The Strike: Fire them!- Page 3

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 1:54am

Shouldn't Jonny be hanging out with his, "good friend" right now? Maybe if he is lucky, he will put on a show for him! If they are your friend, they would just be so happy to see you. I just don't know what he is doing all of this complaining about.

I hope all the Producers feel real guilty for playing the woe is me card and give all of you raises! It's almost Christmas and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa time ! Everyone else has been working almost for charity so what's wrong with a little good cheer!

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 3:56am

All I can say is if you don't know all of the details and are not educated on the situation, don't bitch! I live in Denver, and am going to NYC early in Dec. I have read everything I can and I even stream NY1 at home to keep up. I have a ticket to a show that is closed due to the strike and a non-refundable plane ticket. It is life. No matter who is right or wrong, it happens. Get over it. The world is not going to end because of this strike. There will be shows in the future. Sorry people can't see them now but that's just the way it is. I want to see shows that may be closed. But if I can't, I just can't. And I am not going to bitch and moan about it. Why do that when I have no control over what is going on? I wanted to see a certain performer, but I might not be able to. My world will not end, and I will go back to NYC in the Spring and see shows when this is all over. It just sounds so selfish when people are pissed over this because they can't see a show AND they have no idea what is going on between the union and the league. All they want is what they want. America....AMERICA!

[roadguy]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 5:27am

Tkt2Ride,

Lil Jonny wanted to visit his friend, but he was walking the picket line and it was to cold for lil jonny...


"Shouldn't Jonny be hanging out with his, "good friend" right now? Maybe if he is lucky, he will put on a show for him!"

[SamIAm]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 11:08am

"the average stagehand makes $143,000 per year"?????? Obviously, someone is buying into the producers hype. Unless you KNOW this for a fact, please don't repeat propaganda.

And remember that in this day and age of theater, stagehands are required to handle and secure many technical issues. Cutting back on the number of stagehands required can expose everyone to safety issues. Furthermore, unless you can specifically compare stagehand salaries to other jobs in NY, you will not see what is fair. Santitation engineers certainly make more "on average" than you might think. But do you fully understand the union, its members or its issues? Do you know what comparable pay is for an equally stressful or physical job? If not, then you can't comment on what is fair and equitable.

Then of course there is the question of what the producers make on the shows. Do THEY put butts in the seats or just provide the opportunity for audiences to see a quality show? The stagehands are just one group of many that make the productions possible. I'd like to see you do a show without them.

[Chitty]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 1:21pm

That's right...the satgehands are just a part of the production that is run and owned by the producers.

So why should the stagehands or unions have the right to tell the producers to hire a fly man when the show has no flys? Or hire 20 musicians when the oprchestration only needs 10? Or call an electrician in three hours before the show when they only are need an hour?

We forget that the stagehands work for the producers, but it seems the unions have forgotten this.
Updated On: 11/14/07 at 01:21 PM

[Jonny boy]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 1:30pm

I didn't ask any of your opinion's so as far as I'm concerned you guys can go F*CK YOURSELVES!!!

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 1:36pm

Mr. Roxy - don't worry about taxes. The so called economical conservatives of the Republican party have spent our grandchildren's futures with the war in Iraq. We could afford health care for every person in the US if we spent even half of the TRILLIONS of dollars the war has cost.

Not to mention that the Chinese and Oil Barons own our futures with their lending us money (US Treasury Notes and such are forms of government borrowing.)

Count me in as a Democrat, liberal, card carrying unionist.

Updated On: 11/14/07 at 01:36 PM

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 11/14/07 at 2:25pm

Gosh Lynne but isn't that one of the hidden agenda's behind the Producers cry? The fact that they got their tax cuts, that they didn't really need but know in the future they have to give it all back? At least they got to spend the interest. It's their money. Of course made by the hard work of those working in the Theatre.

