STAGE

The National Labor Relations Board has dismissed a charge that Actors Equity Assn., the union of stage actors, “failed to negotiate in good faith” with the Equity Waiver Operators Committee (a group of about 40 operators of theaters with 99 seats or fewer where Equity “waives” certain rules). In its dismissal notice, the NLRB cited “insufficient evidence” of a violation of Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act. The charge was filed by Gretchen Weber on behalf of the committee. (The committee and Equity have been deadlocked since March over the handling and legality of a referendum that modifies the Equity Waiver Plan effective Oct. 3.) But Weber claims she goofed. Her intention, she said, was merely to make an inquiry. “They told me I needed to sign the form,” she said. “When we knew we were going to (retain) attorneys, I called to say I wanted to drop the whole thing. I should have written a letter and didn’t. It’s my fault.”