Clyde Fitch Report: Nearly 300 members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) lined up last Sat., Sept. 10, as part of NYC’s annual Labor Day Parade. The nation’s premier performing arts union currently represents more than 50,000 professional stage actors and stage managers in the US. This parade was a special one for AEA, coming a week after it endorsed Hillary Clinton for president — marking the first endorsement for the nation’s highest political office in the union’s 103-year history.
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I was caught by surprise when I read that Equity had marched in the labor day parade, but after thinking about it, it does make sense. After all, labor day was created for the front line of workers, those who actually did the work, but likely didn’t reap most of the rewards. It was a holiday created for factory workers, and pushed for by unions. So, in a sense, actors are a part of that front line. They are the ones doing the work, they are the ones subject to the whim of a higher power (director, producer, etc) and as such they are protected by a union. I’m glad that Equity got the chance to be a part of the parade, because it shows that being an artist is just as valid a profession as any other. We face adversity from a corporate level, we have structures in place to prevent exploitation, and we work hard, just like everyone else.
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