If only they were there for us when we said this War was too expensive. If anyone wants to know what a crummy creek we are paddling in they should go see The Oxford Roof Climbers Rebellion. Had that made a bigger Theatre and got more attention six years ago maybe we wouldn't be in the hole to China. It goes on about how England got itself in a mess fighting endlessly over what is now Iraq. Nothing like putting your Country in a blender and pushing crush on it. That is exactly what we did getting into this mess over there.

I don't have a problem with people making money. I just feel you have to pay for the services rendered and that you have to employ good Managers. You also though need good Producers. Not everything will make a profit but it has been stated many times, they are purposely under hiring staff to save money. Then when the work can't be performed by the original crew, they pay almost double to make up for their mistakes. The solution lies in hiring experienced Producers and Managers who understand the business and quit wasting so much money on over time.

They are using this Contract as a blown-up excuse for their own mismanagement. This is what is frustrating and I see it so often. Sure the money is good. Most of these stagehands can still make it on other jobs. They don't have to work all of this overtime if their Production Co. hires enough people to do the job first.

I feel sorry for them. Really I do. Like I said, if they are really, really scared, they should offer a year or two year contract. While they have the money, they should pay what the work is worth. If we end up or when we end up in a recession, everyone will have to give but at least give them enough time, while you have some cash, to save up for it.

I just don't believe you get anything for free. The market is good and you pay for what you want to have. You want the best and you don't want to give it all away to the insurance companies then hire good workers.

If the League wins, you can bet their Insurance rates will go through the roof. Plus, they risk being sued by the City for not having enough professionals available to ensure the safety of the Theatre. One mishap and we will see what happened to White Snake when the pyro stuff went haywire. A lot of unnecessary deaths. Same thing for all the screw-ups that killed so many Firefighters after the planes hit on 9-11. Their equipment didn't work and people died needlessly and it cost a bundle in retribution. Retribution though doesn't bring a loved one back to life.

So I am just wondering why these details are so hard for people to understand? Do we really need another disaster before people understand why we have to have people on the job who know what they are doing and can respond quickly in an emergency?

Maybe we should have techs get their own ambulances, so that they can race around the City whenever a disaster breaks? Like we don't have enough of those things fighting through traffic. Of course, by the time they get there what really will be left?

This isn't even about money, even though the work is hard and getting harder all of the time. I wonder what the retirement age is for most of these workers are? How many get injured permanently from loading and unloading such heavy sets and equipment? Ah well who cares? Just as long as the monkey is dancing, they will throw him a few coins for the effort.

Great Country we have here don't we?

[roadguy]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 5:10am

Chitty,

So you've made it obviously clear how clueless you are.. Now all of a sudden the stagehands also hire the musicians??? THat's the best one i've seen so far....

So once again, what does a flyman do?? Someone please tell me. I saw somewhere on this site that they "line up tape marks pulling on ropes." You've got about 2% of what my job is. YES, I'M A FLYMAN. I use IATSE stagehands all over the country to hang 140 chain motors containing over 110,000 pounds of scenery and lighting. Once the load in is complete, I train them to run the show, yeah lining up tape marks. Do i fly home while the show runs after the training is done?? NO because I perform service to those 140 chain motors, I walk the grid all the time to make sure everything operates as it should. So my next question to all you clueless experts.. How do lights get hung on Broadway shows?? Battens, truss on chain motors, etc.. So if there is no flyman who services these items?? Other carpenters are busy maintaining automation, fixing scenery, etc.. Electricians are repairing lights, replacing gels that have burned out, replacing lamps that have blown. So once again, who manages the rigging in a theatre if the flyman isn't there?? ANYONE???? Because a show has no fly cues, doesn't mean there isn't rigging ALL OVER THE PLACE... PLEASE PEOPLE< GET A DAMN CLUE!!!!!!

"That's right...the satgehands are just a part of the production that is run and owned by the producers.

