Monday, October 22, 2007
B'way Stagehands Give Union Strike Authority
Backstage: "Rank-and-file members of the stagehands' union voted unanimously Sunday to give their leadership the authority to call a strike during negotiations with theatre owners, a move that brings much of Broadway to the brink of a shutdown. Although a strike is not imminent, the League of American Theatres and Producers strongly hinted in a news release that it would not be the one to initiate a work stoppage; combined with its announcement last week that it has declared an impasse and would begin to unilaterally implement portions of its final offer to the union, the league is almost daring Local One to walk off the job."
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3 comments:
The stagehands have a lot of leverage right now. Striking during the busy season could cause damage to a lot of businesses other than just Broadway. Pretty soon they will be able to get the producers to cave in. I can't say having never loaded in a show on Broadway but I hope the stagehands are right about needing all the man power still.
I think its really interesting how this entire process has gone from the producers having some leverage, threatening a lock out very early in the process, which seemed very bold, to the stagehands hold almost all the leverage threatening a strike. It appears now that the producers' early move to threaten the lock out was an attempt to make the union fold early so that even if they did have a lock out, it would only hurt the end of the summer season, instead of the busy holiday season, which the stagehands now threaten to destroy.
the stagehands clearly have the upper hand. the show cannot go on without them, therefore the producers are really at their mercy. The fact that the League is now trying to pin the blame for any strike on Local one is rediculous. It may be a good public relations move, but it doesn't do anything to help their side out in terms of bringing this to a close. What seems to be happening is the stagehands holding out and waiting for this compromise to be met as long as it takes, and are planning to stage a strike sometime before Thanksgiving, hitting them where it hurts most. Good for them. Sneaky, but good.
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