Point by Point questions to Local One about the issues

[BrianS]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 12:26pm

A while ago I started this thread:

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=948827#3317339

asking a lot of questions of the Local One guys that stayed pretty cordial and informative. I was kind of asking questions in the dark, though. I'm now asking point-by-point on the issues being negotiated because there seems to be a lot of rules that end up paying stagehands for work that isn't performed.

As I stated in the above thread, I'm pro-union and want you to earn a fair wage, but strongly disagree with getting paid for work you aren't doing. You've said you don't featherbed (a term which by definition is accusatory and insulting) but isn't creating rules which make babysitting actors at a rehearsal and doing a safety check two separate 4 hours paid calls getting paid for more work than you are doing?

So here are the negotiating points and my questions to each:

Setting the Running Crew
Stagehand crew size and job assignments were previously frozen on the opening night of a Broadway show. The League claims this does not allow enough time to "routine stagehand work and determine appropriate staffing levels." The crew size and job assignments will now be frozen six weeks after opening night. (The Union rejected this proposal.)

I'm kind of on the fence about this one, but we all know that more crew are needed for a show that is changing daily with new sets and equipment than are needed for a frozen show. Since you could be accused of hiring more workers than needed on this, why are you against this rule?

Electrician Duties
In some instances up to three electricians have operated the board that controls light, projection and sound cues — a job that can be handled by one electrician. The new rule says that "three separate stagehands are not required" to operate such a board. (Local One tentatively agreed to codify this practice.)

Good.

Premium Pay for a 7th Day or 9th Performance
Stagehands who work a 7th day or a 9th performance (for example, a Monday performance for a show that regularly plays a Tuesday-Sunday schedule) are paid time-and-a-half. Previously, even those stagehands who had not worked all six days or eight performances were paid time-and-a-half for this extra performance. The League and the Union agreed to a proposed exchange whereby the League would not be required to pay time-and-a-half to those who had not worked the full week; however, the League agreed to pay time-and-a-half for all work "performed on any non-performance day where a production performs only five days per week (Wednesday through Saturday)."

It doesn't say if Local One agreed to this or not.

Overtime Hiring Requirements
Previously, if only a few stagehands were required to work overtime, Broadway producers were required to pay overtime to all of the stagehands that had been called that day. Producers will now pay overtime only to the stagehands required to work past a given call period. (The Union rejected this proposal.)

This is the kind of thing that gets them accussed of getting paid not to work. In this case, you are getting paid for more work than you are providing. How is that ethical?


Meal Periods
Meal periods, the previous contract stated, must take place on the hour at 12-1 PM or 1-2 PM, and for evenings at 5-6 PM or 6-7 PM. During many load-in and technical rehearsal days, management was left a choice between "stopping and restarting work for an entire department on the hour or paying everyone a penalty of a time-and-a-half hour." The League will now implement meal time flexibility as long as a break is given within 3 to 5 hours of a stagehand's start time. The new rule would also allow a 30-minute break if a meal is provided for the crew. (Local One has rejected this offer.)

While I disagree with the 30 minute break if a meal is provided (12 cheese pizza's have never been a meal in my book), what is wrong with staggering meals so that no one department fully shuts down?

Rehearsals and Work Calls
Currently stagehands called in for a four-hour minimum call can only perform work specific to that type of call. For example, a crew member called in for a rehearsal call cannot be required to do maintenance work — fixing lights or maintaining scenery. Such work would require an additional work call. The League states that they will now require that stagehands perform any work necessary, within departmental lines, on a production while they are being paid, regardless of the type of call. (Local One has rejected this offer.)

Why do you disagree? If they are paying you to work, why can you only do the thing you were brought in to do? Can you imagine if an actor came in for a dance rehearsal, got done early and when they tried to block a scene said "I'm sorry, I was just brought in for the dance rehearsal today." The fact that it would require and additional work call means that once again, you are getting paid for more work than you are providing. Again, how is that ethical?

Performance Calls
During the performance of a show, there are strict rules regarding what can be required of a crew member. The Union has agreed to allow "work on equipment and related items for promotion and publicity." The League also proposed that stagehands should be permitted to clean up the set, the show's equipment and repair any problems that occurred during the performance. Should the work require more time than the actual running time of the show, crew members would be paid in one-hour increments. Local One agreed to a two-hour minimum call solely to permit clean up for safety reasons.

I agree with Local One on this. A performance call should be work related to the performance.

