After more than two years of negotiations on their first labor contract, teachers at Second City have voted to authorize a strike, their union said Wednesday.
The vote allows the teachers’ bargaining team to order a walkout at any time. The next bargaining session is scheduled for Dec. 12.
The union, the Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE), said 94 percent of those voting said yes to the strike option.
“We are seeing progress here and there, but not on main sticking points, and not fast enough,” Second City teacher Ana Silva said in the union’s statement announcing the vote.
Second City had no immediate comment.
The two sides have been negotiating since 2021, when AICE was created. It represents faculty members at the venerable Chicago theater where classes in improvisation, sketch writing and the comedic use of music have been part of the framework for decades.
The union also covers facilitators who lead workshops for businesses.
Second City was acquired in 2021 by ZMC, a firm founded by private equity investor Strauss Zelnick.
