Equity card

Last updated

An Equity card is proof of membership in the Actors' Equity Association of the United States or Equity in the United Kingdom.

Contents

United States

History

Edwin Booth founded the "Players" in 1888 [1] which held meetings at the "Players." The "Players" was an actors' club in Gramercy Park. [1] The second organisation, Actors' Society of America, was formed in 1895 and was led by Louis Aldrich. [2] Actors' Society of America was dissolved by vote of members in 1912. [1]

Actors' Equity Association was founded in New York City on May 26, 1913. [1]

Joining Equity

One method for an actor to become eligible to join the union is being under an Equity contract. [3] [4]

An actor may also apply for membership if they are a member of any of the sister unions in the performing arts. These unions are the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), and Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). [3] [4]

The third way one gets an equity card is through the "Equity Membership Candidate Program" (EMC). [3] [4] In this program, actors are allowed to work in Equity productions as credit towards eventual membership. An actor is eligible for membership once he completes fifty weeks of work at theatres that are a part of the EMC program. [3] [4]

Once a member, the actor is required to pay "yearly dues" of $118 plus "working dues" which are 2.25% of the gross earnings through an equity contract. [3]

Member benefits and privileges

The first major benefit to having an Equity card, as an actor, is that many professional auditions are Equity-only calls. Non-members are allowed to attend, but with no guarantee of being seen. Equity members are allowed to attend these Equity-only calls without these restrictions. [5] [6] [7]

Contract benefits for members include minimum wages, work rules such as length of work day, health insurance, pension, and workers' compensation insurance. [5]

Once an individual is a member of Actor's Equity, they may not rehearse or perform in a non-equity production without written permission from Equity. [8] The rule does not apply to children under the age of 14, who may temporarily withdraw membership in order to perform in a non-equity production such as a school play. [9]

Related Research Articles

Actors Equity Association American labor union for theater performers

The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or through-storyline may be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). The AEA works to negotiate and provide performers and stage managers quality living conditions, livable wages, and benefits. A theater or production that is not produced and performed by personnel who are members of the AEA may be known as "non-Equity".

Screen Actors Guild American labor union representing film performers (1933-2012)

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) to create SAG-AFTRA.

Equity, formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association, is the trade union for actors, singers, models, performers, directors, choreographers, designers, stage managers, and other creative workers in the United Kingdom. It was formed by a group of West End performers in 1930 and incorporated the Variety Artistes' Federation in 1967. As of 2017, it has approximately 43,555 members.

In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions. Under these laws, employees in unionized workplaces are banned from negotiating contracts which require employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation.

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists former performers union

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists, promo and voice-over announcers and other performers in commercials, stunt persons and specialty acts—as the organization itself publicly stated, "AFTRA's membership includes an array of talent". On March 30, 2012, it was announced that the members of AFTRA and of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) had voted to merge and form SAG-AFTRA.

A pre-entry closed shop is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed. This is different from a post-entry closed shop, which is an agreement requiring all employees to join the union if they are not already members. In a union shop, the union must accept as a member any person hired by the employer. By comparison, an open shop does not require union membership of potential and current employees.

Communications Workers of America U.S./Canadian labor union

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members. CWA has several affiliated subsidiary labor unions bringing total membership to over 700,000. CWA is headquartered in Washington, DC, and affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the Strategic Organizing Center the Canadian Labour Congress, and UNI Global Union. The current president is Chris Shelton.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Entertainment industry labor union

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, known as simply the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, is a labor union representing over 150,000 technicians, artisans, and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion picture and television production, and trade shows in the United States and Canada. It was awarded the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 1993.

A union security agreement is a contractual agreement, usually part of a union collective bargaining agreement, in which an employer and a trade or labor union agree on the extent to which the union may compel employees to join the union, and/or whether the employer will collect dues, fees, and assessments on behalf of the union.

An open shop is a place of employment at which one is not required to join or financially support a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment.

The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 is a professional guild and union of animation artists, writers and technicians. It was formed in 1952. In 2002, the organization changed its name from Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists.

Financial Core refers to a legal carve out that permits workers opposed to participating in a labor union to be employed in a union facility or union profession without compelling them to be union members.

Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild Inc., 525 U.S. 33 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court decision involving the validity of a union shop contract.

American Guild of Musical Artists

The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the American labor union that represents about 8,000 active and retired opera singers, ballet and other dancers, opera directors, backstage production personnel at opera and dance companies, and figure skaters.

The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in New York and more than 250 other North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC), is an independent national labor union established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographers, working on Broadway and on National tours, Off-Broadway, and in various resident, regional, stock and dinner theatres throughout the United States.

An audition website is a web site that aggregates audition information and delivers this information via the World Wide Web. There are hundreds of companies that operate acting, modeling, and dancing audition websites. Originally, only talent agents were able to provide actors, models, dancers, and other performers with audition information. This meant that only performers that were represented by Talent Agents could go on auditions. Today, both open auditions and private auditions can be found on reliable audition websites. Talented performers can browse the World Wide Web and find many different audition websites. The primary organization of professional screen and theater casting in the United States is the Casting Society of America (CSA). Membership to the CSA is optional.

Voluntary association Group of people with shared interests or aims

A voluntary group or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body to accomplish a purpose. Common examples include trade associations, trade unions, learned societies, professional associations, and environmental groups.

SAG-AFTRA American labor union governing media professionals and entertainers

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recording artists, singers, voice actors, internet influencers, fashion models, and other media professionals worldwide. The organization was formed on March 30, 2012, following the merger of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. SAG-AFTRA is a member of the AFL–CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States.

Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, No. 16-1466, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), abbreviated Janus v. AFSCME, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on US labor law, concerning the power of labor unions to collect fees from non-union members. Under the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947, which applies to the private sector, union security agreements can be allowed by state law. The Supreme Court ruled that such union fees in the public sector violate the First Amendment right to free speech, overturning the 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that had previously allowed such fees.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "THE SECRET HISTORY: Actors' Equity Celebrates Its 90th Anniversary in the Place where (shhhhhh!) it all began". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Bordman, Gerald; Gerald Bordman; Thomas S. Hischak (6 May 2006). The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 6. ISBN   978-0195169867.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "AEA Membership Information and Procedures" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Equity Cards" . Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Benefits Overview". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Equity Principal Audition Procedures New York" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Equity Chorus Call Audition Procedures New York and Los Angeles" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "If I'm a member, may I work on a non-union contract?". Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "May a juvenile member be in a school play?". Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.