The AFL-CIO, the largest union federation in the United States, which includes Actors' Equity, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and others, has unveiled a series of new federal policies that it hopes will create more sustainable careers in the nonprofit arts and media sectors.
The policies, which address concerns from nonprofit workers in 11 unions, call for stronger labor protections as part of federal funding received through the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, gaining seats on federal grant-making boards for professionals and updating federal grants in these sectors so that funding is not limited to just one production or project.
There is currently no specific legislation addressing these priorities. However, as many nonprofit cultural organizations are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, the AFL-CIO has laid out these goals as part of a “reimagining” of federal funding in these areas, said Michael Wasser, legislative director of the AFL-CIO’s Department for Professional Employees..
“The answer will probably have to be increased funding and, in our view, a rethinking of that. There have been conversations in the industry and in public spaces about what that looks like. And we wanted to make a point from practitioners who are working on what that means from our perspective,” Wasser said.
In terms of increased labor protections, federal law requires organizations that receive funding from the NEA or NEH to pay artists and others a prevailing minimum wage requirement. Artists aren’t always paid that rate, however, Wasser said, and it’s been difficult for the Labor Department to enforce payment. The AFL-CIO is calling for civil monetary penalties for organizations that don’t comply with the law.
The AFL-CIO is also calling for stricter regulation of staffing requirements for CPB recipients in public media, to reduce broadcasters' reliance on temporary or agency workers to replace them, rather than full-time employees.
“This is seeing public media broadcasters really turn to low-level outsourcing models that really threaten the jobs of our members and also make public media careers certainly not sustainable and much more difficult for people to build a career to support their families,” Wasser said.
Union members are also pushing for a seat on the National Council on the Arts, the National Council on the Humanities, and the CPB board of directors to help shape the grant-making process. One of the biggest problems, according to union members, is that NEA grants cannot be used for operating costs, which is why the AFL-CIO is pushing for expanded funding.
“A lot of grants are project-specific grants, and what I've seen even when I was working in administration is that nonprofit arts institutions have to develop projects to qualify for that project-specific money, rather than getting the general operating help that would be really helpful. And I think one of the reasons that happens is because it doesn't always seem like the people who are directly impacted by the decision-making that happens in these grant organizations are allowed at the table,” said Lee Osorio, an Atlanta-based fellow with Actors' Equity.
Osorio added that making a career in nonprofit theater was already a challenge before the pandemic, when he had to work multiple jobs in addition to five or six plays a year to make a living. But it’s become even more difficult in recent years, with Osorio noting that he’s had to focus primarily on television and audiobook work.
“It used to be unsustainable, and now it's gotten worse. There's less work. What I've seen in the theater industry is a lot of downsizing of productions. So you're seeing a lot more solo shows. You're seeing a lot more two-person actors,” Osorio said. “So there are fewer jobs available for people who are trying to make a living and raise a family who live in regional communities like Atlanta.”
Ned Hanlon, president of the American Guild of Musical Artists, another AFL-CIO affiliate that represents singers, dancers and other personnel in opera, ballet and more, said opera houses across the country are also producing fewer shows each year, and he hopes that problem can be solved by reshaping federal policy. Hanlon has also seen a number of people leave the industry in recent years, which he attributes to fewer productions and largely stagnant wages.
“We've had a pretty serious contraction, especially in opera. At the Met, we're doing 25% fewer productions now than we did three or four years ago. And it's not because of ticket sales. Ticket sales are actually higher than pre-covid levels. It's because of funding issues,” Hanlon said. “These policies are just trying to shift the funding that's coming in to places that really support artists and allow them to make a living in a sustainable way, as opposed to projects that are one-offs.”