Local 1's "Charity" Work

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 10:58pm

It was so nice for Local 1 to allow the Marquis children's benefit to go on Monday night without pickets to block all the kids. And how sweet that, apparently, the union members were suddenly going to for free.

Since, apparently, Local 1 does nothing for free.

This is from the other board. Someone please tell me if this is true?

Broadway Cares is one of the biggest and most important charity events in the theatrical community. Everyone...actors, dressers, musicians, etc....donates their time and talents to this AIDS benefit. Apparently all but Union 1 members.

The reasoning why they get paid for this charity event and the other professionals don't? My favorite quote ..'It's in our contract that we get paid, so legally we have to." Apparently, Equity and the other unions have a stipulation in their contracts that their members can be generous to donate their time to worthy causes. So why hasn't Union 1?

Here's the response: "One possible reason is that if we did it for one charity, we'd have to do it for all." Unlike the actors, musicians, etc who do numerous benefits each year. Yep...they're suckers cause they do one benefit, they HAVE to do every benefit.

Please share.

Updated On: 11/12/07 at 10:58 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:05pm

I was wondering if they did the event at the Marquis this evening for free to try and overshadow the producers' comment on how they started the strike right before the 11:00 performance of "Grinch" on Saturday?

[localonecrew]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:06pm

i happily work for free for charities i support. i do bway bares every year for free. i work the joe torre foundation event for free. a few others. i will not work for free for every charity. if a charity wants its workers there for free all they have to do is solicit those who are willing to do so. if they want me specifically and they are not one of the charities i support, then they must pay for my services.
its called work, not play. i get paid to work.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:12pm

This thread moved onto the second page, but it's also about the event at the Marquis.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=948654&dt=23

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:13pm

"if they want me specifically and they are not one of the charities i support, then they must pay for my services."

Nothing like taking money from a charity. I've never once been paid for a benefit I've worked on, and neither have any of the people involved in those benefits in any capacity. That's supposed to be the point.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:19pm

Are you sure about that Rath, have you ever worked on a charity event that's been catered? Are you telling me that the cooks, waiters, house staff, and venue where the event was held received no payment? I've done a ton of Charity events too, and the only people who weren't paid were the performers, who volunteered their time which entailed about 15 minutes including rehearsal.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:27pm

I produced/associate produced them. Some small, some HUGE. The producer I worked with refused to pay anyone ever. He believes a benefit should solely benefit the charity. Everything from plane tickets to hotels to ballrooms to food, drink, and staff time, was donated. In fact, we lost one notoriously cheap yet major ticket-selling performer because she would only perform if we bought her a ridiculously expensive gown she'd been eyeing.

A benefit is a benefit. We worked our asses off, and so did everyone else. For the charity.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:33pm

I've done a half a dozen charity events for one of the big theatrical non-profits here in NYC that have used venues, like the Rainbow Room and the Ballroom at the Pierre, and I can guarantee you that those places do not donate their venues, nor would they ask their staff to work for free, charity or no charity. When one of those events takes two days to load-in, tech, have the performance and load-out, payment will be and should be expected.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:37pm

Do you know how many hours I put in alone? Just me? It takes many many man-hours just to put one of these things together. It takes months. Two days? boo friggin HOO.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:39pm

Don't get your panties in a twist dear. I didn't count the weeks of work that went into the actual pulling together of the event, just the day before and day of. Yes, I've been there and know how time consuming they can be. So save the boo-hoo for someone else. Or maybe for yourself. Martyr much?

[proptart101]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:39pm

Personally, I have always either signed over my check to the charity or written a personal check out for the amount I got paid.

However, often times we are required to work charity events, whether we want to or not. When I volunteer to do pro bono work, that's one situation. When I am required to do work, that's another.

Often times there is minimal notice that a charity event is being held in your venue - I've had to cancel long standing personal events (wife's birthday dinner - that went over well) because a charity event was scheduled into the theater where my show was playing and I had to be there on what was my normal night off.

I see a big difference and do not begrudge those who choose to keep the money, even when I do not.

If you ask me to volunteer, I usually do. If you tell me to show up and do work, I expect to get paid.

Updated On: 11/12/07 at 11:39 PM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:41pm

Wow, JAG, I thought for once you were open to a civil discussion. Guess not.

Thanks, proptart. That all makes sense.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:43pm

If you volunteer your time for a charity, many others get paid. There are officers and secretaries and all sorts of support people, including the fund raisers who get a percentage of the till.

While your producer insisted that all things be donated, most things are run by paying people to do the things they do: serve or cook food, usher, etc. etc.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:43pm

I'm not the one who started the boo-hooing, and poo-pooing of two "friggin" days, my friend. That was you. So blame the turn in this conversation on your own attitude not mine.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:49pm

The ushers did not get paid on my benefits, everything was donated. If companies who were donating food or services to us wanted to pay their staff, that was their choice, but the services were donated to the charity then by that company for people who weren't working with us directly. I don't believe that happened on any of our shows anyway. Any staff who worked those benefits in any capacity chose to volunteer their services for the cause. Lots of people do it all the time, in different ways.

We certainly never had to pay a stagehand or crew member. We had some of the best both on Broadway and in LA.

