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Actors' Equity Association

October 23, 2023

This article is about the American labor union. For the British equivalent, see Equity (trade union). For the Canadian equivalent, see Canadian Actors' Equity Association. For the former Australian equivalent, see Actors Equity of Australia.

The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or through-storyline (vaudeville, cabarets, circuses) may be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). The AEA works to negotiate quality living conditions, livable wages, and benefits for performers and stage managers.[1] A theater or production that is not produced and performed by AEA members may be called "non-Equity".[2]

Actors' Equity Association
Abbreviation
  • AEA
  • Actors' Equity
  • Equity
FormationMay 26, 1913; 110 years ago (1913-05-26)
TypeTrade union
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
Location
  • United States
Membership (2021)
50,785
President
Kate Shindle
Executive director
Al Vincent Jr
Affiliations
Websiteactorsequity.org
Actors Equity Building, near Times Square

Background Edit

Leading up to the Actors' and Producers' strike of 1929, Hollywood and California in general had a series of workers' equality battles that directly influenced the film industry. The films The Passaic Textile Strike (1926), The Miners' Strike (1928) and The Gastonia Textile Strike (1929) gave audience and producers insight into the effect and accomplishments of labor unions and striking.[3] These films were set apart by being current documentaries, not merely melodramas produced for glamor.

In 1896, the first Actors Union Charter was recognized by the American Federation of Labor as an attempt to create a minimum wage for actors being exploited. It was not until January 13, 1913, that the Union Charter failed. It later reemerged as the Actors Equity Association, with more than 111 actors and Francis Wilson as its founding board president.[3]

History Edit

 
Actors' Equity president Francis Wilson (right) on parade with other leaders during the 1919 strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union
 
Marie Dressler, Ethel Barrymore & others during the 1919 strike.

At a meeting held at the Pabst Grand Circle Hotel in New York City, on May 26, 1913, Actors' Equity was founded by 112 professional theater actors, who established its constitution and elected Francis Wilson as president.[4][5]

Leading up to the association's establishment, a handful of influential actors—known as The Players—held secret organizational meetings at Edwin Booth's The Players at its Gramercy Park mansion. A bronze plaque commemorates the room in which The Players met to establish Actors' Equity. Members included Frank Gillmore, who from was the executive secretary of Actors' Equity from 1918 to 1929 and president from 1929 to 1937.[6]

Actors' Equity joined the American Federation of Labor in 1919, and called a strike seeking recognition as a labor union.[4] The strike ended the dominance of the Producing Managers' Association, including theater owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner, Mark Klaw. The strike increased membership from under 3,000 to approximately 14,000. The Chorus Equity Association, which merged with Actors' Equity in 1955, was founded during the strike.[7]

Equity represented directors and choreographers until 1959, when they broke away and formed their own union.

1929 nationwide actors and producers strike threat Edit

Membership (US records)[8]
Finances (US records; ×$1000)[8]
     Assets      Liabilities      Receipts      Disbursements

The Actors Equality Strike was a series of walkouts that started in 1927 in local theaters in Los Angeles and quickly grew to the motion picture stage.[9] During the nationwide walkouts, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started issuing contracts to freelance film actors, which led Hollywood's actors and actresses to fear the loss of their jobs. The theater strikes combined with freelance contracts fueled the need for actors and stagehands to strike for better working conditions and pay.[9]

Frank Gillmore, the head and treasurer of the Actor's Equity Association, understood that he would need multiple unions across the country to make a change not only in proper representation and pay, but in actors' ability to negotiate any contract a studio would put out worldwide. On July 20, 1929, the AEA gained its first victory, which gave producers and actors a leg to stand on in their battle for equality. Over 30 days (up to August 20, 1929), Gillmore fought to give the AEA the ability to represent all actors, producers, radio personality, vaudeville performers, and agents in the country. This would also give all power and representation to one organization in order to create a more organized equality strike.[10]

Starting on June 5, 1929, Gillmore attended several meetings in New York with the heads of Broadway. After the meeting, he notified the AEA that appearances in sound and talking motion pictures had been suspended until the outcome of the meetings with the international Studio Crafts Union.[11]

Due to the negotiations and the suspension of contracts through the AEA, studios were desperate for actors to speed up production, which had dropped significantly. The New York Times wrote, "It was pointed out that while the Equality regulations were in effect, about 2000 motion picture contracts, involving salaries said to amount to $500,000 were offered to actors in New York."[11] Any actor who entered into a contract not approved by the AEA would be banished from the union and have to reapply for admission after negotiations were finished.[11]

