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Friday, January 19, 2007
The Blue Man brawl continues
Las Vegas CityLife: "The battle between a local union and The Blue Man Group heated up recently when two former stagehands filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging they were fired for union activities."
In response to the global boycott, I have been hearing about the arguments from my friend John, who was with Blue Man in NYC for a few years, and another who is with the show in Canada, both of which have recently left. I know in Canada there have been disputes for a while now about the company’s refusal to negotiate about pay, benefits and working conditions. So, due to the circumstances many of the crew members have since decided to leave. You would think that a production the size of Blue Man would be more perceptive to the idea of cooperating with unions, without whom their shows would not be possible, and it is unfortunate that employees now have to take into account how exercising their rights could effect their employment.
In response to the global boycott, I have been hearing about the arguments from my friend John, who was with Blue Man in NYC for a few years, and another who is with the show in Canada, both of which have recently left. I know in Canada there have been disputes for a while now about the company’s refusal to negotiate about pay, benefits and working conditions. So, due to the circumstances many of the crew members have since decided to leave. You would think that a production the size of Blue Man would be more perceptive to the idea of cooperating with unions, without whom their shows would not be possible, and it is unfortunate that employees now have to take into account how exercising their rights could effect their employment.
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