Sunday, September 23, 2007
Broadway strike a possibility
Variety.com: "Hollywood isn't the only town facing a potential work stoppage. Broadway also might come to a halt this fall, once talks between the Broadway stagehands' union, Local One, and the producers' union, the League of American Theaters and Producers, hit a producers-appointed deadline at the end of the month."
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This article did not give too many details about the negotiations, probably because they didn't have the details, but it is hard to tell who is being the problem here. I can't say I am 100% certain how much a stagehand makes, but I believe that it is a fairly good amount of money, so hopefully the producers will be able to offer up enough money to keep the stagehands happy, which may not be that much more. They need to keep the stagehands happy during the negotiation process, though, which they don't really seem to be doing.
producers will always bitch that they're not making enough money, and stagehands will RIGHTFULLY bitch that they're not making enough money. unfortunately, the producers have the money, therefore they have the power. simple as that. the stagehands can strike, they probably won't, but they can. Will it do anything? Maybe they'll increase the wages. The problem is that in the theatre biz, there are thousands of people fighting for the same 10 jobs, so if one person doesn't want to do it for a certain wage, there will always be an underling who would be more than happy to work for that garbage pay. painful, but true. same with acting. we're a dime a dozen.
The industry has too many people for the same job, too much service supply for the small demands. That, I guess, would explain the producers' actions toward the stagehands. These are very touchy subject, because increasing the minimum wage (as we know for fact) or providing more jobs will not solve the long-term problems they're dealing with. Something needs to be done during the negotiation, and preferably before we graduate and dive into the real world, otherwise, it will only create more problems for us to solve.
It seems that from the article's attitude, the producers are quite capable of offering a raise in salary, which is not surprising at all. However, looking at past negotiations, it's unfortunate to believe that the stagehands will not be satisfied. I would hope the producers can perceive that the success of their fall season is the most important priority. So if that means lifting wages and creating a smaller gross income, so be it. Easier said than done.
Its interesting that both sides are willing to strike/lock-out, its just a matter of who does it first, and therefore is calling the shots. I can understand how the deadline set by the producers is a really bold and pushy move, showing their hand, and not seeming afraid to do so. That move in itself will cause the stagehands to hold out longer, even if to just show that they can, and that they too are not afraid. The install issue is one that might be a bit out-dated, but its intended to protect people, and so the union has good reason to protect this rule.
Well that sucks. It seems as though the producers are getting a bit greedy in the past few years. You can pay hundreds of dollars on a single seat to see a show in a sold out house of 6k, so pay the stagehands. Local one is right to ask for more, without the crew, there would be no show, no show, no money (actors will soon be replaced by cg animation). As they said, this is getting to be the best time for a strike, but a black Christmas on Broadway is no Christmas I want to see.
This seems t me t ba a classic case of the big bosses (producers) not appreciating the hard work of stagehands. The stagehands will rightfully ask for more money but the producers would not be doing their job if they just handed people more money when they asked for it. It is important that everyone gets paid what they deserve. I have confidence that there will be Broadway this holiday season.
This article is lacking in the real issues of the union negotiations. It seems as though both sides of the table are willing to have shows stop running and take the financial hit for what they want, but it’s not really clear what they want. If a large number of Broadway shows go dark it’s going to affect a lot more people then the two unions involved in the negotiations. Musicians, performers, brokers, merchandise sales people, house management, and even restaurants in the area will be affected by drastic loss of that market. There are a lot of people who work in Time Square who are praying at night for the stagehands and producers to come to an agreement before the 1st.
It always scares me to go on strike, on both sides of the table. Regardless, with theatre I feel like there to a certain degree has to be an understanding that there is so little money in theatre that there have to be other ways to resolve the issues. No one will survive for long if the stagehands strike for long.
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