By December 1929, the AEA was negotiating terms to reset the movie stage under better conditions, but this was the least of its problems. In late December, groups of theater owners and non-represented producers filed lawsuits to claim damages from the AEA's contract holdout. "The plaintiffs not only seek a temporary injunction against the defendants, pending trial on an order to show cause why a permanent injunction should not be granted, but also ask damages of $100,000."[12]

Effects of strike Edit

The AEA allowed small numbers of contracts to be negotiated over the next few years. In 1933, the Screen Actors Guild was created and took the AEA's place as the main representative for movie actors and producers. This allowed the AEA to focus on live productions, such as theatrical performances, while the Screen Actors Guild focused on movie production and non-scripted live performances, such as minstrel, vaudeville, and live radio shows.[13]

Causes Edit

In the 1940s, the AEA stood against segregation.[4] When actors were losing jobs through 1950s McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, the AEA refused to participate. Although its constitution guaranteed its members the right to refuse to work alongside Communists, or a member of a Communist front organization, the AEA did not ban any members. At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the blacklist's 50th anniversary, Richard Masur, then president of the Screen Actors Guild, apologized for its participation in the ban, saying: "Only our sister union, Actors' Equity Association, had the courage to stand behind its members and help them continue their creative lives in the theater. For that, we honor Actors' Equity tonight."[14]

In the 1960s, the AEA played a role in gaining public funding for the arts, including the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The AEA fought the destruction of historic Broadway theaters.[4] It played a major role in the recognition of the impact the AIDS epidemic on the world of theater, co-founding Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Joining Edit

There are three ways to become a member of Equity: an AEA contract, Equity Membership Candidacy (EMC) points, or a sister union. If someone is offered a position under an AEA contract, they may join for the term of that contract. Alternatively, one can become a member by generating a number of EMC points. This is done by securing a position at an EMC-participating theater and then registering as a candidate for Equity. For every week one works at a participating theater, one gets a point. Performers are required to earn a minimum of 25 weeks of EMC work along with a $400 initial payment to become official AEA members. One can also become a member by virtue of prior membership in a sister performing arts union: SAG-AFTRA, AGMA, AGVA or GIAA. To qualify that way, one must have been a member of the sister union for at least a year, be a member in good standing of that union, and have worked as a performer under its jurisdiction on a principal or "under-five" contract or at least three days of extra ("background") work.[15]

Contracts Edit

The AEA has several different types of contract, with different rules associated with them. Each contract type deals with a specific type of theater venue or production type.[16] These include, but are not limited to: Council of Resident Stock Theatres (CORST), Guest Artist, Letters of Agreement (LoA), League of Resident Theatres (LoRT) Small Professional Theatres (SPT), and Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA).

AEA actors and stage managers are not allowed to work in non-Equity houses or on any productions in which an Equity Agreement has not been signed anywhere within the AEA's jurisdiction.[17]

Presidents Edit

See also Edit

Footnotes Edit

  1. ^ . www.actorsequity.org. Archived from the original on 2014-11-18. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  2. ^ Gary M. Fink, ed. Labor unions (Greenwood, 1977) pp. 4–6.
  3. ^ a b Steven J. Ross, Working-Class Hollywood (Princeton University Press, 1999) 221
  4. ^ a b c d Actors' Equity Association. . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
  5. ^ Stevens-Garmon, Morgen (May 21, 1913). "100 years of the Actors' Equity Association". Retrieved September 9, 2014., blog of the Museum of the City of New York
  6. ^ "Presidents' Day Office Closure". www.sagaftra.org. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "Timeline, 1919" 2014-05-12 at the Wayback Machine actorsequity.org, accessed December 3, 2011
  8. ^ a b US Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. File number 006-029. (Search)
  9. ^ a b "SAG Timeline – SAG-AFTRA". www.sagaftra.org.
  10. ^ "Equity's Setback". The New York Times (1923–current file); August 20, 1929; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times pg. 21
  11. ^ a b c "Gillmore To Confer With Union Heads Here: Actors Notified Rules on ...", The New York Times (1923–current file); August 20, 1929; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times pg. 37
  12. ^ "Equity Sued By Producers: Louis Macloon and Lillian Albertson Charge ...", Los Angeles Times (1923–current File); December 12, 1929
  13. ^ "SAG History – SAG-AFTRA". www.sagaftra.org.
  14. ^ Greg Krizman, webpage: "Hollywood Remembers the Blacklist", Screen Actor, January 1998 (special edition).
  15. ^ "Join Equity | Actors' Equity Association". www.actorsequity.org. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  16. ^ Khalili, Behnoosh (Feb 21, 2001). "Equity Contracts". Backstage. Retrieved Oct 17, 2019.
  17. ^ "Contracts & Codes". ActorsEquity. Retrieved Oct 17, 2019.

