Los Angeles-- The actors, stage managers, bartenders and servers of Phoenix’s Drunk Shakespeare have become the second company of the theatrical franchise to unionize as Drunk Shakespeare United. Following just weeks after their fellow workers in Chicago, they too have organized with Actors’ Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional performers and stage managers in live theatre. Should their employers, Brass Jar Productions AZ LLC, change course and refuse the voluntary recognition they offered in Chicago, the Phoenix workers are confident their signed union commitment cards will lead to certification by the NLRB.
Workers in the Phoenix production unanimously chose to form a union because as the people closest to the work, they see achievable solutions to recurring problems. With no local representative of the employer in Phoenix, there is no mechanism for preserving the high quality of the show and overall experience. A union gives them a voice to address these issues with their management.
“We learn so much from each other – collaboration and communication make the show better and make the workplace better," said Clara Kundin, a performer in Drunk Shakespeare Phoenix. “Going Equity means we can pull from a greater pool of actors next time we’re hiring. Union workplaces are strong workplaces.”
Including Chicago and Phoenix, Drunk Shakespeare currently has five productions of the show running around the country. Equity encourages all workers in live performance who feel they would benefit from a union contract to contact the union’s organizing department at actorsequity.org/organize.
ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its members by negotiating wages, improving working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. www.actorsequity.org #EquityWorks
June 20, 2023
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