During the COVID-19 Shutdown, Theatre Unions Need to Suspend Collecting Dues

I’m not going to downplay the panic that is spreading among theatrical artists during this COVID-19 shutdown. It’s very real and very scary for many of them. Not only have their theatrical gigs closed but also their side gigs as well. I’ve talked to numerous performers who tell me they have absolutely zero income coming into them during this shutdown. If that was me, I would be terrified.

So the quickest way to help these folks is to start eliminating costs. While NYC has put a moratorium on processing eviction notices, that hasn’t stopped landlords asking for rent. I’ve spoken to several performers who have told me that their landlords are still asking for rent during this shutdown. I think we need to try to do everything we can to make this easier for performers, even if it’s minimal in the grand scheme of things.

One way to do that is for theatre unions to cease collecting dues during the shutdown, or go a step further and refund them. I’ve been told by multiple FOH workers that right before the shutdown, IATSE 306 collected their quarterly dues which can be upwards to $270 for members. Some would have to pay more if there were late fees and such. Ideally, I would love to see IATSE refund those dues since most of their members won’t be earning a paycheck during this shutdown.

According to their website, Actor’s Equity won’t be collecting dues until May. Those are usually around $87. I think it would ease the minds of many of their members for them to announce now that they won’t be collecting them at that time and perhaps pay out the annual fee of $174 or not collect the working fees from actors who are still being paid.

I also think that these unions should refund any initiation fees that were paid in the last 30 days. The American Guild of Musical Artists has a one-time initiation fee of $1,000. I would love for them to refund that to anyone who had to pay it in the last month.

Would this be an enormous cost on the part of these unions? Absolutely. Paying out $174 to all Actor’s Equity members would be in the neighborhood of $8 million. Do I think it would put the union in financial peril if they did that? No, unless they’re terrible with their funds. According to Union Facts, as of 2015, AEA’s assets are north of $50 million. Also, it’s fair to mention that some of their members would likely decline the payout since some of them are doing well enough that they wouldn’t need it.

Not to overly criticize these organizations but other than their employee’s salaries, I often ask where does all the money go? In times like these, these organizations can show their members that they are truly looking out for them by doing everything they can. Some of them do have relief funds, but whatever they payout won’t be enough for many of their members.

I’ve heard from some that the advice they’re being given is to call their congressperson to lobby for federal aid. In my opinion, that’s not helping. Plus, unions like IATSE and AEA already pay lobbyists to talk to Congress.

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures and I think it would ease tension and fears if theatre unions did everything they can to help their members. Calling for action is fine but going a step further and enacting measures now would be even better.