The front of house staff, production team, and company members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane dance company are launching our union campaign. 

The workers of New York Live Arts have come together to demand that we have a voice in our working conditions and the future of dance. By forming a union we are charting a new course for the industry, joining forces as one unit (as opposed to as separate trades), and demanding that management treat us with respect, end a culture of harassment, and pay us sustainable wages.

Our purpose in forming this union is to establish proper protocol between staff and decision-makers, effective de-escalation strategies, better transparency/communication amongst our entire web of operation, and an hourly pay that reflects the cost of living in New York City.  

As dancers, choreographers, teachers, facilitators and art-makers, we all have a clear understanding of how building and/or having an already established system prioritizing the protection of the artist(s) is integral to the longevity of our careers. We as a unit recognize the potential in our respective roles at New York Live Arts as solid, long-lasting jobs that can either help support our own artistic careers or inspire us to go into the path of running performance venues here in New York and across the country. In order for this job to be that safety net for us, it is imperative that we gather the tools required to build that net, stitch by stitch in the form of self-advocacy.

Lastly, we as both the staff of New York Live Arts and hard-working artists ask fellow hard-working artists in this richly dense New York dance community for your hand in solidarity by signing our petition in support of our work in unionizing. This simple act will help echo the sentiment that protection has been and will always be a necessity for everyone involved. That our demands are felt and fought for beyond the walls of our venue. By signing this petition, you will be reiterating the powerful concept of providing strength in numbers. Our fuel lives in the fact that we are nothing without community and we hope that you feel the same. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this and stand with us.

Warmest Regards,

Live Arts Workers Union