How Long Might The Strike Last? — Page 2

Im going up on the 3rd!
It better not be going on then!

This is Broadway's busiest time of the year!

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Because they are already Sky High!!

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I too hope for a quick resolution, but I sense ticket prices will sky rocket soon

Unfortunately I don't see an end in sight for the increase in ticket prices. Supply and demand. If people are willing to pay those sky high prices then so be it. Me, I'll stick to lottery, rush, and discount codes.

Although perhaps that should be the next wave to hit Broadway. And audience boycott to lower ticket prices....just a though.

I would imagine even with the amount of people entering the city for Thanksgiving it would force them to continue talks. It could have been worse. I was expecting them to strike around Christmas / New Years. That would have had an even bigger blow. I guess only time will tell what happens on a day to day basis.

How long does anyone think it will be before there's pressure put on both parties to settle this matter?

Though i'm holding out hope to hear of the strike's end by Thursday evening, I honestly don't see an end by this weekend.

I have a feeling i'm going to miss Cyrano and Mermaid... which were the two shows I was mainly going to the City for.

Luckily, I still get the other 4 shows in my sig, and maybe can scrounge up a ticket to Cymbeline, and all hope won't be lost.

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In all seriousness I can't see it lasting until christmas. But really, I have no idea what i'm talking about and and basing the totally my assmption that the producers simply can not afford to miss the tourist season.
And also there is the PR aspect. Bway does more than just sell out for most of the holiday months, it generates word of mouth that spurs ticket sales in the future. Just another consideration.

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Yup. That includes benefits, but still. These are not the "middle class working man" they would have you believe. Also, some heads of departments, like Head Electricians, make 6 figure salaries but under their contract, can only work a maximum of 80 MINUTES a week. That's a little over an hour, people. It's ridiculous that they expect to be paid these ridiculous sums of money for NOT WORKING!
They are highly skilled labor and should get compensated well for their work, and I think everyone on Broadway respects their skills, but they need to be realistic and stop ruining it for everybody else, including their sister unions (who they have never supported--if they did, they would refuse to work on non-union tours).

The union statement confuses the issue of revenue vs. profit. Broadway can make millions of dollars in ticket revenue, and still not repay the producers whose money makes these productions possible. Not only do producers rarely recoup their original investment; even those that do often have to wait nine months to a couple of years before they see recoupment and begin to make any profit. And the expenses of the show are paid from day one - so stagehands actually get a share in the revenue BEFORE producers do.

And the idea of entitlement - that employees have aright to share in a profitable enterprise is incredibly naive. If I work for a large Fortune 100 company, my salary doesn't go up if the company has a banner year. I get my 2 or 3% raise every 18 months, and I have no grievance. Stagehands are in the same position - if Broadway is thriving, you get more opportunities to work for longer periods, not a chance to share in the profits distributed to investors. Their money is at risk. Like it or not, the Broadway production model is a business model, and it operates the same way whether you are producing widgets or musicals.

> That includes benefits, but still.

one should immediately be suspicious whenever a salary is quoted "including benefits". who negotiates a salary "including benefits"? do the classified ads list salaries including "including benefits"?

i manage a small division of a big company. we have to budget a flat 30% for benefits -- it usually ends up costing less, but for budgeting, we include it. for us, and for most employers, that line includes things like our half of social security taxes, as well as unemployment taxes. i doubt anyone on this board considers their employer's 7.65% share of FICA a "benefit". (it is, trust me -- but who really thinks that way???)

moreover, in this case, the benefit amounts arent being used by management for budgeting; they're being used for propaganda. that phrase is a cynical attempt to inflate numbers and distort opinions.

pay no attention to that man behind the curtain ...

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Must be weird and difficult to be the ones setting the precedent for this kind of thing.

Bobby Maler you are an incredibly ignorant person. I'm a local one stagehand and you are soooooooo far off on your median salary. You talk like you know something but it is obvious you don't know a darn thing about that which you speak. The median income for active Local one stagehands is probably more like $65,000. You need more than twice that to live a middle class lifestyle in NYC.

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