Continuity Calls
In the previous Local One contract, stagehands may be called one hour prior to a performance (solely for work related to that performance), or for one hour after the performance, but never both, unless producers schedule an additional four-hour call. Producers now intend to schedule and pay for work up to three hours around any given performance, limited to two hours prior and one hour after. This does not include clean up, which may require two hours. The previous union contract also said that if a show ending at 10:25 PM necessitates additional work, the call-time rolls back to 10 PM, requiring producers to pay for an additional hour's work. And, if more time is needed, the call becomes a four-hour call. The League has eliminated this rule, which Local One rejected.

The producers are paying for the time a stagehand works. The reason the union doesn't like this rule is because they can't bill in 4 hour increments (which leads to getting paid for 4 hours even if you are only needed for 2). This is on a day when the stagehands are already at the theater and for performance related work. I understand and agree with a 4 hour minimum when they have to travel to the theater for a work call, but if they are already there, why a four hour minimum for performance related work? If they only need you for an extra hour (and pay you for it) Why should you be paid for the hours you aren't needed?

Canceled Performances
Currently, when a scheduled performance of a show is canceled and replaced by a rehearsal or a work call, stagehands are required to be paid for both the canceled performance and the rehearsal/work call. The League will now not pay stagehands twice for the same hours. (The Union has rejected this proposal.)

Another case of getting paid for more work than you are providing. Why is that ethical?

I am not against you guys. I want to understand. I feel I have a right to ask because I am an actor (not a rich producer) losing a lot of money right now over issues that aren't mine. I support you earning a fair wage, but if tomorrow, AEA tried to implement some of these rules for actors, I would disagree because even if I was getting paid more, I would be getting paid money for work I didn't do (e.g. if they kept rehearsing the leads in overtime and the entire ensemble got sent home but still got paid overtime.)

Again, I ask that whatever side of this issue you are on, please keep this thread respectful and focused on the facts.

Updated On: 11/19/07 at 12:26 PM

[UnionMade]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:11pm

B,
I will answer what I feel I can.
First, setting the run crew: The size of the run crew is established by the Technical Supervisor(who is governed by the producers). The problem I have with this proposal is that producers look at the bottom line and not safety. I have seen many times in the past few years when the Tech. Sup. requests more stagehands and the producers refuse. It is becoming more common for stagehands to be required to run from cue to cue. This creates unsafe working conditions. Just because fewer men CAN do the job, doesn't mean they SHOULD with safety being compromised.
Second, electrician duties:
I would like to point out these are typically seperate consoles. It's not like three men are standing at one board and dividing it into three sections. Also, these positions are typically pink contract jobs and not covered by the Local ONE contract.
Third, premium pay:
"The League and the Union AGREED to a proposed exchange whereby the League would not be required to pay time-and-a-half to those who had not worked the full week" This is covered within that proposal.
Fourth, overtime:
This is a misunderstanding. The stagehands are not sent home and paid overtime. They continue to work the overtime and get paid overtime for that time worked. What the rule is saying is that if producers want to work overtime, the same minimum hiring requirements apply.

I think that is all I have for you right now. I will work on getting more answers.

[billynj]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:44pm

here is a picture of a stage hand running the entire light board for Roger Waters summer 2007 tour... how can three guys crowd around a laptop ...lol

http://www.tabletpc2.com/Roger-Waters_and_Tablet_PCs-Article70020613.html

[proptart101]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 2:57pm

Regarding the consoles issue -

The way this actually works is that one console sends a trigger (usually MIDI format) to the other consoles which follow the Q stack. So, the "GO" button on the light board will send a "GO" to the projection console and the sound console to operate their individual Qs. It's not 3 people operating 1 console, it's 3 people operating 3 consoles, which can be linked together so 1 console triggers the other two consoles.

The advantages of having 1 person at each console are:

1) when something goes wrong each operator can concentrate on their specialty and ignore the other problems to try to maintain a safe stage and a hopefully seamless fix
2) console placement - if there's live sound mixing, the sound operator needs to be in the audience to hear what's really coming out to the house, whereas the projection and lighting boards can be in booths or backstage. Having all three consoles out front eats up a lot of seating, taking away money earning real estate from the show (I have witnessed huge battles on tours where the show wanted to pull more seats FOH for the consoles than the promoter and producers wanted to - every seat is valuable!)
3) it is very difficult to find one person who is thoroughly trained in all three disciplines - operating a console is a lot more than pushing a button, especially when there' equipment failure (which happens a lot more often than most people think - it's a credit to the skill and training of the operators that failures are so rarely noticed by the audience)

As I understand it Local One had previously agreed to allow one operator handle the console which sends the Midi trigger to the other consoles, provided that there is no live sound mixing involved (e.g straight plays with pre-taped sound Qs), so I'm honestly not sure why this is being brought up.

