www.broadwayworld.com: The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, Long Island's oldest professional theater, announced this week that they have filed suit against Actor's Equity Association and the union's pension and health fund on behalf of the theater and some of its' employees, after the fund demanded that Gateway pay $212,014 to the fund while also denying pension and health benefits to some of Gateway's employees.
3 comments:
There comes a point when an organization which is supposed to benefit others, only seeks to benefit itself and I feel that Actor’s Equity is reaching that point. This is just plain wrong and a thinly veiled attempt by Equity to extort money from theatres. If the comments made by Gateway Artistic Director Paul Allen are true, that Equity has been accepting payments on behalf of actors for years without raising concerns of eligibility, then it seems that Equity is trying to pull a fast one. Some larger theatres might not balk at the $200,000 price, but when you are a small regional theatre who lost your entire summer season, that is a huge chunk gone. The real heart of this issue is who is lying, Equity or the theatre. Equity certainly has the funds in its coffers to take legal action against the theatre but if the theatre loses, then not only will they have to pay out to Equity the $200,000, but probably attorneys fees and court costs. This would most likely bankrupt an organization that has been around for 71 seasons. I don’t see this as Equity trying to be fair, I only see this as Equity trying to be greedy.
I am always interested in theatre lawsuits and surprised that I haven’t heard of this one yet. I am very intrigued by this one as the stakes are quite high because of Covid-19 (where neither the theatre nor the actors are flush with cash) and the risk of people not getting a pension. It seems like this article doesn’t give enough information about who these employees are – ie. if they are actual equity or if they are just on an Equity contract at Gateway Playhouse but not members of the union. I agree with Josh that Equity might be in the wrong if what the Gateway Playhouse leadership says is true. I’m not sure if there legal reasons why more can’t be disclosed but there is vague language about Equity claiming people of a certain contract aren’t able to get a pension. Is this because those people aren’t Equity Union Members but just hired under an Equity Contract (something we can do in the U.S. because there are no closed shops)? Is it because people haven’t been paying their dues? Like if someone isn’t getting their pension after working under Equity contracts for 25 years, I am confused and makes me think Equity is in the wrong.
This was an interested read. When I read the headline and started reading the article, I was definitely on the side of The Gateway Playhouse. I have seen how Equity can enforce rules that don’t seem accurate or equitable, and that can really cause a strain on a theater. However, Allan’s comments felt very fear-mongering, and it seems like he’s trying to generate an emotional response from other theaters to support him. Now this can be appropriate and he could be genuinely considered for the future of other theaters, but in this context, it feels more so like he’s not very confident in his case, and perhaps wants to pressure Equity to back down. This is all conjecture on my end, and could easily be wrong. I’m looking forward to seeing how this case plays out. I’m especially interested in these Equity contracts. If these employees really have been working in the theater for 25 years, I don’t know how that’s gone unnoticed for so long, unless there was some nefarious covering up on the end of the Gateway Playhouse.
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