Observer: For the first time in twenty years, Actors’ Equity is unionizing a national tour. They have filed with the National Labor Relations Board after conducting a card campaign among actors and stage managers working the nonunion touring production of Waitress. They are currently awaiting a response from their employer, the touring production company NETworks.
2 comments:
A third! The fact that people that are giving up the freedom to settle down in an area and live a normal life so that they can tour for the sake of art is remarkable. They should be compensated and celebrated.
To pay them so little is pitiful. The fact that some of them aren't making ends meet even insofar as housing and food WHILE TOURING is an issue...
It's essentially indentured servitude. The production company is more or less giving them the really shitty summer stock "stipend position but oh hey they're gonna give you just barely enough to be able to feed yourself but it's okay because they gave you this decrepit shed to live in" treatment.
It makes me mad to read this. They are exploiting these workers and they will have nothing to show for it by the time the tour is over. I hope they are able to unionize.
First and foremost, I wanted to mention that I had no idea that it was not a norm for the Actor's Equity to unionize national tour shows! That is so mind-boggling to me that it has not happened in 20 years. I sure hope (though I know it is probably not the case) that the reason is that their pay and benefits non-unionized was better? I agree with Martin in that for people who decide to dedicate their whole life to traveling with their art, they deserve proper, not just livable but a comfortable wage. These national shows make so so so much money, especially if they have made it to the touring stage. They can afford to properly compensate their employees! Whether it be smaller role actors to backstage people, it is so good to read that the non-union Waitress tour employees will now be making a hopefully more even wage with the union-ed Waitress tour.
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