Dance Worker Digest
February 2025

This month’s Digest covers key policy changes and resources impacting our communities including the recent removal of an NLRB member and what it means for workers’ rights, the start of the New York City and State budget processes and their implications for arts funding, and the NEA’s new grantmaking guidelines. We also highlight essential resources to
protect immigrant communities.

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National Labor Relations Board Member Removed

In January, President Trump removed Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the first Black woman to ever serve on the Board. The NLRB enforces the National Labor Relations Act, which is what protects the right of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. Wilcox's removal has temporarily immobilized the NLRB, as it legally requires at least three members to function but now only has two.

The National Labor Relations Act allows the President to remove board members only in cases of neglect or wrongdoing, and with prior notice—neither of which occurred. This raises serious concerns about workers’ rights and the expansion of presidential authority.

• Review coverage of Gwynne Wilcox’s removal
• Learn more about the importance of unions for dance workers

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New York City and State Budget Process Begins

The New York City Mayor and State Governor have released their initial budgets for Fiscal Year 2026, which determine funding for essential public services, including arts and culture.

The Mayor’s Preliminary Budget includes a proposed $3 million to add member organizations to the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), potentially as many as five. As CIGs are typically larger institutions, it is important to ensure funding also reaches small to mid-sized arts organizations.

Meanwhile, the Governor’s Executive Budget proposes $63 million for arts and culture, a decrease from last year.

Now is the time for the public to weigh in before the state budget is finalized by April 1 and the city budget on July 1. Dance/NYC remains committed to advocating for equitable and sustainable public arts funding throughout the process. 

• Review Mayor Adams’s Preliminary Budget
• Review Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget
• Learn more about the importance of the New York City Budget

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National Endowment for the Arts Changes Grantmaking Guidelines

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—the federal government’s arts agency—recently announced changes to its grantmaking policies, making it more difficult for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ arts organizations to access federal funding.

 

Key changes include:

• Eliminating Challenge America Grants, which fund arts for underserved communities. These projects are now eligible for the broader Grants for Arts Projects program.
• Amending eligibility requirements for Grants for Arts Projects, requiring five years of programming history instead of three.
• Mandating compliance with all Executive Orders, including including recent anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion and anti-trans policies.

These changes reflect the federal administration’s broader attacks on marginalized communities. At the same time, it is important to recognize the limits of executive orders. A coalition of 16 State Attorneys General recently reaffirmed that these orders cannot ban otherwise legal diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in federal grant programming. It is important that the dance industry must continue to uplift BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized dance forms, artists, and communities in response to these restrictions.

• Learn more about the NEA guidelines
• Review the memo responding to anti-DEI executive orders
• Review the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines

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Resources to Protect Immigrant Communities

As ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies ramp up their activities, immigrant families and communities across the country are experiencing increasing fear, marginalization, and violence. It is crucial that we protect ourselves and our communities. Below is a list of just a few resources that may serve as a start.

 

• Explore NYIC’s community resources for immigrant NYers
• Know your rights with iAmerica
• Review NYCLU’s advisory on what to do if you're stopped by ICE
• Access Lawyers Alliance’s Guidance to Nonprofits on Immigration Enforcement
• Check out NYC ICE Watch’s Instagram
• Explore New York City Council’s Know Your Rights resource list