Actors’ Equity will stop issuing contracts for work on projects in development, effective immediately, as negotiations for a new contract have stalled.
The union of actors and stage managers began negotiations with the
Broadway League on Jan. 22, 2024, and the current agreement expired on Feb. 11. Equity Negotiating Team Chair Stephen Bogardus said in a statement that the decision came as a result of an unsatisfactory wage package put forward by the League.
This is the second time Actors’ Equity has gone on strike in regards to the contract In 2019, the union went on a 33-day strike in 2019 over this contract, which pertains to workshops and readings of shows held before potential full productions on Broadway or elsewhere. In the end, union members who take part in the development of certain productions gained a share in 1 percent of the show’s profits, once the show goes on to a full production and recoups, as well as a salary increase.