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:50pm

I love how it's supposed to seem like this huge act of nobility that the big, bad members of the Local One have decided to lay down their crosses for one night to allow the benefit at the Marquis to go on, yet they are keeping all but eight Broadway shows from performing (and subsequently raising millions of dollars for another amazing charity) during BC/EFA collection time.



How perfectly grand of them.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:53pm

"yet they are keeping all but eight Broadway shows from performing (and subsequently raising millions of dollars for another amazing charity) during BC/EFA collection time."

Yeah, and I'm sure they planned it that way too. I can see them now, sitting around a table planning how to screw BC/EFA out of millions of dollars. Those dirty SOB's.

[bk]

Posted: 11/12/07 at 11:57pm

To be fair, the AFM dictates that their members be paid for charity events. EQUITY and AFTRA don't, of course. AFM member can, of course, donate their check back, but the union, unless something has changed in the last year or two, has always contractually demanded musicians be paid.

[don logan]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 12:01am

Musicians don't get paid for the actors fund show.

I've played lots of benefits and gotten paid; I always assume that the money comes from a donation.

I've also done benefits for free..

I also help old ladies across the sidewalk

[MaronaDavies]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 12:39am

Agreeing with proptart101. There's a difference between being invited to voluntarily perform/work at a benefit for free, and being expected to report to work because there's a benefit happening in your place, whether you want to be there or not.

As to BC/EFA, at a lot of shows the stagehands participated in the collections after the curtain speech; they were out there in the lobbies with hats just like the actors. They support BC/EFA as much as anyone else. They didn't plot the strike now just to screw over BC/EFA.

[roadguy]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 1:29am

Mr Tuttle,

I'm curious to your affiliation with theatre. I don't want to insult you in anyway, but it seems you are ignorant to the situation. On another post you told me to stop rambling because you agree with me.. But it's very obvious you don't. Local One does participate in BC/EFA. What does BC/EFA do?? any idea?? We hold brief post show speeches a couple weeks every year to ask for donations to the charity. Do i sit backstage for this 5 minute speech and complain that I can't leave?? NO Do I take a basket and stand at the back of the house to accept donations?? YES SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, stop quoting statements, that I believe are actually starting in your small brain, and questioning them. You ask why Union 1 doesn't support BC/EFA?? Who's Union 1?? I'm not sure if BC/EFA does other things on Broadway, I'm sure they do.. On tour we have actors/crew that visit hospitals with sick folks to try and cheer them up. We take them things to try and bring a smile to their faces.. Whether it's a few actors singing for them, a program, a poster whatever...

Please, all i see from you are quotes you claim come from another board and you trying to question them. It's getting old..

[Trailer Trash Jones]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 7:55am

from a previous post:
"yet they are keeping all but eight Broadway shows from performing (and subsequently raising millions of dollars for another amazing charity) during BC/EFA collection time."

"Yeah, and I'm sure they planned it that way too. I can see them now, sitting around a table planning how to screw BC/EFA out of millions of dollars. Those dirty SOB's./EFA "

BC/EFA's collection period was to end Dec. 1st. If they had waited until Dec. 1st to strike, they would have avoided the negative impact on the charity and had greater impact on the Broadway holiday season.

Incidentally, I have worked as an actor on Broadway and performed many Actor's Fund performances. The money that the Actor's Fund collects is available to ANYONE in the theater business who needs it, including stagehands. Yet, no one in the theater gets paid for that ninth performance that week EXCEPT THE STAGEHANDS. Hmmmmm...

[JamieMcG]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 9:26am

I just wanted to chime in here. I don't usually get in conversations here unless it's about one of my events in particular, but when I saw the press release about Local 1 donating their time for yesterdays event, it did upset me a little...even made me a little jealous.

The World AIDS Day PIPPIN Concert was actually going to be held at the (then) FORD Center. We were offered the space for practicaly free. But the theater manager warned us that the local 1 fees would probably not allow our lack of a budget to do a show there. So upon pursuing it, we discovered that for a one night event, the local 1 costs would more than likely be around $70K (which is generally the whole budget for one of the World AIDS Day Concerts). I asked the local 1 rep if it was possible to as the members to donate their time and was flatly told "no, they don't do that."

This past year (and I know it wasn't a Broadway theatre), we did RAGS at the Nokia in Times Square. It was a union house and we knew it would be an added cost (but had been promised early on that their minimums were very reasonable). Again we asked if we could speak to crew members or specifically FIND crew members who were sympathetic to our cause, and again the local 1 rep, flatly said "no."

I am someone who is normally very pro-union and I support local 1 in their fight, for the most part. But when I saw that press release, I was very disappointed in their decision to spin the media and to use the poor children benefiting from that event as tools of self promotion.

I probably won't repond here since I already feel awkward writing about something other than an event I'm working on, but I wanted to let you know the record from someone who's done a lot of charity events in this community. Good luck to local 1 guys out here, but please let your superiors know that the move to do what you did, the way that you did, disappointed someone who would normally be very supportive of you guys.

[ken8631]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 9:59am

Sounds like Local 1's don't even allow members who want to donate time to do so. That's a shame, especially for charity events. If others can, they should too.

[Trailer Trash Jones]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 10:46am

Right on JamieMcG!!