On the show that I am currently not working, there are two lighting consoles (one conventional, one ML) with full redundant backups, so in effect, you have one operator controlling 4 consoles. The sound operator has two consoles out front, plus a third backstage controlling the pit mix matrix for monitors, so that person is operating 3 consoles. There are no projections on this show.

If you want to look at it that way, the producers are getting a deal where 2 operators are controlling 7 consoles.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:17pm

I'm not in Local One, so I can't speak for them nor will I try to. What I can do is speak from a production side of the stick.

I agree with everything that UnionMade has said and don't see the point in restating what has already been said. But I will say a few things.

Setting the Running Crew for the show: Just because a show is in previews doesn't mean that it's not frozen. If the show that is in 4 weeks of previews is frozen after a week of previews, why should the crew be frozen 9 weeks after? As for needing more crew for a show that's changing daily, not everyone on the crew changing the show around is on the run crew. Sometimes you need to bring in extra bodies or you bring in someone to replace a guy who's not going to get enough sleep by the time they get home and have to wake up and to go back to the theater.

Overtime for 7th day and/or 9th performance: My understanding is that it's a 8 show, 8 hours of work calls or rehearsals, which gets the hands up to 40 hours in a week. If you do a 7th day or a 9th performance, you go over the 40 hours a week thus putting hands into overtime. Like I said, this is my understanding and I could be wrong.

Meal Periods: The problem with staggering meal breaks is that if you are running on show numbers, how do you choose which guys to send to break? You can't send the board op to run the spotlight because then there's no one to run the board. And yes, while pizza and a coke shouldn't constitute as a meal, if they want to get you decent take-out or cater a meal, then a work through should be fine.

Continuity Calls: Ok, so we'll say that I live in Brooklyn and it's a 60 minute commute via express trains to the theater and a 90 minute commute home after midnight. I need to be back at the theater at 8AM for a work call. My post show ends at about 11:45 and by the time I make it to, for example, 14th street to transfer to my train home it's now running local and I don't get home until 1:15. Now assuming I can just hop into bed and go right to sleep, I get to sleep until around 6:15ish leaving me 45 minutes to shower, make breakfast, and get on a train to work. An hour later, assuming the subway is running on time and doesn't get held up for any reason. I just barely make it into the building before my call starts and I'm groggy and need to take some time to wake up more. How is this good for my welfare and for others around me? And furthermore, now that my show call has broken the fifth hour, where is my required meal which now is going to get me home later and contributes to less sleep with no incentive.

[BrianS]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:19pm

re: the console issue

That makes sense. I could see in a musical where if a lighting q is messed up, you don't want one guy trying to mix live audio while troubleshooting lights.

In my original post, I listed every issue including the issues that both parties already agreed to.

p.s. no props for spelling "losing" correctly? That seems to be the hardest word to get right on this board.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 3:26pm

Hell, you don't even need an operator to push the button on the console. Just set up the synth in the pit to send a midi trigger to the show controller and you've eliminated having people there at all. And actually, while we're at it, just set up a virtual orchestra and get rid of the pit musicians. We don't need to employ people anymore, machines can just do our jobs. As long as the show is time coded it'll be fine.

I know that isn't the current issue, but I somehow seeing this coming up in the near future. If you open the door a little now, I don't see how it can't be swung wide open in a few years.
Updated On: 11/19/07 at 03:26 PM

[BrianS]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 5:57pm

leko2, regarding the continuity calls, safety should absolutely be an issue, but it is a separate one from pay.

Is it common to have an 8am work call after an 8pm performance the night before? (not asking snarkily, just don't know)

I'm assuming you are referring to a Saturday night/Sunday matinée situation but I'm not understanding your math. Continuity calls are for performance related work only. I can't imagine they could keep you an hour after and then do an 8am work call, but if that is the case, the solution would be a rule requiring a certain amount of time off between calls. Billing the producer for 4 hours of work when working one extra hour does nothing to keep you safer or make you less tired.

