Atlantic postpones GRIEF CAMP and David Greenspan play amidst IATSE strike

Yikes! What a headache for everyone in that building…


https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/IATSE-Strikes-Against-Atlantic-Theater-Company-2-Productions-Postponed-20250112


Here is part of a statement from one side of the situation:

“Atlantic has been working together diligently with IATSE for months to create a fair contract for our crew workers and we have offered a good faith agreement with nearly a 20% increase in wages and other benefits. Recognizing how long a first contract can take, Atlantic offered two interim agreements over the past two months that included 13% increases in wages and health, effective immediately in return for a no strike agreement while we continue to bargain in good faith. Both of these offers were ignored.

We believe equity on our stage is crucial and our offer aligns with our contract with Actors’ Equity Association. IATSE believes this is unacceptable and wants more. In addition, the union is attempting to expand its work jurisdiction beyond the theatrical productions.

If IATSE is successful in getting their proposed financials with Atlantic, it would set a precedent for other Off-Broadway companies and we may see the demise of some of our greatest institutions, including Atlantic.  

Atlantic is pro-union and works collaboratively with several other unions, but we have to make this agreement financially sustainable for everyone or we will not be around to offer any work to anyone. Our hope is that IATSE will reconsider the stance it is taking and work with us to reach a fair contract for our production crew quickly."

 

UPDATE: scroll down to Kad’s post for the union’s counter. 

Updated On: 1/12/25 at 01:48 PM

IATSE's response, naturally, offers a different story, including the detail that they have filed unfair labor practice charges.

"The Union remains committed to reaching a fair deal for the workers who make Atlantic Theater’s productions possible.

The strike follows several months of negotiations that began after the Atlantic crew voted nearly unanimously to unionize with IATSE in February 2024. Despite months of efforts and good-faith proposals from the union, management has consistently stalled progress and made unilateral demands on working conditions. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges against Atlantic Theater surrounding many matters that have arisen during that time. The parties recently met on January 10 and 12. On January 12, the Atlantic Theater Company management demanded several provisions before continuing its further obligations to bargain with the union. The union initially countered the proposal, upon which management indicated they were not willing to move off their demands in full. The union continues to await a counter-proposal from the Atlantic.

The union believes this behavior from management constitutes an unlawful failure to  negotiate in good faith, which caused the union to file unfair labor practice charges with the Federal Government. These charges were a motivating factor the crew being forced to go on strike ahead of the 2:00pm Matinee. In turn, the Atlantic management chose to cancel its January 12 performances, rather than make a deal for its workers that enable the shows to go on.

“Atlantic Theater’s refusal to bargain fairly has left the crew no choice but to strike,” said IATSE International President Matthew D. Loeb. “These workers deserve the same dignity, respect, and protections as everyone else in New York’s entertainment community—whether they work in front of or behind the curtain, on or off Broadway. Shame on them for not providing healthcare coverage to all their employees. We are prepared to resume negotiations as soon as Atlantic Theater is ready to bargain in good faith.” The Atlantic Theater Company has benefited significantly from public funds in recent years,receiving over $4.3 million from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) under the 2021 Save Our Stages law, as well as $205,000 in grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) over the past decade. These funds were intended to support arts institutions."

Are these stagehands full time employees? And The Atlantic isn't offering them healthcare?

Updated On: 1/12/25 at 08:09 PM

sinister teashop said: "Are these stagehands full time employees? And The Atlantic isn't offering them healthcare?"

Some are full time, some are part time. For point of comparison: actors, stage managers, designers, and musicians are all also essentially part time employees (hired on a per-show basis) and all receive healthcare and retirement benefits as part of their contracts.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: 
To clarify, those healthcare/retirement benefits are coming from the union, and while the producing organization pays into them, Atlantic is not directly administering the benefits. (I'm assuming you know this but just clarifying for other ppl!)

And, unlike most other union personnel who are on a standard Off-Bway agreement at Atlantic for ~8 weeks a year, the stagehands have more continuity within the company's whole season and it's not a one-size-fits-all agreement."

