our slate
In return for a shared commitment to a principled struggle for dignity and the transformation of our union, we want to give you the promise of a growing movement—one that will facilitate the goal we share with the power to exceed the scope of what one person working alone could accomplish.
We, as organizers, commit to the painstaking task of marshaling all who will join us into tasks and responsibilities according to their ability, all in support of taking Actors' Equity Association into the future. In particular, we can direct resources and skills to projects and initiatives that you identify as important. Indeed, we wish to give you space to dream and organize as well, as an equal collaborator. We intend to give you a community and a support team of like-minded world builders.
I’m an actress and voiceover artist, originally from Pittsburgh, now based in NYC. I earned my Equity card through the EMC program, and have worked contracts including the SPT, LOA-NYC, Dinner Theatre, LORT, and NEAT agreements. I have served as Deputy, and am a current member of Equity’s Membership Education and Engagement Action Team.
I am running for an Eastern Principal seat on the National Council because I believe we need greater representation on Council for stage managers and actors who primarily work contracts that pay less than the Production Contract, and who rely on union-negotiated auditions and interviews as a means of accessing employment and advancing our careers. I want to be your voice in Council to improve our daily experience of interacting with our union and employers.
- I want to fortify contracts and rulebooks with language that further protects our rights and working conditions.
- I want to make it easier for members to access necessary support from union staff on the Member Portal, by e-mail, and over the phone.
- I want to increase proactive communication from leadership to membership about AEA’s current priorities and initiatives.
- I want to extend the reach of AEA’s education programs so that members and future members are better equipped to advocate for our rights.
I am grateful for your vote, and the opportunity to work with my talented and committed peers on Council to bring about these changes for all of us. https://meetfleece.com/fleeceforcouncil/
Katharine Whitney (she/her/hers aka Katie Young) is a New York based Stage Manager, Director, and labor organizer.
I believe that our north star as a collective of arts works should always be to uplift the value of the work we do and stand strong together in asking for what we need and deserve to do this work in a healthy, safe, and sustainable way. We build the power necessary to do that by each of us, you and me, engaging in this struggle for dignity in our work. I want to see our members and staff working together to more-fully enforce the protections we have already won in negotiations. I want us step up and become leaders in the implementation of effective anti-harassment and discrimination practices that actually keep us safe at work. And I want us to ask for what we need knowing that what we do is valuable both intrinsically and economically.
As a delegate to Equity’s first convention, I collaborated with other delegates to create new policy recommendations focusing on anti-harassment, access to healthcare, building the power of our membership, and more. I have served on Equity’s Stage Management and Member Education committees, and continue to serve as a part of the Member Education and Campaign Action Teams.
My dog Henry, fostering for The Sato Project, horseback riding, humor and probably some other things bring me joy. I share this with you because we aren’t just our work, even when we love what we do.