Broadway musicians reach tentative labor deal, averting a strike
[October 24, 2025]
By MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Broadway's musicians reached a
tentative labor agreement with commercial producers on Thursday,
averting a potentially crippling strike that would have silenced nearly
two dozen musicals.
The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200
musicians — had threatened to strike if they didn’t have a new contract
by the morning, after going into mediation Wednesday.
Early Thursday, the union said it had struck a tentative deal that
includes wage increases and contribution increases to the health fund.
"This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit
increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our
musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower
musicians to build a steady career on Broadway,” AFM Local 802 President
Bob Suttmann said in a statement.
The tentative agreement next goes to members for ratification.
The 23 shows that could have gone silent ranged from megahits like
“Hamilton” and “The Lion King” to newcomers like “Queen of Versailles”
and “Chess,” which are still in previews. Plays would not have been
automatically impacted.
It was the second Broadway labor deal in less than a week. Labor
tensions had already seemed cool after Actors’ Equity Association —
which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers
and stage managers — announced a new three-year agreement with producers
over the weekend.
Members of both unions had been working under expired contracts. The
musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired
Sept. 28.
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A Broadway street sign appears in Times Square, in New York on Jan.
19, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
 The health of Broadway — once very
much in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down
theaters for some 18 months — is now very good, at least in terms of
box office. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters
were shuttered and the future looked bleak, but the 2024-2025 season
took in $1.9 billion — the highest-grossing season in recorded
history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion
during the 2018-2019 season.
The unions pointed to the financial health of Broadway to argue that
producers could afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and
actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, had countered
that the restored health of Broadway could be endangered by
potential ticket price increases to accommodate the demands.
The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a
19-day walkout by stagehands dimmed the lights on more than two
dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in
lost revenue.
On Wednesday, three U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey —
Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Andy Kim — wrote to
both sides, urging them to “participate in good faith negotiations
and continued communication.” The senators noted that Broadway
supports nearly 100,000 jobs and is “an essential cornerstone in the
economic well-being of surrounding businesses and sectors, including
hospitality, retail and transportation.”
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