New agreement enables all cast members and stage managers to be covered by Equity contracts
Actors' Equity announced that it has reached a tentative agreement with the Producers of the Broadway production Rocktopia to ensure the production will use wall-to-wall Equity contracts.
The agreement comes after thousands of Equity members heeded the call of their Union and spoke out on social media, asking the producers of Rocktopia to ensure that workers be paid a living wage and put on Equity contracts.
"I hope that every commercial producer who is thinking about a run on Broadway has heard the message loud and clear that all performers on Broadway deserve not only to be fairly compensated but also to have the protection of an Equity contract," said Kate Shindle, President of Actors' Equity Association. "I am encouraged by and grateful for the thousands of Equity members, as well as all the members of our sister unions, who raised their voices over the last two weeks. Those declarations of solidarity led directly to this contract."
The new agreement for the part-time choir members will more than double the pay when compared to what some Equity members reported was offered early in the process, and the agreement will ensure the performers have the protection of Equity contracts.
The agreement comes after good faith negotiations between the parties, initially commenced in late 2017. With the agreement, Rocktopia will also be removed from Equity's Do Not Work list.
As part of Equity 2020, Equity has committed to become more aggressive about finding new work opportunities and higher wages for Equity members, wherever they might live and work.