As for meal periods, you choose who to send based on what will keep things progressing the best. Of course the board op won't run the spotlight, but it's better to have no spotlight for an hour than to have nothing for an hour. Everyone still eats in the time window specified, but things don't have to grind to a halt. Also, this rule doesn't affect income but does affect workflow so I can't imagine it's too hard a sticking point.

Regarding the 9th performance, they are talking about if someone missed a show that week that they wouldn't get paid on a monday (special) performance. It didn't say if Local One agreed to this or not. Personally, I feel like if someone was sick and missed a Wednesday call, but has to work on their day off (monday) they should be paid the extra since it still interferes with their routine.

Again, to me it always boils down to stagehands should get paid well for the hard work that they do. These guys keep us actors safe and I appreciate them more than you know. I just have a problem with anyone getting paid for work not done (e.g. 4 hours billing for one hour of work).

[proptart101]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 6:00pm

leko2 - what you're describing is a theme park show.

Perhaps the future of B'way, who knows?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:12pm

"Regarding the 9th performance, they are talking about if someone missed a show that week that they wouldn't get paid on a monday (special) performance. It didn't say if Local One agreed to this or not. Personally, I feel like if someone was sick and missed a Wednesday call, but has to work on their day off (monday) they should be paid the extra since it still interferes with their routine."

I think you are misunderstanding the 9th performance call. It isn't for a missed performance...it's for a 9th show in the 7-day week. I don't believe they are that common.

The other issues have been addressed thoroughly, but I would like to address the salary proposals for a second. Keep in mind that it is possible that the union is requesting doubletime as a preventative measure against the producers, i.e., to discourage the producers from having these types of overtime calls excessively. Because what happens if they decide to repeatedly make the stagehands stay day after day for a small amount of time. Essentially they are abusing the workforce (in that circumstance). If they have to pay for two calls for one hour of overtime, then this insures that the overtime is absolutely necessary, and not something that is being abused to get more work for less.

Also, let's keep in mind that while the League has indicated the Union's rejections of those proposals, it does not offer what the Union's counter-offer was. We aren't getting the full story from the producers, and why should we? All they have to do is show kids crying at The Grinch to paint the Union as the villains, when it is the League that is refusing to negotiate. Point of fact: with the exception of the concessions made by the Union, each offer from The League was the ORIGINAL unaltered offer. They did not make counter-offers to the Union's counter-offers.

[bk]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:14pm

We're not getting the full story from anyone.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:38pm

"We're not getting the full story from anyone."

Finally some semblance of fact out of you! It is interesting though that the League has been playing these negotiations in the Press since the beginning, clearly indicating that they forced the Union to strike. What real reason did they need to keep issuing press releases during negotiations, other than to paint the Union in a bad light so that when the strike finally did come they could point the finger at them, since they never responded to the Leagues obvious ploys.

[leko2]

Posted: 11/19/07 at 7:51pm

BrianS, nothing grinds to a halt during meal breaks. People stop working, they go and eat, and then they go back to work. Every member of a run crew is an essential part of the production. If you break certain people at certain times instead you are limiting what work can be done one stage because people that might be required for what you want to move onto next are on break. That can bring a rehearsal to a halt.

As for continuity call, I can only assume the rules are currently written to hinder something similar to what I've described. As for turnaround time, I'm not sure but I would assume there is a turnaround clause written into the contract, be it 8 or 10 hours.

If an employee works over 40 hours in a pay week then they should be compensated for it regardless of if they only worked 35 hours in the previous pay week. You also have brought up another good point, by them adding this extra performance they have interrupted your routine. Although, with this line of reasoning, you should be paid an additional call when your show requires additional work after the show because they have interrupted your routine.

The league has never once said they are against paying higher wages to the stagehands. What they have said is that they are against minimums. Personally, I think it's perfectly acceptable to pay someone a 4 hour minimum regardless of how much they work. I was talking to a friend of mine earlier about this and I stated that when I was working at a non-union theater getting paid $7 an hour if I worked one hour I was only paid for that hour. Therefore, if I worked there 3 hours each show 8 shows a week I made $168 for that week and $672 for the month. Which is still less than my $800/mo rent. It got to a point where I had to say if you want me to drive here and work then you need to pay me a better wage and/or you need to pay me in four hour increments. Needless to say, I got a $.10 raise and a 4 hour minimum. And I still could barely afford to live with a second job. If you don't have to pay the Broadway guys a four hour minimum why should anyone else in this industry get paid one?

proptart: Who knows if it's the future of Broadway, but this fight is on the horizon.