Actors' Equity Association

Actors' Equity Association is a United States labor union representing professional stage actors and stage managers. It negotiates workplace standards and collective bargaining agreements with theatrical employers.

Collective bargaining: Negotiation between employers and workers, usually represented by a union, over wages and working conditions. Equity uses collective bargaining to negotiate agreements governing performers' and stage managers' work.
Actors' Equity Strike of 1919: A month-long strike by Actors' Equity Association members that closed many Broadway theatres in 1919. The strike established Equity as a force capable of changing theatrical employment practices.
Ethel Barrymore: An American stage and screen actor from the Barrymore family of performers. Barrymore publicly supported the 1919 strike, lending a prominent performer’s name to the cause.
American Guild of Musical Artists: A labor union representing opera, concert, and dance performers in the United States. AGMA covers many performers whose work falls outside Equity's stage-acting jurisdiction.
Theatre contract: A written agreement setting employment terms for a theatrical production. Equity agreements translate union standards into terms for particular productions.
Edwin Booth: A nineteenth-century American stage actor and the first president of the Players' Club. His Players' Club helped provide an institutional setting for early actor organizing.
Mary Shaw: An American actor, playwright, and advocate for women's rights and actors' labor organization. Shaw was an early organizer whose advocacy helped build support for Equity.
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees: A labor union representing technicians and other workers in live entertainment and motion pictures. IATSE represents many backstage crafts, while Equity represents stage actors and stage managers.
Minimum wage: The lowest pay rate an employer may legally or contractually provide for covered work. Equity contracts establish minimum compensation for many covered theatrical jobs.
Francis Wilson: An American actor and labor organizer who served as Actors' Equity Association's first president. Wilson led the union during its founding period and the 1919 strike.

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