Historical Background
Broadway before the union
By the late 1800s, Broadway was booming, but its performers were not. A powerful producer cartel called the Syndicate, led by Marc Klaw and Abraham Erlanger, controlled nearly every stage in America. Actors had no leverage. Rehearsals ran 10 weeks for a play, 18 weeks for a musical, all unpaid. Managers could demand 14 shows a week with no extra compensation. Moreover, performers paid for their own costumes, traveled without guaranteed fare home, and could be fired without prior notice or pay. Chorus performers were not even considered "real" actors by the industry. They had no contracts, no union, no recourse.
1896 - The Syndicate Tightens Its Grip
Klaw and Erlanger formalized their controls, locking up booking rights to virtually every major theater in the country. Producers who refused to comply were blacklisted. Actors who spoke out found themselves without work.
1900s - Early Resistance
A handful of prominent actors - including Minnie Maddern Fiske and later Sarah Bernhardt refused to book through the Syndicate and faced enormous consequences. Their resistance drew public attention but little has changed for the performers.
1913 - Actor's Equity Association Established
On December 22, 1913, a small group of actors met quietly in New York and founded Actors’ Equity Association with 112 members. Their goal was to create a standard contract. Producers ignored them entirely.
Actors' Equity president (right) on parade with other leaders during the 1919 strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union
1917–1918 — Negotiations Failed
As America entered WWI, Equity attempted to negotiate minimum standards with the Producing Managers’ Association. Producers stalled, offered nothing, and assumed the union would fold.
Spring 1919 — The Breaking Point
Producers refused to recognize Equity as a bargaining unit. In response, Equity voted to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor in April 1919, giving the union real organizational muscle. Producers still refused to negotiate.
Background: A 1896 news clipping exposing the Theatrical Syndicate's booking monopoly and anti-actor blacklist rules.