Strikes Averted: Actors, Musicians Settle With the Broadway League

Actors’ Equity and AFM Local 802 have reached tentative new contract agreements with the Broadway League, averting a pair of strikes that could have hobbled Broadway.

Actors’ Equity, which represents Broadway actors and stage managers, has been negotiating with the League since August 25 over a new production contract. That’s the document that governs how its members are compensated and their workplace issues addressed.

The old contract expired on September 28, and they reached their agreement in the wee hours of Saturday, October 18, securing an annual raise in the minimum salary for performers, paid personal days after 13 or more performances without a day off, and better protections for swings.

The contract for AFM Local 802, which represents musicians, expired on August 31. The union promised strike action beginning today, Thursday, October 23, if a tentative agreement wasn’t reached.

Fortunately, a new tentative agreement was reached at 4:30am for a three-year contract that provides “meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway.”

Now, both organizations will bring these agreements to their respective membership for ratification.

For more information on what the respective unions were fighting for, click here.