Artists are finding it harder and harder to get paid...is it time for them to strap on a hard hat and form unions? Salon writer Scott Timberg asks this question in his new article, Can Unions Save the Creative Class? This article is part of a Salon series brought to you by the AFL-CIO.

The AFL-CIO's Executive Council February meeting kicked off this morning in Orlando, Fla., welcoming two new council members and presenting two new charters for Actors' Equity and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). 

Actors’ Equity (AEA) announced the purchase of an 18,000-square-foot building in North Hollywood, Calif., that will serve as the new western region headquarters.  The new building is located at 5636 Tujunga Ave., in the NoHo Arts District.

It's only fitting the musical version of the story of the 1899 Newsboys Strike in New York City would garner the Actors' Equity (AEA) Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) Sixth Annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. The Broadway musical lifts up the true events of newsboys (a.k.a. "newsies") who organized together in a successful two-week strike against newspaper giants Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst for better wages. 

Actors' Equity has just entered its centennial year celebration and the stage actors and stage managers union will be honored with a special Tony Award during this Sunday’s broadcast of the 66th Annual Tony Awards. The show will air live on CBS at 8 p.m. EDT,  and 7 p.m. CDT and rebroadcast on the West Coast at 8 p.m. PDT.

Members of Actors' Equity, which represents more than 49,000 working stage actors and stage managers nationwide, elected eight officers and 17 National Council members yesterday.

James Earl Jones is the recipient of the 2011 Actors’ Equity (AEA) Paul Robeson Award. The annual award honors performers who best exemplify the principles the legendary actor, singer, author and activist lived by.

Actors’ Equity (AEA)  and the Broadway League—the national trade association for the Broadway and touring industry—have reached a tentative four-year contract, both sides announced today.

Lara Manzione of the National Labor College reports on last night’s “Time to Build” fundraising gala at the college.

Following the first day of the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting held at the National Labor College (NLC) in Silver Spring, Md., the college hosted a “A Time to Build”  gala last night. The gala honored Mark Ayers, president of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD), and the presidents of five entertainment  unions:  Ray Hair, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM); Ken Howard, Screen Actors (SAG); Matthew  Loeb, Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); Roberta Reardon, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); and Nick Wyman, Actors’ Equity (AEA).

This is a cross-post from the Actors’ Equity website.

Stages St. Louis opened its 25th season with the smash hit “A Chorus Line” and a check for $25,000 to the Red Cross benefiting the Missouri Tornado and Flood Relief Fund. The cast presented the check to Red Cross Executive Director Cindy Erickson at its June 29 performance.