Stage hand strike

Thank you, Ms. St. Martin for that stirring piece of propaganda, your check is in the mail.

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"It is sad that unions have become so powerful due to Political connections!!!"


Are you saying, it's because of these mythical political connections, that the League left the table and refused to negotiate? There isn't going to be a settlement, if one side decides that they will no longer bargain in good faith.

The Union has been without a contract since July, but they continued to work. The Union has continued to work even though the League imposed new work rules on the Union without having a contract. Where's the good faith? Where's the collective bargaining? If the League were truly interested in not having to deal with a strike they'd be at the table trying to work out an agreement, instead of walking away and leaving the Union with the only option it has to force negotiations.

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Of course they continued to work, wouldn't you making a minimum of $100,000??? The head of a house makes much more than that, then add on the extra jobs, MSG, Radio City, The VIew, Soaps etc. are you kidding me??? Please let's not feel bad for these guy's they are making more money at the age of 18 with no skills then someone getting out of college with a degree!! When a play folds, they lose NOTHING, they are absorbed by another house, they lose NOTHING!!! Funny the Producer's and the investor's lose everything!!!

I agree Mr. Roxy both sides are at fault but bottom line is many productions do fail and who takes the hit. I too hate the premium seating and the restoration charge on the tickets, but when you have all these unions, stagehands, musicians, actor's, electricians, etc. you do have to protect yourself and try to make money to pay back your investor's. If Broadway never made money, we would not have any shows. Neil Simon said years ago, it is too expensive to put a show on Broadway. so sad one of our best is not being seen on Broadway due to the cost.

"Of course they continued to work, wouldn't you making a minimum of $100,000???"

Surely, your not trying to say that every member of Local One makes a minimum of $100,000 a year? That's just a bald-faced lie.

"Please let's not feel bad for these guy's they are making more money at the age of 18 with no skills then someone getting out of college with a degree!!"

The fact that your calling members of Local One unskilled simply makes you look stupid. Can you rig a fly, can you run the automation required to move a set piece, can you program vari-lites, a computerized lightboard, sound console...? And what makes you think that there are no college educated Union memebers?

"When a play folds, they lose NOTHING, they are absorbed by another house, they lose NOTHING!!!"

You're just plain wrong on this, when a play closes they lose their jobs just like everyone else. They are not automatically absorbed into another show. If the other show is fully staffed, they don't just automatically make room for their unemployed brethren, that's just false, and it show your lack of knowledge.

"Funny the Producer's and the investor's lose everything!!!"

Which is the risk that the Producers and investors knowingly take when they decide to mount a production. If the producers and investors opt to take that risk why does it suddenly become the fault of the Unions when the show fails? It's not like the Union is surprising them with new and unknown rules...it's all in the contract. If you don't have a decent GM to careful guard against cost overuns, that's not the Unions fault, it's the fault of the producers.

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Updated On: 11/10/07 at 11:06 AM

^^no kidding! Like they are striking for their next Mecedes! Unbelievable. How terrible is it that after working 20 yrs that you have equity! Tell that to those who are holding back for their second or third condo in New York?

Go ahead, compare stagehands salaries to even the bottom line of investors, I dare you! They put in money often earned on the stock market, nothing they have ever worked for but gained by the hard work of Americans who will never see the money they will. Even at a loss, most investors will survive and they have had a hefty tax cut recently. If you cannot afford a loss, you should not be giving your money to a Producer. End of story.

Not everyone wants to devote their lives to money but almost everyone wants to be able to own their own Home or be able retire someday.

Again, you are saying that stagehands, actors et all should give you back money if you decide to invest in a lousy script or fail to research the market for what the people say they want or can afford? Well just ask Mel. He offered tickets at a premium for how long? I guess we just found out how much of a fool the Market is and who will pay for premium tickets. Unfortunately, many, like those in the Theatre Business won't now be able to afford to buy them, if they ever were in the first place.

These people are at the mercy of whatever investors, producers bring to their arena. If they perform a service, they get paid. Again, this is more complaining and blaming for bad investments. I see most of this as Producers blaming the workers who bring their production to life, rather than being responsible for the mistakes they have made. So much easier to blame others for your mistakes. Perhaps investors should start writing clauses that say Producers must pay them a percentage of their losses back, no matter what happens to a show, even if it is beyond their circumstances. If they did, then Producers would be a lot more careful with the stuff they throw at us on Broadway.

They would sell a whole lot more tickets if they kept them reasonable. Too many times they rely on discount houses to sell their tickets forgetting that the general public doesn't use them and thus many who might come out to see a show just don't because the initial price was just too steep for the avg. theatre goer.

This getting paid for nothing saga has already been solved. Catch up with the program here. How about getting paid millions for something you neither wrote or performed in? This is a high risk business. It is not for the weak of heart.

Again, you do not get something for nothing. If you ask people to do more work, especially dangerous work, you are just going to have to pay them.

These same workers obeyed a picketline for the Musicians. They will stand-up for the Actors when their time comes. I know this effects everyone but this is Entertainment people. It isn't like you will die if you miss a show. It sucks but at least we can have a refund. Some people, who are needed for a shows safety won't be or don't have a job right now. This getting paid for nothing BS is a cheap shot from those who wouldn't dare show you their real bottom line earnings for the year.

Every retailer that I know of, union or not has the four minimum even Walmart. Let's get educated please!

I am sorry for those involved but only the most ignorant in the business did not see this strike coming. If you think it is bad now, imagine if they waited until January. At least now, you might get a temp job. Come Jan. good luck!

The very nature of the agreement says that they can make demands when the contract is up. That's negotiations under collective bargaining. The League has decided to negotiate with IATSE, and is likewise able to make their own demands. If the league doesn't like it they can choose to use non-union workers.

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Just a Guy:

You like to stir the water.

NYC2 - you are very ignorant. There are many educated stagehands. Stagehands are very hard working. Have you ever been involved in a browadway load in or load out? Are you back stage seeing what goes on? They work six days a week. They work most holidays. They have to come in for rehearsals, photo calls, work calls, special calls. They do not get paid for vacation. In the corporate world, most people get two or three weeks paid vacation. They take off, they don't get paid.

While I do believe each side it at fault I also see the point of view from both sides. It's a risky buisness to get involved with.

With some of the points that are being made in this thread I do have to wonder though

I still do not think it is fair that in this day and age when you DO NOT NEED all these bodies due to technology they are still demanding more people than are needed!!

So then why not just completely get rid of the orchestra? I mean, with technology today you really don't need them according to your view on the matter. (Of course I prefer to have an orchestra over a synthisizer) While I don't believe people should be paid for work not done, I believe there are instances where a matter of safety is involved. It's in the best interest of everyone.

Updated On: 11/10/07 at 09:42 PM

God forbid the stagehands make a good living. How evil.

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> the problem is Local One has too many NY Politician's in their pockets!!

what on earth do new york politicians have to do with this??? except where the state is the *employer*, disputes involving organized labor are governed exclusively by FEDERAL law.

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