Show your support for the touring company of Waitress unionizing!
Waitress stage managers and actors
UPDATE:
On May 5, Equity withdrew our petition for a union election on behalf of the non-union company of Waitress. With the full support of the actors and stage managers involved, we’re instead focusing on a grievance against the Broadway League for “double breasting.” That’s when a company attempts to circumvent their union recognition agreement by creating a second company for their non-union work. In our case, this is in direct violation of the agreements that Broadway League producers sign as part of our collective bargaining process. Once a producer agrees to bargain with Equity, they do not have the right to also send out non-union productions. But that’s what happened with Waitress. And we have evidence of it happening throughout the industry, especially with non-union tours. We will fight to definitively bring this practice to an end.
The grievance process can take a while, but when it is resolved and we are successful – and we will be successful – we will seek retroactive union contracts for the entire non-Equity company of Waitress dated back to the start of the Equity Waitress tour.
Join us to show support for the non-Equity actors and stage managers who are leaders in helping bring fairness to the industry!
This season Waitress sent out two tours – one on a full Equity Production contract, the other without a union contract for the actors or stage managers. We reached out to the workers on the non-Equity tour to find out how they felt about doing the same show for a third of the pay and fewer workplace protections. Their answer: not great!
Our conversations turned to how Equity might help with the situation, which grew into a card campaign, a formal mechanism for members of the company to authorize Equity to bargain on their behalf. Now we've filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.
It can be intimidating to stand up to your employer and say you deserve better. That’s why we must stand with the Waitress stage managers and actors as they head towards an election. Show your support and solidarity!
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To:
Waitress stage managers and actors
From:
[Your Name]
I stand with you as you demand fair pay and better workplace protections! Touring a musical all over the country is a difficult job and you deserve a contract that fairly compensates you and keeps you safe. When you tell your employer that you need them to do better, know that all of us have your back.