Further reading Edit

  • Attadgie, Shelley. "Combating the Actor's Sacrifice: How to Amend Federal Labor Law to Influence the Labor Practices of Theaters and Incentivize Actors to Fight for Their Rights." Cardozo Law Review 40 (2018): 1045+.
  • Baar, K. Kevyne. " ' What Has My Union Done For Me?' The Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Actors' Equity Association Respond to McCarthy-Era Blacklisting." Film History (2008): 437-455
  • Chi, Emily C. "Star quality and job security: The role of the performers' unions in controlling access to the acting profession." Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 18 (2000): 1.
  • Gemmill, Paul F. Collective Bargaining by Actors: A Study of Trade-Unionism among Performers of the English-Speaking Legitimate Stage in America. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 402. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1926.
  • Harding, Alfred. The Revolt of the Actors. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1929.
  • Holmes, Sean P. Weavers of Dreams, Unite! Actors' Unionism in Early Twentieth-Century America. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2013.
  • Holmes, Sean P. "And the villain still pursued her: The actors’ equity association in Hollywood, 1919–1929." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 25.1 (2005): 27-50.
  • Meredith, Mark D. "From dancing halls to hiring halls: Actors' Equity and the closed shop dilemma." Columbia Law Review 96.1 (1996): 178-236.
  • Rogers, Lynne. "The Actors’ Revolt". American Heritage, Volume 47, Issue 5, September 1996.

