Local 1's "Charity" Work

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.

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

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.

"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

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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.

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"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.

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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

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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..

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.

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Right on JamieMcG!!