Broadway Reaches Tentative Agreement With Cleaners Union to Avert Potential Strike

Actors on stilts join Broadway union workers during a demonstration to vote on whether to authorize a strike in 32 Broadway theatres ahead of the holidays season, in New York, December, 12, 2012. Broadway theater cleaners, porters and matrons gathered on New York’s Times Square to decide on wether to authorize a strike, calling on theatre owners to pay higher wages and provide access to healthacare and other benefits. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

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On Tuesday, June 30, Broadway cleaners represented by the 32BJ SEIU voted to authorize a strike. While this action created the possibility of a shutdown for 30 Broadway productions—including recent Tony winners such as Schmigadoon! and Cats: The Jellicle Ball—it did not guarantee that a work stoppage would occur.

The authorization followed a period of failed negotiations between the 32BJ SEIU and the Broadway League after the previous contract expired, granting union members the power to walk out at any moment.

However, there is a significant distinction between authorizing a strike and actually initiating one. Although cleaners authorized strike action in 2009 and held a vote in 2012, they have never officially gone on strike, as agreements have historically been reached before such action became necessary.

The financial stakes for producers are immense. Beyond the immediate impact on the audience experience, Actors Equity mandates that performers cannot take the stage if “safe and sanitary” working conditions are not maintained. Consequently, an active strike would force an immediate cessation of performances.

The theaters serviced by 32BJ SEIU members—specifically those owned by Shubert, ATG, Nederlander, and Circle in the Square—generate approximately $30 million in weekly gross revenue. In negotiations, the Broadway League must weigh the increased costs of the union’s contract demands against the staggering loss of $30 million for every week of a shutdown. The scale of these weekly earnings provides a powerful financial incentive for producers to reach a resolution quickly.

The 32BJ SEIU members have now tentatively secured a new four-year agreement. The deal includes wage increases, enhancements to defined benefit pensions, employer-paid family healthcare, improved paid leave, and better working conditions. Additionally, the agreement strengthens anti-discrimination policies and designates Juneteenth as a paid holiday.

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