the world.” Deadline has reached out to a League spokesman for updates.
Also today, Mamdani posted a message on X pledging solidarity with Equity and Local 802 “as they fight for the care every worker deserves.”
“Broadway’s actors, musicians, and crew make New York the cultural capital of the world,” Mamdani, a democratic socialist, writes. “Their health care is on the line, and it’s time for a fair deal that protects it.”
