The New York Times reports that the actors union, Actors’ Equity, will force at least some small theaters L.A. to begin to pay minimum wages to actors. (I blogged yesterday about desire of many local union members to keep actors in small theaters exempt from the minimum wage.)

 The national union representing stage actors has decided to require some small theaters in Los Angeles to pay the minimum wage, despite considerable opposition from supporters of that city’s thriving theater scene.

The union, Actors’ Equity, said that, in response to concerns from performers in Los Angeles, it would provide a variety of exceptions….

Advocates for the 99-seat theater scene, which is sometimes also called intimate theater, said they were disappointed, but still reviewing the details before deciding how to proceed. Some had been considering legal action in the run-up to the decision, but on Wednesday they said they wanted first to digest the details.

“We’re very disappointed that Equity acted the way they did,” said Gary Grossman, the producing artistic director of Skylight Theater Company, and an actor who joined a lawsuit against Equity three decades ago that helped create the current scene. “But we need to figure out who is affected, and see what they changed and what they haven’t.”