External links Edit

  Media related to Actors' Equity Association at Wikimedia Commons

  • Official website

October 23, 2023
actors, equity, association, this, article, about, american, labor, union, british, equivalent, equity, trade, union, canadian, equivalent, canadian, former, australian, equivalent, actors, equity, australia, commonly, called, actors, equity, simply, equity, a. This article is about the American labor union For the British equivalent see Equity trade union For the Canadian equivalent see Canadian Actors Equity Association For the former Australian equivalent see Actors Equity of Australia The Actors Equity Association AEA commonly called Actors Equity or simply Equity is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or through storyline vaudeville cabarets circuses may be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists AGVA The AEA works to negotiate quality living conditions livable wages and benefits for performers and stage managers 1 A theater or production that is not produced and performed by AEA members may be called non Equity 2 Actors Equity AssociationAbbreviationAEAActors EquityEquityFormationMay 26 1913 110 years ago 1913 05 26 TypeTrade unionHeadquartersNew York City New York U S LocationUnited StatesMembership 2021 50 785PresidentKate ShindleExecutive directorAl Vincent JrAffiliationsAFL CIOAssociated Actors and Artistes of AmericaInternational Federation of ActorsWebsiteactorsequity wbr orgActors Equity Building near Times Square Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 1929 nationwide actors and producers strike threat 4 Effects of strike 5 Causes 6 Joining 7 Contracts 8 Presidents 9 See also 10 Footnotes 11 Further reading 12 External linksBackground EditLeading up to the Actors and Producers strike of 1929 Hollywood and California in general had a series of workers equality battles that directly influenced the film industry The films The Passaic Textile Strike 1926 The Miners Strike 1928 and The Gastonia Textile Strike 1929 gave audience and producers insight into the effect and accomplishments of labor unions and striking 3 These films were set apart by being current documentaries not merely melodramas produced for glamor In 1896 the first Actors Union Charter was recognized by the American Federation of Labor as an attempt to create a minimum wage for actors being exploited It was not until January 13 1913 that the Union Charter failed It later reemerged as the Actors Equity Association with more than 111 actors and Francis Wilson as its founding board president 3 History Edit nbsp Actors Equity president Francis Wilson right on parade with other leaders during the 1919 strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union nbsp Marie Dressler Ethel Barrymore amp others during the 1919 strike At a meeting held at the Pabst Grand Circle Hotel in New York City on May 26 1913 Actors Equity was founded by 112 professional theater actors who established its constitution and elected Francis Wilson as president 4 5 Leading up to the association s establishment a handful of influential actors known as The Players held secret organizational meetings at Edwin Booth s The Players at its Gramercy Park mansion A bronze plaque commemorates the room in which The Players met to establish Actors Equity Members included Frank Gillmore who from was the executive secretary of Actors Equity from 1918 to 1929 and president from 1929 to 1937 6 Actors Equity joined the American Federation of Labor in 1919 and called a strike seeking recognition as a labor union 4 The strike ended the dominance of the Producing Managers Association including theater owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner Mark Klaw The strike increased membership from under 3 000 to approximately 14 000 The Chorus Equity Association which merged with Actors Equity in 1955 was founded during the strike 7 Equity represented directors and choreographers until 1959 when they broke away and formed their own union 1929 nationwide actors and producers strike threat EditMembership US records 8 Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues Finances US records 1000 8 Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues Assets Liabilities Receipts Disbursements The Actors Equality Strike was a series of walkouts that started in 1927 in local theaters in Los Angeles and quickly grew to the motion picture stage 9 During the nationwide walkouts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started issuing contracts to freelance film actors which led Hollywood s actors and actresses to fear the loss of their jobs The theater strikes combined with freelance contracts fueled the need for actors and stagehands to strike for better working conditions and pay 9 Frank Gillmore the head and treasurer of the Actor s Equity Association understood that he would need multiple unions across the country to make a change not only in proper representation and pay but in actors ability to negotiate any contract a studio would put out worldwide On July 20 1929 the AEA gained its first victory which gave producers and actors a leg to stand on in their battle for equality Over 30 days up to August 20 1929 Gillmore fought to give the AEA the ability to represent all actors producers radio personality vaudeville performers and agents in the country This would also give all power and representation to one organization in order to create a more organized equality strike 10 Starting on June 5 1929 Gillmore attended several meetings in New York with the heads of Broadway After the meeting he notified the AEA that appearances in sound and talking motion pictures had been suspended until the outcome of the meetings with the international Studio Crafts Union 11 Due to the negotiations and the suspension of contracts through the AEA studios were desperate for actors to speed up production which had dropped significantly The New York Times wrote It was pointed out that while the Equality regulations were in effect about 2000 motion picture contracts involving salaries said to amount to 500 000 were offered to actors in New York 11 Any actor who entered into a contract not approved by the AEA would be banished from the union and have to reapply for admission after negotiations were finished 11 By December 1929 the AEA was negotiating terms to reset the movie stage under better conditions but this was the least of its problems In late December groups of theater owners and non represented producers filed lawsuits to claim damages from the AEA s contract holdout The plaintiffs not only seek a temporary injunction against the defendants pending trial on an order to show cause why a permanent injunction should not be granted but also ask damages of 100 000 12 Effects of strike EditThe AEA allowed small numbers of contracts to be negotiated over the next few years In 1933 the Screen Actors Guild was created and took the AEA s place as the main representative for movie actors and producers This allowed the AEA to focus on live productions such as theatrical performances while the Screen Actors Guild focused on movie