Broadway Stage Actors and Managers Strike Narrowly Avoided With Tentative Labor Agreement

Broadway’s critical labor showdown has hit intermission after the industry’s biggest labor group reached a tentative, three-year deal following an all-night mediation session.

Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing more than 51,000 stage actors and stage managers nationwide, has reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League, the trade organization for theater producers and owners, narrowly avoiding what would have been the first major Broadway strike in decades.

The two sides struck a deal after an all-night mediation session that lasted until 6 a.m., Al Vincent Jr., Equity’s executive director and chief negotiator, announced Saturday.

“After a marathon mediation session lasting until 6 a.m., Equity and The Broadway League have reached a tentative agreement on the Production Contract,” Vincent said in a statement.

The three-year agreement preserves the Equity League Health Fund — a critical issue that had brought negotiations to the brink — and makes progress on other long-standing priorities such as scheduling flexibility and access to physical therapy for performers. The union will now bring the proposed contract to its members for ratification.

The Broadway League confirmed the tentative deal but did not immediately release details. The agreement heads off a potential shutdown of nearly all Broadway productions, a scenario that could have cost millions in lost ticket sales and paychecks across the industry.

The talks, which began Aug. 25, centered on Equity’s main “Production Contract,” covering performers and stage managers on Broadway and in some major national tours. The previous contract expired Sept. 28 after weeks of mounting tension and strike preparation.

Among the biggest sticking points were health-care contributions from producers, new staffing requirements for “swings” — performers who cover absent cast members — and the need for additional support for stage managers. Absenteeism across the industry has climbed since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving fewer backups available during high-demand stretches like the winter holidays.

Equity members had already voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if talks collapsed, a move that added urgency to the late-night mediation.

The union’s tentative deal arrives as other Broadway labor groups continue their own talks. The American Federation of Musicians’ Local 802, which represents theater orchestras, remains in negotiation with the Broadway League over its own production contract.

Local 802 president Robert Suttmann applauded Equity’s breakthrough but cautioned that his union’s dispute is unresolved.

“We are thankful that our brothers and sisters in labor at Actors’ Equity have reached an agreement,” he said. “Local 802 is still in negotiation for a fair contract, and everything remains on the table, including a strike.”

If ratified, the agreement will mark a rare moment of calm in Broadway’s post-pandemic labor landscape — one that has seen workers across entertainment and hospitality push for stronger protections in a still-recovering industry.

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