Since 2009, the number of Americans who say they approve of unions and want them to be more powerful has steadily grown. In 2022, the National Labor Relations Board reported a 53 percent increase in union election petitions over the year before, meaning that more Americans were joining together with their co-workers to try to form unions. The agency also estimates that a whopping 60 million workers wanted to join a union that year but couldn’t.

For musical theater dancers, the question isn’t “if” you should join the Actors’ Equity Association—it’s “when.”

“The sun may be shining brightly, but we are not in a very sunny mood today!” said New York State assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal during yesterday’s rally for the Artists of Ailey. The dancers and stage crew are demanding increased wages and more comprehensive benefits, what they have termed “reaching for the standard” and “fair wages.” […]