production and non scripted live performances such as minstrel vaudeville and live radio shows 13 Causes EditIn the 1940s the AEA stood against segregation 4 When actors were losing jobs through 1950s McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist the AEA refused to participate Although its constitution guaranteed its members the right to refuse to work alongside Communists or a member of a Communist front organization the AEA did not ban any members At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the blacklist s 50th anniversary Richard Masur then president of the Screen Actors Guild apologized for its participation in the ban saying Only our sister union Actors Equity Association had the courage to stand behind its members and help them continue their creative lives in the theater For that we honor Actors Equity tonight 14 In the 1960s the AEA played a role in gaining public funding for the arts including the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts NEA The AEA fought the destruction of historic Broadway theaters 4 It played a major role in the recognition of the impact the AIDS epidemic on the world of theater co founding Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS Joining EditThere are three ways to become a member of Equity an AEA contract Equity Membership Candidacy EMC points or a sister union If someone is offered a position under an AEA contract they may join for the term of that contract Alternatively one can become a member by generating a number of EMC points This is done by securing a position at an EMC participating theater and then registering as a candidate for Equity For every week one works at a participating theater one gets a point Performers are required to earn a minimum of 25 weeks of EMC work along with a 400 initial payment to become official AEA members One can also become a member by virtue of prior membership in a sister performing arts union SAG AFTRA AGMA AGVA or GIAA To qualify that way one must have been a member of the sister union for at least a year be a member in good standing of that union and have worked as a performer under its jurisdiction on a principal or under five contract or at least three days of extra background work 15 Contracts EditThe AEA has several different types of contract with different rules associated with them Each contract type deals with a specific type of theater venue or production type 16 These include but are not limited to Council of Resident Stock Theatres CORST Guest Artist Letters of Agreement LoA League of Resident Theatres LoRT Small Professional Theatres SPT and Theatre for Young Audiences TYA AEA actors and stage managers are not allowed to work in non Equity houses or on any productions in which an Equity Agreement has not been signed anywhere within the AEA s jurisdiction 17 Presidents Edit1913 1920 Francis Wilson 1920 1928 John Emerson 1924 June 17 August 12 Ralph Morgan acting president 1928 1937 Frank Gillmore 1937 1938 Burgess Meredith acting president 1938 1940 Arthur Byron 1940 1946 Bert Lytell 1946 1952 Clarence Derwent 1952 1964 Ralph Bellamy 1964 1973 Frederick O Neal 1973 1982 Theodore Bikel 1982 1985 Ellen Burstyn 1985 1991 Colleen Dewhurst 1991 2000 Ron Silver 2000 2006 Patrick Quinn 2006 2009 Mark Zimmerman 2009 2010 Paige Price acting president 2010 2015 Nick Wyman 2015 present Kate ShindleSee also Edit nbsp Organized labour portal nbsp Theatre portalAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists Canadian Actors Equity Association Clarence Derwent Awards Equity union in the United Kingdom Legacy Robe Paul Robeson Award Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award St Clair Bayfield Award Stage Managers AssociationFootnotes Edit actorsequity org About Actors Equity Association www actorsequity org Archived from the original on 2014 11 18 Retrieved 2017 02 08 Gary M Fink ed Labor unions Greenwood 1977 pp 4 6 a b Steven J Ross Working Class Hollywood Princeton University Press 1999 221 a b c d Actors Equity Association Actors Equity A 90 Year Celebration Archived from the original on 2016 03 04 Retrieved 2007 12 18 Stevens Garmon Morgen May 21 1913 100 years of the Actors Equity Association Retrieved September 9 2014 blog of the Museum of the City of New York Presidents Day Office Closure www sagaftra org Retrieved February 25 2023 Timeline 1919 Archived 2014 05 12 at the Wayback Machine actorsequity org accessed December 3 2011 a b US Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards File number 006 029 Search a b SAG Timeline SAG AFTRA www sagaftra org Equity s Setback The New York Times 1923 current file August 20 1929 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times pg 21 a b c Gillmore To Confer With Union Heads Here Actors Notified Rules on The New York Times 1923 current file August 20 1929 ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times pg 37 Equity Sued By Producers Louis Macloon and Lillian Albertson Charge Los Angeles Times 1923 current File December 12 1929 SAG History SAG AFTRA www sagaftra org Greg Krizman webpage Hollywood Remembers the Blacklist Screen Actor January 1998 special edition Join Equity Actors Equity Association www actorsequity org Retrieved 2019 08 30 Khalili Behnoosh Feb 21 2001 Equity Contracts Backstage Retrieved Oct 17 2019 Contracts amp Codes ActorsEquity Retrieved Oct 17 2019 Further reading EditAttadgie Shelley Combating the Actor s Sacrifice How to Amend Federal Labor Law to Influence the Labor Practices of Theaters and Incentivize Actors to Fight for Their Rights Cardozo Law Review 40 2018 1045 Baar K Kevyne What Has My Union Done For Me The Screen Actors Guild the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors Equity Association Respond to McCarthy Era Blacklisting Film History 2008 437 455 Chi Emily C Star quality and job security The role of the performers unions in controlling access to the acting profession Cardozo Arts amp Entertainment Law Journal 18 2000 1 Gemmill Paul F Collective Bargaining by Actors A Study of Trade Unionism among Performers of the English Speaking Legitimate Stage in America Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics No 402 Washington D C U S Government Printing Office 1926 Harding Alfred The Revolt of the Actors New York William Morrow amp Company 1929 Holmes Sean P Weavers of Dreams Unite Actors Unionism in Early Twentieth Century America Urbana Illinois University of Illinois Press 2013 Holmes Sean P And the villain still pursued her The actors equity association in Hollywood 1919 1929 Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television 25 1 2005 27 50 Meredith Mark D From dancing halls to hiring halls Actors Equity and the closed shop dilemma Columbia Law Review 96 1 1996 178 236 Rogers Lynne The Actors Revolt American Heritage Volume 47 Issue 5 September 1996 External links Edit nbsp Media related to Actors Equity Association at Wikimedia Commons Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Actors 27 Equity Association amp oldid 1155569976, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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