Equiflash Archive

As the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) continues its labour dispute with the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA), Equity calls on our members to stand in solidarity with your fellow Canadian artists in their efforts to secure fair and equitable wages and working conditions for their work in commercials across the country.

“This is a shared fight. Not simply because a great number of our members are also members of ACTRA. But because the unmistakable attempts of engagers to undermine a union and undo 60 years of bargaining is of great importance to us all,” said Equity Council President, Scott Bellis. “In essence, every agreement exists to ensure three things: the stability of the industry, profitability for the engager, and the safety and sustainability of earning a living for us as arts workers. It simply doesn’t work if only one of the three is valued.”

“We are calling on all Equity members to do their part in staving off this union-busting tactic by only agreeing to work on commercials when provided with an ACTRA contract,” adds Equity Executive Director, Arden R. Ryshpan. “Whether you yourself are an ACTRA member or not, I assure you, the impact of this dispute affects us all.”

A letter of support from Equity and other associations in available here.

Equity members are encouraged to find out more about the labour dispute here. Please follow ACTRA on Twitter and Facebook for updates as well as information on local rallies.

For any other information, please contact communications@caea.com.