Workers at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland have continued to unionize since the first group of 71 backstage crew members joined International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 154 in 2015.
A unit of 12 box office workers is the latest, voting 8-0 to join Local 154 on July 24. They’re the fifth unit to join Local 154, which now represents about 130 workers at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, including stagehands, costumers, props workers, custodians, and accountants. Actors there were always union — represented by Actors Equity.
Breena Cope, Local 154 business agent and a wardrobe worker at the Shakespeare festival, said she’d like to consolidate the bargaining units under one or two contracts, but the employer wants to keep the units separate.
