Actors’ Equity has changed tactics in its fight for unionization of a Waitress tour and is now vowing to take on more of the Broadway touring industry. 

On Thursday, the union withdrew its election petition with the National Labor Relations Board, in which the union sought to represent members of a non-Equity touring production of Waitress. Instead, Actors’ Equity has filed a grievance against NAMCO, the production company behind Waitress on Broadway, which takes aim at the producing structure that allows a union and a non-union touring production of the show to run at the same time. 

“They should all be union,” said Actors’ Equity executive director Alvin Vincent, Jr. “So we’ll go after those who want to abuse that system of engaging with lower labor costs to the detriment of the artists.” 

The double-breasted grievance, filed with the Broadway League, the trade association for producers and theater owners, points to a few alleged violations of the parties’ Broadway and touring contracts. They are alleged violations of Equity’s right to be the exclusive bargaining representative of performers and stage managers on productions run by signatory producers and a clause that says the union contracts also apply to “any and all corporations, co-partnerships, enterprises and/or groups which said signers or each of them directs, controls, or is interested in.” 

“As a remedy, Equity seeks to have either the SET Agreement or Production Contract applied to the Waitress Touring LLC Actors and Stage Managers and a cease-and-desist order directed at NAMCO issued, barring it from using alter egos or other entities in which it has an interest, send out non-union tours and such other relief the arbitrator deems just and proper,” the complaint reads. 

If the grievance petition moves forward, Actors’ Equity expects to go to arbitration with NAMCO, a process during which it would argue for retroactive pay, pension and 401K payments for members of the non-union Waitress tour. The tour is currently slated to end in June 2022, with another iteration potentially resuming in January 2023, according to a touring website listing. 

Neither NAMCO, nor the Broadway League, immediately responded to a request for comment.

On April 12, Actors’ Equity announced it was seeking to represent the 22 stage members and actors on a non-union Waitress tour produced by NETworks Presentations. That tour pays about a third less per week, and does not offer the benefits afforded to members on a concurrently running union tour, according to Actors’ Equity. The two productions are very similar, Actors’ Equity has argued, and some non-union tour members were even called to step into the Broadway production of Waitress during the Omicron surge, according to the union.

The union election at the NLRB ran into roadblocks due to the timing of the tour, Vincent said. There was concern that the election would happen after the non-Equity tour ended in June, and Actors’ Equity was unable to establish the validity of future dates. (The NLRB docket shows that the employer twice filed motions to postpone a hearing in the case, and the presiding NLRB regional director rescheduled a hearing twice.) There was also a sense that the grievance with the Broadway League process could broaden the issue beyond just one non-union production. 

A non-union and union touring production can currently co-exist in the theater industry’s complex deal structure. In a typical deal, NAMCO, or the rights holder, would be able to license non-Equity rights to a non-Equity touring producer such as NETworks Presentations, which would then put on the tour. The producers behind NAMCO, Barry and Fran Weissler, who are members of the Broadway League and bargaining partners with Actors’ Equity, would only be able to produce the Equity touring production.

Now, Actors’ Equity is taking a closer look at the relationship between the Broadway producers and non-union touring producers. 

Actors’ Equity filed similar grievances in late 2021 against the John Gore Organization for allegedly double-breasting with NETworks Presentations and against the Nederlander Organization for allegedly double-breasting with Troika Entertainment, another touring producer. Those matters are still pending. 

The Nederlander Organization and the John Gore Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A double-breasted operation, sometimes referred to as a “dual shop,” employs both union and non-union workers, often in separate divisions or firms. Depending on the details of how they operate, these types of operations can be subject to NLRB unfair labor practices complaints, union trust fund audits or grievances submitted under the auspices of a collective bargaining agreement.

While noting that the grievance process can be a “long-game strategy,” Stefanie Frey, director of organizing and mobilization at Actors’ Equity, said union leaders believe the results will be worth it. Members have been angry about the existence of non-union tours for at least a decade, and have grown angrier in recent years, following cases such as the sudden replacement of Equity actors by non-union actors on a tour of Tootsie.

The end goal for Actors’ Equity is to only have union tours on the road.

“I think they’ve just poked too many buttons and now we’re fighting back,” Frey said.