The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents more than 180,000 members, has sent 80,000 letters to Congress appealing for lawmakers to include displaced entertainment workers in a federal aid package.
IATSE spokesman Jonas Loeb said the bipartisan Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) is not applicable to entertainment workers because of its qualifying requirement to work on a day job.
He stressed that entertainment workers should not “be collateral damage in the fight against COVID-19.” Loeb added, “Entertainment workers depend on the income from each project they book to ensure they can support themselves and can qualify to participate in our collectively bargained health plans.
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