Manchester Village Pride Unions with Equity for Fair Pay

0:00On April 10th, Manchester Village Pride just inked a union deal with equity, securing fair pay, health and safety standards, and shields against, bullying for drag and burlesque performers at their fresh festival. This move follows the crash of last year's Manchester Pride, which stiffed dozens of artists and left them out thousands of pounds. Equity's Northwest Rep Karen Lockney calls it a trust rebuild, the first agreement like this, linking LGBTQ plus rights straight to workers' rights. The contract demands 20% deposits upfront. Payments within 30 days, bans free labor, and adds health protections plus a dignity policy. Against harassment, with the new not-for-profit group taking the reign since January, founders see it as a clean slate, paving the way for other events to step up.