Equity's Health and Insurance Plan

Interesting timing. I had just finished doing up a list of extraordinary risk riders for my current show a couple of weeks ago, when a friend forwarded the following link from The Stage to me:

www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/02/performer-injured-falling-set-fears-future

Long story short: actor, in the business 20 years; never joined Equity (UK); injured on the job; no disability (income replacement) coverage; off work for at least a year; young family to help support; and worrying about being branded a "troublemaker" for seeking insurance assistance from the engager.

Contrast that with how CAEA's coverage for members works:

- no tenure requirement for coverage
- automatic coverage while on contract, from day one
- disability coverage for up to 104 weeks

I'm not certain what the insurance situation is with our sister organisation in the UK, but I'm betting it's better than "none". It's a shame the artist never saw the value of becoming an Equity member, and I wish him the best in his recovery.

Take the time to review your CAEA insurance coverage. A lot has changed in the past year. So, if the last time you read that brochure on the callboard was when you joined, it's time for a refresher! You can find all the details here. 

Learn about your insurance coverage. We hope you never have a critical need for it; but if you should, it's there.

Did you know? - Venue health and safety

Each of Equity's agreements and engagement policies includes language about providing a safe and sanitary place of work. I wrote about this in some detail a few years back.

Upon being told about these rules, the most common question members then ask is: what about the midsize theatre, the name of which I will not mention, but which is close to [location] in the city of [name], where the actors have to share dressing room space with [name of vermin], and the [name of plumbing fixture] in dressing room [x] has not worked properly since [year]? 

The answer to this is invariably: we didn't know, or we'd have done something about it.

What most members don't realise is that we don't have a stealth squad of health inspectors roaming the theatres of the country. However, we will deal with issues promptly if you tell us about them. That's right - you have to let us know that there is problem, and, please, not two years later as part of a random conversation.

If you are experiencing a health and safety issue, either with the work environment or the work you are being asked to do, speak up about it. First, talk to your deputy and/or stage manager, so that they aware that there is a problem. The fact that [name of vermin] are raising a family in your makeup tray will not spontaneously come to their attention. 

And please, don't do it as an offhand comment at the bar - make a formal complaint and ask for something to be done about it. Engagers have both a legal responsibility under workplace safety legislation, and a contractual responsibility to Equity, to take action on workplace health and safety issues.

And if nothing is done, please get on the phone to staff promptly, and they will see to it. It's what you pay them for.

Did you know? - Fee security

Did you know that Council requires Equity staff to ensure secured payment of a portion of most contracts? The principal exceptions to this rule are fringe and certain independent/small-scale productions, where no security is held. This security is variously managed by having the engager place a deposit with Equity, equivalent to the fees and benefits for part of the contract, or by prepayment of fees to the artist and the applicable benefits to Equity. 

As of the end of the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Equity held a total of $7.5M in security for your fees. The vast majority of that is in the form of letters of credit and similar pledges, with only about 25% being actual money held on deposit. Still, that is a lot of production money tied up, and has understandably been a matter of some contention with engagers over the years.

So, why do we do that?

The need to hold security is not a theoretical one. Over the same fiscal year, Equity used those funds to distribute $46,205 in unpaid fees, and a further $101,376 in benefits deducted from artist paycheques, but not sent in to Equity. That's close to $150,000 of your money, for one year alone, that we otherwise would have little chance of collecting, or would be able to collect only at significant expense and trouble.

That's why.

In the grand scheme of all engagers and all productions the need is thankfully rare, but it is unquestionably a chronic one. There are more than a few members out there this past year, and every year, who are grateful that security was held. Speaking from experience, I count myself among them.

Member benefits - secured fees

Unlike many member benefits, working with secured fees is one of those invisible protections of which most members are thankfully unaware. I say "thankfully" because in the best of circumstances, it, like a high-wire safety net, remains unused. However, just like a safety net, you would not want to be without that protection if you do need it.

All member benefits and protections have their roots in Council policy. In this case, the applicable policy is End-2: Working Under Contract, which states:

Members will work with secure contracts in place, ensuring…appropriate and consistent remuneration [and] a guarantee on a portion of the fees payable…

In practice, this means that either the engager must put down a deposit on a portion of the fees (typically two weeks' worth of fees, taxes and benefits) or must prepay the artists. In the case of a tour, the per diems for the same period are also require a bond.

For established theatres, this security is most often posted in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit, although some theatres post cash bonds with the office. Cash bonds are kept separate from all other Equity accounts, and are not used for any purpose other than as security. Also, interest paid on cash bonds is credited to the engager, and does not go into Equity's general revenues. In all cases, Equity has the unilateral right to withdraw funds from the security deposit if required.

If you have served as a deputy on a show, you will recall having signed a "release" form at the end of the contract. Receipt of this form is critical, as it advises our staff that all the contractual financial obligations have been satisfied by the theatre, and Equity may now release the security back to the engager.

If you are the deputy, it is really appreciated, by both the theatre and Equity staff, when you get that form back to the ofice promptly at the end of a contract. If you are contacted by the deputy on your show and asked to confirm full payment so they can send in the release, please get back to them ASAP. Theatres are understandably anxious to know that their security is unencumbered, and Equity does not want to tie up an engager's money any longer than absolutely necessary. If you happen to have misplaced the form, please download one here – send it in as soon as the production has closed and  you can confirm that there are no outstanding fees.

Does Equity ever have to pay members out of the security deposit? In a word: "yes", several times per year. I'll pull together some details for a future post.

"Equity does nothing for us"

A recent notice that the ITR Committee had begun work attracted the anonymous comment that now appears as the title of this post. I declined the comment because it didn't contribute anything to the topic at hand. Still, I know that more than a few people feel this way. I also don't wish to see a member comment go to waste, so I'm turning it into its own topic.

