Actors’ Equity Association told members today that it will not place producer Scott Rudin on its “Do Not Work” list, explaining that the union utilizes the list to alert members about the status of non-union productions. Rudin, as the Equity letter states, “is a producing member of the Broadway League, and as such, he has agreed to abide by Equity’s collective bargaining agreements.”
The letter continues, “Unless or until his status as a Broadway League producer changes, we will focus on making sure that his productions follow the language in our collective bargaining agreements – which includes maintaining a safe workplace”.
According to the Equity letter, the union has contacted the League – the trade organization representing theater owners and producers – “to ask whether the Broadway League planned to take action” regarding Rudin. The League has not yet publicly commented on Rudin.
The League declined Deadline’s request for comment on the Equity letter.
Read the entire Equity letter here.
The call to place Rudin on the Do Not Work list has been expressed on social media and in letters to the union. Organizers of a grassroots March on Broadway scheduled for tomorrow have even called on the League to remove Rudin from its ranks, a nuclear option that would almost certainly prevent Rudin from producing on Broadway entirely.
As outlined in today’s Equity letter, signed by Kate Shindle, President, and Mary McColl
Executive Director, while the Do Not Work tool does not apply to Rudin, the union has called for the producer to release his employees from any nondisclosure agreements they may have signed.
The letter also references “new tools” available to the union “to hold Broadway producers accountable if they engage in bullying.” According to Shindle and McColl, the union’s most recent production contract with the Broadway League includes additional language protecting members from bullying and discrimination.
“We can and will take action if you call and report bullying, discrimination or safety issues with any workplace,” the letter continues. “You can use our anonymous hotline.”
The union’s letter also indicates that the accounts of workplace abuse outlined in a recent Hollywood Reporter article about Rudin did not involved Equity members on Equity contracts. “That doesn’t make it right,” Shindle and McColl write. “Far from it. Everyone deserves a safe workplace.”