I asked an Equity member for his signature for my petition to run for Council. He asked. "Are you on Council now?"
"No," I said.
"Then I'll sign your petition. I won't support any of these clowns who are in now!"
A bit extremist perhaps, but he expressed very well the anger that has been building like a storm surge among our membership over tiered tours.
Background
If you haven't been following the controversy or are just unsure about the facts: Two shows, NEWSIES and KINKY BOOTS, both with shelves full of Tonys and other awards, have announced tours. In their respective EPA adverts their contracts were listed as Production Tier and Short Engagement Touring Agreement (SETA) tours, causing outrage. A grass roots movement was born, manifesting itself in a Facebook group and other social media. They decided to attend en masse the Eastern Region Membership meeting of January 17 and demand answers. The groundswell of unrest was such that the Council held a town hall meeting specifically to address Tiers/SETA tours. The crux of the controversy was whether these shows - both doing great business on Broadway - should be allowed to pay actors less on the road. For simplicity's sake, I'll just list the actor, not the SM or ASM, minimum weekly salaries:
At first glance, the reduced salaries jump right off the page. Why did the membership (more than 90% of the voting members) ratify this?
Ten years ago there was a great hemorrhage of union jobs to the non-union sphere. The Production Contract negotiations of 2004 were crafted with addressing this situation in mind.
The main goal was to win back the road.
But there is more to Tiers/SETA than the salary page. A part of the package compensation is participation in overages. (The amount over what has been guaranteed to the producer) Producers are not allowed just to capriciously "pick a tier." Indeed, there would be little use for any tier system in such a case. There are financial hoops for that producer to jump through. Also, Presenters, which are the people, distinct from the original producer who offer a guarantee in exchange for presenting a show at a given theatre, have a bigger role in the business. If the Presenter is not confident that he or she can sell a given show, a smaller guarantee might be offered. (Click here for a glossary of road terms)
Now, when the overage is big, the share going to those under Equity contracts is also big, effectively increasing their salaries. Some people have made more in overages than salary. But conversely, when there is little or no overage, you make the same (reduced) salary that you were contracted for.
Another contentious element of Tiers/SETA are the per diems. In a class A tour, the idea is always to try to live off ones per diem and bank the salary. That is not always possible with Tiers/SETA. The per diems in many cases, do not reflect todays economy and prices on the road.
A not so discerning audience
"If it's not Equity it ain't Broadway." Unfortunately, a good portion of the ticket-buying public either does not know or does not care about the difference between union and non. What leads foremost in the consumer's mind is that such-and-such a show was a hit on Broadway, and "now it's coming to your town!" The shows are marketed title first and as other media - movies, TV, sports - are the go-to events for ones entertainment dollar, theatre becomes a special (read seldom) event. Much the same as standing ovations are ubiquitous at every curtain call on Broadway, just attending the latest iteration of a Broadway tour will present to the audience member the foregone result of being transcendant. Theatre-going in many communities outside of New York is rare enough and special enough and costly enough that audiences will feel foolish if they don't enjoy the show.
Please don't think that I am saying that everyone outside of New York is a rube. But the ones that make up most of the ticket buyers - the ones who are marketed to - often are less communicant with theatre-going in general.
So, that's the history. What to do?
Since I am running for Council, I would look like a strong, no-nonsense reformer if I were to say, "I stand for the elimination of all tiered tours!" (Although I do)
First, know that the current contracts were negotiated a few years ago and are in effect until 2015. Contract negotiations will not start until then. I am in favor of these contracts evolving - which is to say I want all tiers and SETA to go away. I think every Equity member does, actually. When we (Equity) negotiate our next contract, we can refuse to even entertain the idea of continuing things the way they are. I can tell you that the chances of this happening are slim to none. Why? The economy.
As discrete as show business seems to be from the rest of the economy, it has the same dips and swells that every other business has. Unless the road has an enormous spike in business (see the legit section of Variety) and the way of doing business on the road is entirely overhauled in the next year or so, it is a good bet that some sort of tiers system is here for at least the next contract cycle.
The best we can do, as negotiating partners with the Broadway League (The producers' trade organization with whom we bargain) is seek to raise salaries and per diems and lower the thresholds for overage participation. Eliminating tiers will be a long-term game.
Some say that 'Equity should grow a pair,' and just demand to do away with all tiers. This is certainly a valid strategy, but not a viable one. I can tell you now that the only recourse we would have when the League walked out of contract talks would be a strike. The road would be shut down, and no union members could work on those tours.
"Fine," some would say, "Take the hard line."
The trouble with such a strike is that there is a very mature infrastructure in the non-union sphere. Producers like NETworks and Troika Entertainment are everywhere the union is not and would soon fill the void a strike would create. The other thing to remember is that when shows go on the road, new producing entities are created, like the many-headed hydra - cut one head off and another grows. It's not like the old days when it was us against the Schuberts. Producers and producing is diversified and vertically integrated.
The best solution - though not as sexy as the show business equivalent of a Norma Rae-like stance - is strong negotiation. We have to be smart and prepared at the bargaining table. And our voices are being heard by Council. The other thing to keep in mind is that while there are many who will not even consider signing on to one of these tiered jobs - there are many in our number who would. More kids than ever are graduating from very well-endowed theatre programs in universities all around the country. They are better trained than I was at their age - and hungry. Of course, the number of jobs has not increased since I was their age.
As to the clowns that the member who signed my petition alluded to: While I was not part of the original negotiations that established tiers, I know many that were. Some very caring and smart people crafted and negotiated these contracts. The main goal that tiers set out to accomplish was to keep these jobs union. Tiers have been successful in not only keeping jobs union, but taking back some of the ground lost in the previous decade. Now we have to change the structure to reflect the changing economy - not raze the structure entirely. Keep chiming in, though. We have to let Council know how we feel. Pack those membership meetings. Write Council. The by-laws of the Association state that all letters must be read at Council meetings. Thanks for making noise. Keep it up!
