The membership of Actors' Equity Association—the actor-stage manager union that represents artists working on U.S. professional stages on Broadway and beyond—has ratified its new Production Contract. After its membership voted affirmatively (by 71%) to approve the new contract, this agreement will now become the standard base contract for most Broadway actors and stage managers. 

The union reached a tentative agreement on the contract with The Broadway League (whose membership includes producers and theatre owners) October 18, the end of a protracted negotiation season that had much of the industry bracing for both an actors and musicians strikes (musicians reached their own tentative agreement last week, with a final ratification vote still forthcoming).

The new Production Contract will be in place in 120 days, and will remain through September 2028. 

As is typical, the union has not been public with specifics on the terms achieved in the new contract, though public statements released during and after negotiations revealed that they were primarily seeking increases in health care contributions and wages. The group was successful on both fronts. 

The current minimum salary will go from $2,638 to $2,717 a week, with a subsequent three percent increase every year. Swings (actors who cover multiple ensemble roles in a show) are getting an additional six percent. Pay increases will be applied retroactively to September 28, 2025, when the previous contract expired.

The contract also includes new provisions that will be visible to audience members via their Playbills. Going forward, producers will be able to include a printed QR code in physical Playbills announcing last minute cast changes, which previously required a printed paper slip stuffed into the Playbill. The provision also establishes that an archive of these changes—largely marking when understudies, swings, or standbys go on in the place of regular cast members—be available online for 30 days. Following that news, Playbill Vice President/Chief Operating Office Alex Birsh made it clear that he intends for Playbill.com to be the repository for understudy information across Broadway. 

Other new elements of the contract include changes to how and when producers can schedule long stretches of consecutive performance dates without breaks, a situation that tends to happen around major holidays; the ability for stage managers to request additional staffing; and changes to requirements around calling out of shows.

The email also included some of the Broadway League's wishlist that was successfully defeated by AEA, which includes the adoption of fully digital Playbills, swing performances going uncredited, reduced wages for child actors, drops in pay for recording cast albums, and more.

Read more about the new contract's reported terms here.

"This was a lengthy negotiation, and a thorough one that resulted in progress across all of Equity’s priority areas: safe staffing, humane scheduling, sustainable working conditions, and stabilizing the Equity-League Health Fund,” says AEA Executive Director Al Vincent, Jr. in a statement announcing the ratification. “We are proud of the deal we achieved together, and we know it will make the lives of actors and stage managers better over the next three years. With the new Production Contract ratified, Equity and the League can now continue working together to bring audiences the best Broadway season yet!"

“We welcome today’s contract ratification by the members of Actors’ Equity," adds Broadway League President Jason Laks. "We’ve worked in good faith throughout this process and are proud to have reached an agreement that both sides can stand behind. The terms we achieved address the core areas of concern for our producers at a time when producing commercial theatre is more challenging than ever. These reforms and the contributions in this contract represent real progress for both the industry and our workforce. We look forward to working together to keep Broadway thriving for the 100,000 people whose jobs depend on the theatre, and the millions who come to enjoy it.”

The statement also praises the contract mediators—Javier Ramirez and Dan McCray from the National Conflict Resolution Service at the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution at Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations—who helped facilitate the process after a breakdown in traditional negotiations.