New York -- Actors’ Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has issued a statement following reports that the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, has been re-introduced in Congress.
“The numbers clearly show that when workers unionize, those workers thrive and America thrives,” said Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity Association. “Equity wholeheartedly endorses the strongest possible version of the PRO Act, in order to strengthen and protect the rights of workers across the country to form or join unions. This legislation will finally provide meaningful tools to crack down on abuses that are all too common in our industry; for example, the rampant employee misclassification that deprives creative professionals of fair wages, adequate safety standards, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.”
The PRO Act includes several measures that fight back against union-busting tactics by employers and strengthens the National Labor Relations Act. For example, it prohibits the practice of some employers holding mandatory anti-organizing meetings for their staff and allows workers to file civil complaints against employers for violating their NLRB rights. The bill strengthens protections for workers who go on strike, and overrides so-called right-to-work laws.
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
February 4, 2021
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