When you stop to consider the statement, you have to concede that it is pretty extreme. A claim that "Equity doesn't do much/enough for us" would include at least tacit recognition of the many things that Equity does do, even if you consider them to be insufficient or badly in need of improvement. Without restating all of our Ends policies, it's pretty hard to ignore benefits such as the recent Audition Project, disability insurance, professional development subsidies, prompt response to unsafe work environments or those poisoned by harassment or abuse, secured contracts, participation in the Senior Artists' Research Project, audition postings and political advocacy.

Speaking of advocacy, when the new EI Benefits for the Self-employed sprang into being, how do you think that came to pass? Equity and several other groups have been lobbying for that exact thing for years. Guess who asked us to lobby for it? Members. It sure as heck didn't happen quickly, but most things governmental don't. We just kept working on it until it did.

Equity's core worth is that together we can achieve more than we can individually. Two quick examples...

Through collective action we have established minimum fees for most contracts. You can negotiate more if you are able to, but you never need to be worried that you will be expected to accept less. There are certainly some members in a position to say to an engager, "Don't waste my time with an offer of less than X." And then there are the other 95% of us. Give it some thought: which group are you in? Would you prefer to negotiate your fee up to the value of your skill, or down to beat the next lowest bidder? Equity negotiated those minimum fees for you, so you don't have to.

Disability insurance is another example of collective benefit. I did a bit of digging around to see how much that might cost an individual. I couldn't find any online quotes that covered disability – that's the point at which they ask you to contact an agent. So, based on a few numbers for extended accident and sickness coverage only, I'm going to guess that extended health plus disability would cost me roughly $150/month, month in and month out.

By pooling our insurance needs and premiums, members currently have that coverage while on contract, from as little as $14/workweek (most of which is paid for by a 2003 fee top-up from engagers). You could never come anywhere close to that premium level on an individual basis. And because we control our own plan and don’t have to choose one “off the rack”, we can make the kinds of changes that were recently announced, as well as those likely to come out of our current review. Again, Equity built that plan and negotiated the engager contributions that cover most of the cost.

So, does Equity really do "nothing" for its members? It might make for a good online zinger, but it doesn't owe much to the truth.

I'm the first to say it: there is a lot we could do better. Council and staff are constantly working to do just that. If you want to see improvements, contact your local CPAG rep or Council's Member Liaison and start that discussion. It works.

If you don't care if things improve or not, launching spitballs from the wings is as good an approach as any.

Member Benefits - a safe and sanitary work environment

As part of this blog, Council has asked me to include information on some of the many benefits and services offered by Equity to its members. This article is the first in that series.

First off, I hope everyone is aware that a summary of your membership benefits and protections is set out in the Ends section of our policy document. If not, you should give it a read sometime; the Ends statements outline Equity's commitment to you as a member. They're what you pay your dues for.

Ends policies state that (paraphrased):

All members will have protection, support and resources while under contract and while pursuing future contracts, including safe and sanitary places of work and audition. 

I've condensed two parallel policies into a single statement here, so please forgive the somewhat awkward construction. In the policy document you will find it divided into "work under contract" and "pursuit of future contracts," because Equity needs to deal with these two conditions separately. I'll go into more detail below.

While under contract
All engagement policies and agreements include specific language setting out expectations for a healthy and safe work environment. Take the Canadian Opera Agreement as an example. It requires a safe and sanitary place of engagement, including clean and properly heated dressing rooms and washroom facilities; hot and cold running water; clean, safe, accessible and well-lit access to the stage door; enclosed access from dressing rooms to the stage; minimum temperature requirements met; well-delineated passageways in case of blackouts; safe rehearsal and stage surfaces; security from threats to personal safety; regularly cleaned costumes and hair pieces, etc.

You get the idea, and you can find the details listed under "Safe and Sanitary Places of Engagement." In situations where performances take place outdoors, more detail is added. Additionally, Equity has the right to inspect any venue on request to ensure compliance.

All other major agreements are similar. Smaller agreements, such as the Indie, include parallel language. Safety of the Artist is a frontmost concern. Always.

Finally, all major agreements stipulate adherence to provincially mandated health and safety requirements, or to the Ontario Health and Safety Guidelines for Live Performance where no specific provincial regulations exist. As of this writing, BC, Alberta, Ontario and Québec all have health and safety requirements geared toward workers in live performance.

While in pursuit of future contracts
Ensuring safe and clean places of work and audition is more complicated. Where a negotiated agreement exists, such as the Canadian Theatre Agreement with PACT, we include requirements for audition and associated warmup and other spaces, and these apply even in the absence of a signed contract.

Working with independent engagers outside such negotiated agreements is admittedly tricky. Without pre-agreed conditions for audition, we can't point to a piece of text and tell the engager that they must live up to those terms. We rely on engager common sense and goodwill, not to mention the fact that a large percentage of independent engagers are members or ex-members, and they don't need a lot of prompting to provide a decent audition environment. That said, we are certainly not shy about weighing in on the few occasions when we hear of poor conditions.

What to do if you feel that work or audition conditions are unsafe, unclean or otherwise dangerous
If you are under contract, tell your Deputy and your Stage Manager. The overwhelming majority of concerns can be addressed quickly and locally, once brought to the attention of these two. If your concern persists, or you are not yet under contract, then get on the phone to a business rep in either office. If the matter is urgent, you will even be able to contact someone outside of office hours.

Equity exists to help protect you, but we can't do our work if we are unaware of a problem. One of the most common answers to questions that begin "Why didn't Equity...?" is "We didn't know." Thankfully, issues of unsafe working conditions are few and far between, but if you find yourself in an unsafe or otherwise unhealthy work environment, and the problem is not cleared up pronto, get on the phone. We're there to help.