Yes well said and thank you for clarifying! For instance, as opposed to putting the actors directly on the Atlantic health plan, the Atlantic pays into the Equity health plan on behalf of anyone working on a show (same for designers and musicians).

They're called mutliemployer or Taft-Hartley benefit trusts, and they have a fascinating history (and work very well for industries like entertainment where someone freelances for lots of different employers during a year).

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Les Water posted on his Instagram that Grief Camp is effectively dead as a result of this strike."

I'd say it's more dead as a result of the bad labor practices of the Atlantic and their refusal to negotiate per labor laws for the last year and a half.

Has anyone actually received communication from the Atlantic about the postponement?  I had subscriber tickets for both shows that I needed to reschedule, though I guess there's no need now (but still strange I haven't heard anything from them considering that I wouldn't know about the postponement if I hadn't read the article about the strike).

It looks like IATSE has been vocal about the lack of progress in bargaining for this first contract as far back as early November- which was still almost 9 months after the stagehands nearly unanimously voted to unionize. First contracts are always the most time consuming, but that seems like an egregiously long time for a company of this size to drag this out.

Yes, it's true that off-Broadway is precarious, but the fact is that it has been built on extremely low wages and unpaid labor for decades, even as nonprofits like the Atlantic have cultivated Broadway transfers, invested in new facilities, and paid their ADs and EDs handsome salaries.

dexter3 said: "There's a really interesting interview with Debra Monk from a few years ago where she was in an off-broadway play. Halfway through the run she was talking to a stage hand and learned that the stagehand was making more money that she was. Pretty nuts. 

The cost for producing theater in NYC has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Off-broadway was already a precarious and costly endeavor, but it's even more so nowadways. The Atlantic has a pretty solid reputation in this industry, and I'm inclined to take their side. "

Actor's Equity is pretty well known for struggling to fight for higher pay for jobs that aren't on Broadway. They prioritize those contracts and let the others fall by the wayside to some extent. It's not shocking that she'd be making less than a stagehand. But also, stagehands aren't just box pushers anymore. They're directly responsible for actor & audience safety, running manual cues or high-tech cues as well as building the entire show. The pay is deserved for the knowledge base they have. Debra should have been making more, but not at the expense of anyone else working on the same production. It's not either or.

The cost for producing theater in NYC has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Off-broadway was already a precarious and costly endeavor, but it's even more so nowadways. The Atlantic has a pretty solid reputation in this industry, and I'm inclined to take their side. 

I had a high opinion of them too, but it's extremely difficult for me to take their side when they hired Littler Mendelson - the same notoriously anit-union law firm that's fighting on behalf of Starbucks and Amazon. Where is the Atlantic getting the money to pay these lawyers but not their own employees?

kingjames2 said: "
The cost for producing theater in NYC has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Off-broadway was already a precarious and costly endeavor, but it's even more so nowadways.The Atlantic has a pretty solid reputation in this industry, and I'm inclined to take their side.

I had a high opinion of them too, but it's extremely difficult for me to take their side when they hired Littler Mendelson - the same notoriously anit-union law firm that's fighting on behalf of Starbucks and Amazon. Where is the Atlantic getting the money to pay these lawyers but not their own employees?"

We'll see what their 2024 990 says in the coming months, but they only spent $34k on legal contractors in 2023. That's a very small amount compared to the $9.25M spent on salaries and wages, presumably with a large portion of that being allocated to production staff (for example, AD Neil Pepe made $230k in salary which is well-below peers at other Off-Broadway institutions). Atlantic does not seem to be spending any excess of money on executives or outside contractors like law firms.

Officially cancelled now

Atlantic Theater Company Closes Two Off Broadway Productions Amidst Stagehands Strike

https://deadline.com/2025/01/atlantic-theater-iatse-strike-off-broadway-1236257777/

"News of the strike surfaced last weekend, but the Atlantic at that time said the productions were merely postponed indefinitely. In fact, the cast and crew of both shows have been notified that the productions have officially closed."

Updated On: 1/15/25 at 03:32 PM