Chicago -- Actors’ Equity Association, the national labor union representing professional actors and stage managers working in live theatre, is now advising all non-union actors and stage managers – including Equity Membership Candidates – that moving forward they will be prohibited from joining the union in the future if they agree to take work at Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in Kansas City, MO while it is on the DO NOT WORK list.
Equity announced in early September that it had placed MET on its DO NOT WORK list.
The DO NOT WORK list is a tool to alert actors and stage managers as well as members of sister unions to the non-union status of certain employers. Unfortunately, there are times when good-faith negotiations between Actors’ Equity and employers do not result in an agreement acceptable for union members. Other producers may refuse to negotiate altogether or default on the terms of their agreement. In such situations, employers may be placed on the DO NOT WORK List.
Actors and stage managers in the region who are part of the Equity Membership Candidate (EMC) program were advised today that any non-members who take work at MET while it is on the DO NOT WORK list will permanently lose their eligibility to join Equity.
ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its Members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
October 29, 2019
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