Capital Conference 2024 – Birmingham

Equity members from across the UK gathered in Birmingham’s majestic Town Hall from Saturday 18th to Monday 20th May for our 2024 Annual Conference.

The event was the most attended Equity conference ever, with the largest number of women and non-binary speakers and the most diversity of speakers and attendees ever seen at an Equity conference.

In addition to 109 representatives, 22 Echity advisors and 30 other members, guests traveled from 15 countries on six continents, including visitors from Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Palestine.

Members left the conference feeling excited and encouraged for the work ahead. The conference was a time to celebrate the many victories our members have achieved over the past year, but also to reflect on the struggles ahead as we continue to make the entertainment industry a better place to work for everyone.

Saturday

The conference began on Saturday afternoon with welcome addresses from our President, Lynda Rooke, and General Secretary, Paul W Fleming. The General Secretary expressed his unbiased assessment that this was “the conference of the best union in the best city in the best region in the world.”

Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire MP was the first guest speaker of the weekend, she gave a rousing speech to the conference, telling delegates that “You tell the story of who we are as a country. You bring us face to face with our contradictions. You document our successes”.

Saturday afternoon began the important business of the conference. The first motion was brought by the Race Equality Committee and related to Arts Council England’s (ACE) warning that “political statements” made by people connected to organizations could cause “reputational risk” by breaching funding agreements.

The conference passed the motion which asked the Council to ask the national arts funding bodies and the Charity Commission to make it a condition that funded arts institutions and the people who work within them are allowed a full range of political expression.

The motion was particularly timely in light of recent revelations that ACE’s risk guidelines were drawn up in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

I then saw a motion from the LGBT+ Committee which was passed following an excellent speech in favour. The motion detailed instances of workplace harassment, such as the threatening actions aimed at the Drag Queen Story Hour. The motion asked the Council to develop political education resources for Equity members and to consider how Equity can contribute to the wider anti-far right movement.

On Saturday evening we honored our overseas guests at an international reception in the town hall. We have had guests from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Estonia, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and the USA.

Al Vincent Jr., Executive Director of Actors Equity USA, told us how Disneyland workers were voting to join a union for the first time, delegates sent greetings of solidarity to our sisters and brothers in the USA and were delighted to he later learns that the vote was overwhelmingly successful.

The most moving speech of the night came from Abdelfattah Abusrour of the Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society, who called on artists to stand in solidarity with Palestinians facing injustice. Abdelfattah asked: “How many lives should disappear, how many artists should disappear, before we realize… Not in our name. Not under our supervision as artists”.

Sunday

The second day started with a speech by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. Zarah’s inspirational words resonated with our members as she told the room: “Let’s build a better, brighter world where arts and entertainment are accessible to all and every person has the opportunity to reach their potential “.

We then had the privilege of hearing from Marie Kelly of ACTRA National, which represents 30,000 registered media artists in Canada, about their successful fight for collective bargaining agreements in advertising.

An emergency motion to give all the necessary support to a campaign to stop cuts and redundancies in the choir of the Gala National Opera (WNO) has been passed unanimously. The motion also reiterated that the union “will not accept compulsory redundancies or the desire of WNO management to have the flexibility of a full-time contract with all the precariousness of an unsustainable reduction in their base income”.

The conference then considered a motion to be taken to the TUC Congress in 2024. The motion noted that while it is illegal to charge upfront fees to jobseekers in most industries, the performing arts and entertainment industries are exempted from this prohibition. Equity delegates will call on the TUC to support the repeal of this unfair exemption and demand that casting director fees be borne by producers, not workers.

Fringe

There were 14 fringe events on Saturday afternoon, making it the biggest fringe program ever.

Highlights include hearing how unionists are fighting for Justice in Columbia, a discussion on building union and student power, and the General Secretary’s guide to the radical history of Equity.

Honorary Life Members

One of the highlights of the conference is the awarding of Honorary Life Members, the union’s highest honor. This year’s awards went to Abdelfattah Abusrour, director of Alrowwad; Viv Parry, Equity Phase Committee; Yukiko Masui, dance activist; and Tonia Daley-Campbell, Equity Midlands Councillor.

months

The last day of the conference still saw powerful motions and speeches. It was especially inspiring to hear from so many young members and delegates for the first time.

A motion passed by the Committee of Student Deputies called on the Council to actively campaign for the abolition of student tuition fees, the return of maintenance grants and more funding opportunities for lifelong learning. This resonated with delegates given the devastating lack of working class representation in the creative industries.

The conference also passed a motion by the West End Committee of Deputies, which called on the Council to campaign for a change in the law so that those who work six days a week accrue extra leave for the sixth day on a pro rata basis. This change will benefit UK workers, furthering the cause of a fair work-life balance for all.

Delegates left Birmingham tired but inspired. We left with the hope in our hearts that together we will build better performing arts and entertainment industries and, together with our international comrades, create a world where art and social justice can thrive for all.