If you haven't been following the controversy or are just unsure about the facts: Two shows, NEWSIES and KINKY BOOTS, both with shelves full of Tonys and other awards, have announced tours. In their respective EPA adverts their contracts were listed as Production Tier and Short Engagement Touring Agreement (SETA) tours, causing outrage. A grass roots movement was born, manifesting itself in a Facebook group and other social media. They decided to attend en masse the Eastern Region Membership meeting of January 17 and demand answers. The groundswell of unrest was such that the Council held a town hall meeting specifically to address Tiers/SETA tours. The crux of the controversy was whether these shows - both doing great business on Broadway - should be allowed to pay actors less on the road. For simplicity's sake, I'll just list the actor, not the SM or ASM, minimum weekly salaries:
Ten years ago there was a great hemorrhage of union jobs to the non-union sphere. The Production Contract negotiations of 2004 were crafted with addressing this situation in mind.
The main goal was to win back the road.
But there is more to Tiers/SETA than the salary page. A part of the package compensation is participation in overages. (The amount over what has been guaranteed to the producer) Producers are not allowed just to capriciously "pick a tier." Indeed, there would be little use for any tier system in such a case. There are financial hoops for that producer to jump through. Also, Presenters, which are the people, distinct from the original producer who offer a guarantee in exchange for presenting a show at a given theatre, have a bigger role in the business. If the Presenter is not confident that he or she can sell a given show, a smaller guarantee might be offered. (Click here for a glossary of road terms)
Now, when the overage is big, the share going to those under Equity contracts is also big, effectively increasing their salaries. Some people have made more in overages than salary. But conversely, when there is little or no overage, you make the same (reduced) salary that you were contracted for.
Another contentious element of Tiers/SETA are the per diems. In a class A tour, the idea is always to try to live off ones per diem and bank the salary. That is not always possible with Tiers/SETA. The per diems in many cases, do not reflect todays economy and prices on the road.
A not so discerning audience
"If it's not Equity it ain't Broadway." Unfortunately, a good portion of the ticket-buying public either does not know or does not care about the difference between union and non. What leads foremost in the consumer's mind is that such-and-such a show was a hit on Broadway, and "now it's coming to your town!" The shows are marketed title first and as other media - movies, TV, sports - are the go-to events for ones entertainment dollar, theatre becomes a special (read seldom) event. Much the same as standing ovations are ubiquitous at every curtain call on Broadway, just attending the latest iteration of a Broadway tour will present to the audience member the foregone result of being transcendant. Theatre-going in many communities outside of New York is rare enough and special enough and costly enough that audiences will feel foolish if they don't enjoy the show.
Please don't think that I am saying that everyone outside of New York is a rube. But the ones that make up most of the ticket buyers - the ones who are marketed to - often are less communicant with theatre-going in general.
So, that's the history. What to do?
Since I am running for Council, I would look like a strong, no-nonsense reformer if I were to say, "I stand for the elimination of all tiered tours!" (Although I do)
First, know that the current contracts were negotiated a few years ago and are in effect until 2015. Contract negotiations will not start until then. I am in favor of these contracts evolving - which is to say I want all tiers and SETA to go away. I think every Equity member does, actually. When we (Equity) negotiate our next contract, we can refuse to even entertain the idea of continuing things the way they are. I can tell you that the chances of this happening are slim to none. Why? The economy.
As discrete as show business seems to be from the rest of the economy, it has the same dips and swells that every other business has. Unless the road has an enormous spike in business (see the legit section of Variety) and the way of doing business on the road is entirely overhauled in the next year or so, it is a good bet that some sort of tiers system is here for at least the next contract cycle.
The best we can do, as negotiating partners with the Broadway League (The producers' trade organization with whom we bargain) is seek to raise salaries and per diems and lower the thresholds for overage participation. Eliminating tiers will be a long-term game.
Some say that 'Equity should grow a pair,' and just demand to do away with all tiers. This is certainly a valid strategy, but not a viable one. I can tell you now that the only recourse we would have when the League walked out of contract talks would be a strike. The road would be shut down, and no union members could work on those tours.
"Fine," some would say, "Take the hard line."
The trouble with such a strike is that there is a very mature infrastructure in the non-union sphere. Producers like NETworks and Troika Entertainment are everywhere the union is not and would soon fill the void a strike would create. The other thing to remember is that when shows go on the road, new producing entities are created, like the many-headed hydra - cut one head off and another grows. It's not like the old days when it was us against the Schuberts. Producers and producing is diversified and vertically integrated.
The best solution - though not as sexy as the show business equivalent of a Norma Rae-like stance - is strong negotiation. We have to be smart and prepared at the bargaining table. And our voices are being heard by Council. The other thing to keep in mind is that while there are many who will not even consider signing on to one of these tiered jobs - there are many in our number who would. More kids than ever are graduating from very well-endowed theatre programs in universities all around the country. They are better trained than I was at their age - and hungry. Of course, the number of jobs has not increased since I was their age.
As to the clowns that the member who signed my petition alluded to: While I was not part of the original negotiations that established tiers, I know many that were. Some very caring and smart people crafted and negotiated these contracts. The main goal that tiers set out to accomplish was to keep these jobs union. Tiers have been successful in not only keeping jobs union, but taking back some of the ground lost in the previous decade. Now we have to change the structure to reflect the changing economy - not raze the structure entirely. Keep chiming in, though. We have to let Council know how we feel. Pack those membership meetings. Write Council. The by-laws of the Association state that all letters must be read at Council meetings. Thanks for making noise. Keep it up!
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