Chances of a Strike?

macbeth said: "https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Over-1300-Equity-Members-Send-Letter-to-The-Broadway-League-20250915

Looks like 6 days till the current agreement expires? Should we be worried?"

What’s the likelihood of this happening? And if there is a strike, would shows go dark next week?

Salaries mean little in terms of success to a successful show. This is more ridiculousness by the people in charge. There were 77 productions this season. If every time a restaurant falls, should we discuss lowering their salaries? We can play this game for every single business in every single sector. Some businesses fail, some succeed. If you cant succeed paying decent wages across the board, you fail. And you should fail. It's really that simple.

I choose to focus on the shows that are billion dollar enterprises. I choose to focus on the shows running for years that have made money. Don't buy this " recoupment" crap. It's all a shell game.

KKeller6 said: "Some businesses fail, some succeed. If you cant succeed paying decent wages across the board, you fail. And you should fail. It's really that simple."

I'd waager this is not the take of someone who has had to keep a business open before.

I think the idea is they can pay for a lot of misses and vanity projects. But you can't base pay on anything like that. I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying you have to look at the overall picture. And if you do, you realize there's plenty of money to spend on labor. And whatever else you need.

Updated On: 9/23/25 at 12:06 PM

Observation said: "BJR said: "KKeller6 said: "Some businesses fail, some succeed. If you cant succeed paying decent wages across the board, you fail. And you should fail. It's really that simple."

I'd waager this is notthe take of someone who has had to keep a business open before."

If there is a strike, QoV should use that as an out and never open that production."

Two Strangers may consider this, as well.

Observation said: "BJR said: "KKeller6 said: "Some businesses fail, some succeed. If you cant succeed paying decent wages across the board, you fail. And you should fail. It's really that simple."

I'd waager this is notthe take of someone who has had to keep a business open before."

If there is a strike, QoV should use that as an out and never open that production."



Contracts (and Collective Bargaining Agreements) don't work like that.

Predicting some very dark times ahead on Broadway. The downturn is well underway already, and things aren't getting better anytime soon.

From what has been reported and AEA has been saying online, salaries don’t seem to be a central demand in these negotiations- scheduling, adequate staffing coverage, and health care are.

Am I understanding that re: coverage, AEA is basically saying it wants to end the practice of “split tracks”? Meaning a show needs to cancel if there aren’t the exact right number of people onstage on a given night? That part seems tricky…yes, split tracks have become abused sometimes, there are safety concerns if not done with care, and they’re a nightmare for directors and choreographers…but sometimes you have a deep bench of covers and sh*t happens and you STILL have to make due with compromise (a compromise that doesn’t put actors in harm’s way).

Theoretically, the healthcare matter and rehearsal scheduling matters should be non-issues that don’t make a huuuge dent in weekly running costs. But I don’t know the ins and outs of this negotiation.

JSquared2 said:
Wha??

Do you honestly believe that "lowering salaries" is on the table -- by either side?? Also, contracts are negotiated and signed BEFORE the show starts performances -- so I have no idea why you're bringing "recoupment" (which is a REAL thing) into the equation?

First off, poor raises in contract agreements, I equate with lower salaries.

Secondly, recoupment is a shell game. It's a way for shows to appear not to make any money when they most certainly are.

Again, I'm not claiming every show makes money. ( Sunset Boulevard certainly did). I'm claiming they cook the books. And I'm claiming they flood the market looking for that next big hit, knowing it's more than worth it. THEN, they can claim the Broadway model doesn't work. Did you see the latest grosses? Hamilton netted about$ 3M dollars this week. Netted. Profit. $3M. This week alone. Give me a break, these producers. They are thieves. Hey, by the way, did the producers of Hamilton every give back the $50M they stole from the government during Covid? Money they got for keeping a small office open when in reality they did not continue paying the cast & crew?

Absolutely. I get that. There are 5 other shows on Broadway running right now that have grossed over a billion dollars each worldwide.

And there are plenty others that are having good, successful runs. It seems a bit more than coincidental that its contract time( the musicians are up as well as AE) and and these stories are coming out. This is all most likely being done at the direction of the law firm Proskauer-Rose. The world's leading anti- labor law firm.

iluvtheatertrash said: "Kad, forgive my ignorance. Why would LCT et al not be affected by the strike? (I selfishly have a ticket to Ragtime on Oct 14 and am very much looking forward to it!)"

LCT and the other nonprofits on Broadway that I mentioned don’t actually use the Production contract, at least not initially. Their productions operate under a modified LORT agreement to bring down their costs. If one of their productions extend or turn into an open-ended run (like LCT’s South Pacific or Roundabout’s Anything Goes), they then convert to the Production contract.


No need to be forgiven for not knowing! It’s a rather unknown and unusual arrangement.

Updated On: 10/1/25 at 11:22 AM