Monday, January 03, 2022
Actors’ Equity Association’s Stefanie Frey Talks 2019 Strike and Now
Observer: The last six years have seen dynamic shifts in the gains Equity has been able to make and the way in which they organize to meet their goals. In 2019, for the first time in fifty years, Equity went on strike—theatre workers walked off the job and demanded profit participation in Broadway development projects.
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I love that AEA has shifted its stance much more towards campaigning and organizing in recent years. Tens of thousands of theatre workers across the country suffered under outrageous wages, obscenely long work weeks, poor working conditions, and little to no support even years prior to the strain the pandemic placed on the theatre industry, and many continue to do so even now as theatre slowly comes back to life. If there is one good thing that the pandemic has brought both to theatre and, by extension, all industries as a whole, it would be a revitalized commitment and dedication to not settling for subpar compensation and conditions in the workplace. I believe that this refocusing is what has led to a continued shortage of labor in many workplaces, as workers have finally begun to realize that they deserve better than what they have gotten. That exact same mentality seems to be reaching the theatre industry as well, and hopefully with this renewed focus on fighting for better wages and better conditions from even the highest levels of theatre unions will be able to make that goal a reality across the theatre landscape. I'm certain there will be pushback from theatre executives and producers, but with great effort and dedication, I'm hopeful reforms will be made.
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