So why should the stagehands or unions have the right to tell the producers to hire a fly man when the show has no flys? Or hire 20 musicians when the oprchestration only needs 10? Or call an electrician in three hours before the show when they only are need an hour?

We forget that the stagehands work for the producers, but it seems the unions have forgotten this."
Updated On: 11/15/07 at 05:10 AM

[nygrl23]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 9:50am

It's unfortunately the nature of things that change comes about by any or all or a combo of force, sacrifice, learning the hard way and monetary incentive.

The entertainment business certainly has had a lot of the light of reality shed publicly upon it in recent times. People don't like to hear that it can get ugly behind the scenes, or that workers are being screwed out of benefits, etc.

I've seen so much of a lack of understanding and sympathy for the strikes on both coasts--I wonder if people want to be in denial about their own job situations, or think that all jobs in the entertainment industry are high-paying glamour fests so people should stop their whinin'.

[sparkleplenty]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 6:33pm

Why are so many people obsessed with how many threads other people create or respond to? Jeez - if a thread bothers you DON"T OPEN IT!!!

[sparkleplenty]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 6:38pm

Technically intricate! Most shows these days operate with computer finger pushing.
A stage hand getting $500.00 a night to mop a stage floor is overpaid.
One reason ticket prices are so high - and for once not just the producer's greed.
(I saw the OBC of Company for example in the front row of the balconey for $8.50)

[leko2]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 7:49pm

Chitty,

When your car takes and you take it to the mechanic to be repaired. You tell him it's going to take him an hour to fix the problem and he says it's going to take 3, what do you do? Following your logic, the mechanic is working for you so you clearly know what is needed to get your car fixed by him. But when in reality, the thing that needs to be replaced is deep inside the dashboard and it takes an hour to pull it apart without destroying it. So now he pulls the dash apart for an hour, fixes your problem for an hour, and puts the dash back together for an hour. That's three hours of labor, not one like you thought. When you come back to get your car and he says, "it took three hours." Do you pay him for one or three?

The same thing goes for stagehands and musicians. If the producers of a show say, "We want to higher ten stagehands for 8 hours a day to put this show in a theater starting tomorrow and ending 3 days from now." If the stagehands look at what they need to do and go, "Um.... you need more than ten guys to get this done." Should the producers hire more hands or should they ignore the fact that the union says it can't be done with that number?

If the producer highers an orchestrator to orchestrate a show and he says they need 15 musicians for what they want him to do, but they only want to hire 8 but want the same orchestrations, what happens then? Do you fight with the producer, or just forget 7 of the parts?

sparkleplenty: If you can point me in the direction of the job that pays $500.00 a night to mop a stage I would greatly appreciate it. Also if you could point me in the direction of $8.50 tickets to a broadway show I would be even happier.

[localonecrew]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 7:55pm

"Technically intricate! Most shows these days operate with computer finger pushing. "


as someone who installs, runs, and maintains bway shows, this is blatantly ridiculous.

[UnionMade]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 8:46pm

Sparkle
A stagehand is not getting paid $500 a night to mop the floor. One stagehand gets paid an hours wage to mop the floor for each performance. The reason the floor gets mopped is because it is a rule in the Equity contract to protect the actors(who may be barefoot) from debris onstage. The reason this is a seperate call is because it is dangerous for preset of the show to happen on a wet stage. I wouldn't want to be servicing lighting while standing in a puddle. So, can we please put this $500 dollar a day mopping myth to rest.

[roadguy]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 10:33pm

"So, can we please put this $500 dollar a day mopping myth to rest."

AMEN

and sparkle, has your computer ever failed on you?? Did you fix it yourself?? The show i work on has 4 computers running scenery, if one fails, what happens?? We dont' call in a PC repair guy to fix the problem, we do it ourselves.. Guess you could call us IT specialists then huh?? How much does it cost for a computer consultant to come and fix your computer?? 80-90 bucks an hour?? GO look at best buy or places like that and ask them what they charge per hour for labor to fix a computer..