Posts tagged Actors’ Equity Association
COLORADO: Casa Bonita actors, cliff divers launch strike during Halloween
October 31, 2025 // Casa Bonita workers voted to unionize in November 2024 as they sought better pay and to establish workplace protections. The restaurant and entertainment venue is a beloved historic landmark and in 2023, reopened under the ownership of locally raised celebrities Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The creators of the “South Park” TV show reportedly spent $40 million reviving the restaurant after purchasing it out of bankruptcy.
Breaking News Strike Update – Tentative Deal Reached Between Equity and the Broadway League
October 21, 2025 // No one has called for a strike quite yet. Actors' Equity Association, representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers, has argued for new a Broadway contract that ensures safe staffing, humane scheduling, sustainable working conditions, and paying fair share of benefits. Local 802, representing thousands of highly skilled musicians in New York City, is bringing similar issues to the table: fair wages that reflect Broadway’s success; stable health coverage; and employment and income security.
Talks resume as Broadway actors consider a strike
October 13, 2025 // Plays have performed better recently, especially limited runs headlined by A-list celebrities, which can charge higher ticket prices and have lower costs. Last season, seven plays made money, out of 21 that opened. Broadway musicians are also currently working under an expired contract. They are expected to bargain next week over wage increases, work rules, and health care. Bob Suttman, the president of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802, said that they are "standing in lockstep" with actors.
Matt Stone Assures Actors’ Equity That Casa Bonita Isn’t Killing Off Black Bart
September 25, 2025 // With Casa Bonita’s seasonal pop-up “Casa BOOnita” right around the corner, South Park co-creator Matt Stone, who famously acquired and renovated the Lakewood, Colorado institution at great cost with Trey Parker, spoke to The Denver Post in an attempt to assuage concerns about the loss of jobs and shifts by unionized employees as well as the retirement of certain beloved characters. Stone called the accusations levied against him by Actor’s Equity a “falsehood,” saying of his and his partner’s devotion to the performing staff, “Obviously, Trey Parker is not going to eliminate Black Bart.”
Chippendales Dancers Levy Unfair Labor Practices Complaint After Joining Union
December 30, 2024 // Chippendales performers and their newly joined union claim the “Broadway of burlesque” stars are considerably underpaid compared with other entertainers on the Las Vegas Strip and around town. Shields is calling on Chippendales Entertainment to recognize Equity as Chippendales dancers’ representative and engage in good-faith negotiations to provide “world-class” wages and benefits fit for “world-class” performers.
A first: Chippendales at the Rio to unionize
October 10, 2024 // The Chipps move to Equity status could trigger a series of similar efforts in shows across Las Vegas. Such production companies as Cirque du Soleil, Spiegelworld and Adam Steck’s SPI Entertainment lineup (which has “Thunder” on its roster) are non-union. But none of these casts have formally moved to organize. Nationally, Equity also represents strip-club employees, and also Disneyland character performers. Las Vegas is rife with club performers, and atmospheric entertainers (Area15 is expanding by 35 acres, for instance), eligible to seek Equity status. Equity reps clearly want the Chipps show to serve as a toe-hold to increased membership across Las Vegas. So do the dancers who voted to organize.
Actors’ Equity Association halts future development contracts in wake of stalled negotiations
June 21, 2024 // Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theater, has followed through on a notice it had given to cease issuing contracts for work on its Development Agreement, effective immediately.
Disneyland Unionization Shuts Down Attractions: 2,000 Cast Members Gear Up for Major Protests
June 6, 2024 // Nearly 2,000 cast members have voted to unionize at Disneyland Resort in California, sparking concerns from the House of Mouse, so much so that the company is rumored to be looking into closing down experiences and attractions amidst the possibility of protests breaking out.
Disneyland will work with union representing character performers
June 4, 2024 // While most of Disneyland's 35,000 employees are represented by 26 unions, the park's 1,100 character performers and 600 parade performers and support staff had not been unionized until now. California's minimum wage increased to $16 an hour in 2024 with the hourly rate set to rise to $18 in 2025. After a lengthy court fight, Anaheim's Measure L boosted Disneyland's minimum wage to nearly $20 an hour.
Disneyland character performers vote to unionize
May 21, 2024 // The group had announced a union organizing effort in February before filing for a vote with the National Labor Relations Board in April. There are more than 21,000 Disneyland “cast member” employees, who are represented by more than a dozen unions. Those unionized jobs include workers in retail, food service, security, pyrotechnic, and hair and makeup.