Sunday, October 02, 2011
Striking Philly Stagehands End Daylong Strike
NPR: Theater stagehands and other workers at three Philadelphia venues ended a daylong strike Saturday, announcing a one-week cooling-off period to allow for more talks and for Sunday events — including a production of the opera "Carmen" — to go on as planned. Members of the local chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees went on strike after their contract expired at midnight Friday and bargaining talks with the Kimmel Center failed to produce a new deal. The contract covers about 1,000 stagehands, ushers, wardrobe workers and box office staff at the Kimmel Center, the Merriam Theater and the Academy of Music.
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7 comments:
The last several years have been very difficult economically so I understand the hesitancy to raise wages. However, the demands for a safer work environment should be looked at. This doesn't always cost more money and would be a good future investment for their company. The other thing that became apparent from this article is that the Union does not want to keep art from being produced. They understand the repercussions of their actions and are trying to work with the company. I hope the same is true on the reverse.
I wonder how much of this we will continue to see out of Philadelphia and other cities. The Kimmel Center has been hurting for years, rumor has it that it's been in the red since they opened their doors 10 years ago. The Orchestra declaring bankruptcy can't help. I'm not saying that the arts are dead in Philly, that is certainly not the case. (Bankruptcy is a way of getting yourself out of the hole, not nailing the coffin lid shut.) Regardless, arts funding is an issue. There's not enough money to go around which is a real problem for the Kimmel Center. Their tennants can't pay the rent and they have to take on labor costs. I think this is going to be a real big problem considering that cost of living is always rising. There's almost two opposing line graphs here: demand for income is rising while money in the arts is declining. That doesn't look good for both parties involved. I'm not sure what the solution is to satisfy both a big arts house and the unions demands but I'm afraid we'll see more of this.
I think that the stagehands are right for holding out for better wages, especially since they currently would be operating under an expired contract. While I don't think that the Kimmel Center is evil and underpaying employers, and it clearly is not doing great economically, it seems like what we have here is the mentality that it doesn't hurt to ask. The contracts have expired, a new one hasn't been agreed on yet, it seems like the perfect time to strike and ask for the things they've been pushing for for years. I'm curious to see how this works out and whether the Kimmel Center can stay afloat if it agrees to the higher demands of the workers.
I have great respect for these stagehands. They have every right to be petitioning for better wages, benefits, and safety standards. The fact that they are adapting their protest so that the city's arts events can continue on shows that these stagehands are honest, understanding people who care for the arts and the community, but still have basic personal needs that can't be ignored. This seems to be a very mature and reasonable way to bring up their concerns. It is sad to hear that the Kimmel Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra are in such bad shape. It makes sense for the Kimmel to be hesitant to spend more money to please their Union members, but at the same time I'm sure the Union members are nervous for their job stability and could use the extra cash. This just goes to show that the arts are not exempt from being affected by the challenges of the real world, whether we like it or not.
I don't know.... I'm sure Matt is right about the rumors around the Kimmel center. But these three venues can't possible employ 1,000 stagehands. Maybe most of those just do occasional calls at the venues. If the Kimmel is going under, Local 8 putting the squeeze on them for more resources isn't exactly going to help the problem. Frankly, union guys get good money. I'm not opposed to them asking for money, as a principle, but it's sort of like, look, if the organization is floundering, if their own staff haven't gotten raises in compensation in two years, if they've been laying off people, reducing programming, it's not like they're pocketing all of the money. They're hurting too. These Local 8 guys are getting good money. Many people in the city support themselves from non-union work with a fraction of the pay...
I think a one day strike is an interesting tactic. It doesn't breed the resentment that a long-running strike or lockout would almost certainly do, but it still makes a very visible point, and even a notable economic impact. Choosing a Saturday means that it would not go unnoticed by theatregoers, or producers, and also that the media would be more likely to notice the story. Then, they are in a stronger bargaining position where they are negotiating in good faith (not continuously striking) while bolstering the strength of the threat of another strike, which could be longer. Hopefully this allows them to exert their strength without permanently straining the perception of their local.
While I am all for workers rights and a fairer working environment, there are times where it seems that a request for increased pay comes at exactly the worst time to ask for it. While the large entertainment hubs have managed to weather the constantly shifting storm that is the economy these days, I can believe that the large venues in places like Philly could actually be facing enough of a financial crunch that meeting requests for increased wages, while not something they want to do normally, may be beyond the scope of what they can realistically afford to do whether or not they want to.
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