Atlantic Theater Company and IATSE have reached a tentative agreement that would cover all production workers employed by the Off-Broadway theater company.
The agreement comes after workers at the Atlantic Theater went on strike in January after negotiations for the first union contract covering behind-the-scenes workers, including theatrical electricians and carpenters, painters, wardrobe and costume dressers, fell apart. The strike led to the cancellation of two productions at the Manhattan-based non-profit theater, which has developed several shows for Broadway.
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The proposed agreement includes “significant” compensation increases and benefits, according to a joint statement from the two parties.
Atlantic crew members had voted unanimously to unionize with IATSE in February 2024, amid a larger push from Off-Broadway workers.
When the strike was called, the two parties had been in negotiations for months, but IATSE said the theater company “demanded several provisions before continuing its further obligations to bargain with the union” and was unwilling to move off their demands. This led the union to file unfair labor practice charges with the federal government.
The decision to unionize the workers came after IATSE organized a meeting in July 2023 and had 100 workers show up.
While the topic had been in discussion for years, workers decided to push forward due to the changing theater landscape, which has seen many layoffs of workers after the pandemic, and the desire for health insurance and greater benefits.
The production team at the Off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors and at the musical Titanique have also ratified their first union contracts. This would be the first Off-Broadway nonprofit theater company to have a union agreement covering production classifications
