People who work in the arts are some of the only people who get to explore what it means to be alive, in their time, being who they are, as a career. Live theatre is a thrilling, captivating experience that explores the depths of our emotions and our humanity, and it has been since ancient times. Since everyone knows what it is like to be a human being, theatre can and should be universally relatable to all audiences, and all stories should be allowed to be told, but unfortunately, the Actor’s Equity labors union, which represents actors and stage managers, discriminates against non-resident aliens when deciding who they hire.
In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board took the Actors’ Equity Association to court for such discrimination, and some of the things Equity was doing at this time as well as some of the things said in their arguments are appalling. Some of the acts that Equity pulled at the time included the charging of non-uniform dues to actors and stage managers represented by the union who were in the country temporarily to perform; attempting “to regulate participation by foreign actors in American” shows by only allowing aliens to be hired if it could be proven that they were doing “jobs which no unemployed Americans [were] capable of performing” and requiring Equity’s consent for several counsels and leagues of theatres in New York City to hire non-resident aliens; and, perhaps worst of all, they made the few non-resident alien actors and stage managers who were allowed to perform pay 5% of their stage income to equity with no ceiling on how much they were required to pay, whereas resident citizens of Canada and America were paying between “$42 per year for an actor earning no more than $2,500 per year to a maximum of $400 for an actor earning more than $30,000 per year,” (source: http://openjurist.org/644/f2d/939/national-labor-relations-board-v-actors-equity-association). The lawsuit also says this:
“Yul Brynner, the Intervenor, is a Swiss citizen and resident of France who was admitted into the United States to play the King of Siam in The King and I, a revival of a play in which he starred some years ago. If he had been a U.S. citizen or resident, his dues to Actor's Equity for the first year of the play's run would have been $400; under the separate schedule for non-resident aliens, he was required to pay $45,000.” — via Open Jurist
Equity’s response to the accusations of their being unfair is the most disheartening part to me. Instead of apologizing for the unfairness, they said, “that the Board has no jurisdiction over the rights of aliens because the NRLA is aimed at protecting American workers only" and "that non-resident aliens, therefore, have no cognizable rights under the Act." This is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard and I simply can not believe an organization dedicated to the arts would say something like that. Regardless, that was 1981. Their current policy is a little different.
The current policy for the employment of non-resident aliens is that they can be employed if they are approved after a long list of complicated procedures, and the Producer complies with having Equity approve the hiring in writing first, or there has been special approval by an Arbitrator. So, not only do the producers have to go through the daunting task of auditioning everyone that they need to, if they find a non-resident alien that they wish to hire, they have to apply directly to equity in writing, wait up to 15 business days for Equity’s Alien Committee to either approve or disapprove them, and if they disapprove, the Producer will either appeal the case to the Council or go directly to an Arbitrator (to whom they can also go if they are dissatisfied with the decision of the council). This is a feat which no Producer would want to do if they did not absolutely have to due to their busy schedules, drastically lowering the chances of their casting any non-resident alien. Additionally, there are an enormous amount of qualifications the actor must have to be approved by the board, unless they qualify as a “star” (this is actually in the Equity Production Rulebook), meaning there is evidence that they have been nominated for or received a significant award such as an Oscar, an Emmy, or a Grammy. Otherwise, the Producer has to provide six different documents proving that the non-resident alien will do a job that an American actor could not do, that they will perform or have performed the starring role in a production that has an acclaimed reputation, “that the alien has a record or major commercial or critically acclaimed successes” and many more unethical requirements that discount talent and passion and simply focus on past success.
This is so unfair. By doing this, Equity is limiting the stories that get told and the people that get to tell them, which is something that absolutely should not be done in any art. Unfortunately, though, it is happening and I sincerely hope this article will get the word out and hopefully implement a change in what is a big discrimination in an industry that is supposed to be universally accepting.
