Details of the four-year agreement were not disclosed, but Equity claimed in an announcement that the new contract calls for annual wage increases and the creation of a new labor-management committee "whose purpose is to address work-related issues in real time, thus providing solutions to ongoing issues that could include safety and other topics." Once ratified, the contract will extend retroactively to Sept. 25, 2011—the day the previous Production Contract expired. It must first be approved by Equity's National Council, then it will be sent to members for ratification. Final approval is expected to come in December.
"This has been a focused effort on the part of the union and the League to achieve a contract that is beneficial to both sides," Mary McColl, Equity's executive director, said in a written statement. "What we achieved at the bargaining table recognizes issues important to both sides, correcting issues that have not been addressed for decades while also acknowledging the fast-changing world we now live in. This contract is a win for Equity members, League members, and the theatergoing public." McColl, a former Broadway League negotiator, was named Equity's executive director in October 2010.
"The League joins with Equity in the belief that this is a new era of bargaining where all sides can win," added Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, in the written statement. "We are pleased that both producers and Equity members received worthwhile and important benefits in this agreement. As we are speeding into the 21st century, we must be able to move with the times. Hats off to the entire bargaining committee for their willingness to adapt and evolve in order to achieve mutually beneficial results that support a healthy Broadway for all."
