Actors' Equity's National Council has voted to ratify a new five-year Development Agreement with The Broadway League, ending an eight-month strike that began June 17, 2024. The strike put a pause on developmental workshops for new plays and musicals.
The new agreement includes a cumulative pay increase in excess of 8% for Equity members, according to union representatives, along with increased pre-production time for stage managers and the establishment of a joint working group between Equity and League producers to create a new audition access program. The contract will be in effect until February 11, 2029.
All eyes are now on the next Production Contract, which establishes baseline contracts for performers and stage managers on Broadway. Equity and the League are expected to begin negotiations on a new agreement this summer.
Established in 2019, the Development Agreement was a solution to an earlier brouhaha involving workshop and lab development contracts. The workshop model, in which actors who help in a piece's development collectively share 1% of future profits when and if the production becomes profitable to a certain amount, had been prevalent for decades. Actors working on workshop contracts agreed to lower pay during the workshop in exchange for that profit share agreement. However, the vast majority of plays and musicals do not end up becoming profitable.
Thus entered the lab model, in which producers would pay actors a higher fee up front with no profit sharing scheme. In 2019, actors became disillusioned with this model and went on strike, a move that ultimately ended with the creation of the Development Agreement that provided both adequate pay during the development process and a share in the project's ultimate potential profits.
The union began negotiating on a new agreement in early 2024, with the scheme officially expiring February 11, 2024. The agreement was extended beyond that date as negotiations continued, with the strike officially beginning June 17, 2024.
鈥淭oday is a day to celebrate the hard work of Equity鈥檚 team in getting us back into the rehearsal halls and making some magic,鈥� says Equity Negotiating Team Chair Stephen Bogardus in a statement. 鈥淭he talent and commitment our members bring to their work is vital in transporting what's on paper to the stage, and Development work sessions are a crucial step in that process. This was a long strike, but it was worth it. I know our members are looking forward to digging into the work we love doing while being more fairly compensated for that labor.鈥�
Recent Broadway productions that have used the Development Agreement during their process include Boop!, Death Becomes Her, The Last Five Years, Left On Tenth, Maybe Happy Ending, Real Women Have Curves, Smash, and A Wonderful World.
