Broadway | The Guardian: Actors’ Equity, a union that represents 900 current Broadway performers and stage managers, said it has yet to reach agreement on a new labor contract with the Broadway League, the trade association that represents theater owners, producers and operators. Negotiations continue, though the three-year contract ended on 28 September.
2 comments:
I am unsurprised that actors are preparing to go on strike. It is unfortunate that the reality is that actors and crew are not getting the benefits necessary to be able to do their jobs, especially healthcare which is crucial to all jobs. But especially in labor intensive jobs it is ridiculous to expect manual/physical labor out of workers without proper healthcare because otherwise they are not going to be able to do their job for a very long time. I know someone who had to quit being an off-broadway costume designer and producer because they were dealing with chronic illness and the lack of healthcare on top of the physical labor required of them made them even more sick. It is unsurprising but very concerning to me how devalued manual laborers are with their treatment and pay and benefits. It is really horrible and concerning looking at going into that job field.
As Broadway shows are closing with losses because of a lack of revenue it is predictable that producers are trying to keep costs the same as before so losses do not increase. Actors are the lifeblood of entertainment on stage and they make a show worth seeing. Even if the best production teams got together to put on a two hour show without actors they would be hard pressed to provide a show that would fill the time slot. If they were to come up with something even close to an actor it would take hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to imitate the organic entertainment that an actor can make on stage. Their pay and compensation should reflect that. Especially when healthcare costs wreck families across the united states, actors put their health on the line for the show and trying to make a good impression to get hired back as they are mostly gig workers working from production to production.
Post a Comment