More good news on the Broadway contract renegotiation front. On the heels of IATSE securing a tentative agreement for a new Pink Contract (covering stagehands and other backstage work on Broadway and national tours), IATSE Local 798—representing Broadway hair and make-up artists—succeeded in getting their own tentative agreement for a new contract July 27. The news was announced by the union on Instagram.
While the newly agreed upon terms were not made public, at least one member described the agreement as including "historic gains" on social media. Union members will vote at a Zoom session July 30 on whether or not to ratify the agreement.
The previous contract had, in fact, been long expired, a sticking point for the workers who have been forced to continue to work on it. The agreement, reached in 2017, expired August 9, 2020, at which point all Broadway shows were dark due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When theatre returned in 2021, the union agreed to extend the expired agreement through August 2022. The most recent negotiation period, which ran July 25 and 27, was part of only a handful of sessions the union was able to get with Broadway League and Disney Theatrical representatives following the post-pandemic extension.