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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Stagehands union pickets Friday night
News - The Times-Tribune: Members of the union that represents stagehands who work at the Scranton Cultural Center picketed Friday night before a showing of “A Christmas Story: The Musical.”
2 comments:
BinhAn Nguyen
said...
It is easy to ignore the wellbeing of stagehands since they are behind the scenes and are not directly involved in the creative process. However, I think this is a stupid mindset because it is the stagehands that are essential to the smooth process of a production. They are the ones who make sure the actor makes their quick changes and the set piece makes its mark. There are so many people working backstage on a show so it essential that these people who disappear with the use of black clothing are not ignored. I think it was good for the picketers to go on strike in this situation so as to accelerate negotiations and make sure the contract is beneficial to all. Though it does seem like negotiations were progressing well, I think that engaging in civilized conflict is important so that the voices of the people being directly effected are heard, not just the top executives.
I am very surprised that this has not caused more of an uproar. It seems as though contract negotiations have been held up in a few different segments of the industry this past year. I know that the Equity contract had similar delays, and I cannot help but wonder why. These contracts are so crucial to the way people work. It is unfathomable that they should be expected to work without guidelines, either on their side or on their employer's. In any other industry, we would not see this kind of roadblock on people's ability to work. No respectable company would put off, for instance, someone's inflation raise until 6 months after it was supposed to be added. Theatre is always evolving. We cannot expect people to operate under assumptions that are 6 months overdue. There are safety concerns, livelihood issues, and many other potential complications that come with waiting too long to update a contract. These people deserve written agreements. We should not expect anyone to work without them.
2 comments:
It is easy to ignore the wellbeing of stagehands since they are behind the scenes and are not directly involved in the creative process. However, I think this is a stupid mindset because it is the stagehands that are essential to the smooth process of a production. They are the ones who make sure the actor makes their quick changes and the set piece makes its mark. There are so many people working backstage on a show so it essential that these people who disappear with the use of black clothing are not ignored. I think it was good for the picketers to go on strike in this situation so as to accelerate negotiations and make sure the contract is beneficial to all. Though it does seem like negotiations were progressing well, I think that engaging in civilized conflict is important so that the voices of the people being directly effected are heard, not just the top executives.
I am very surprised that this has not caused more of an uproar. It seems as though contract negotiations have been held up in a few different segments of the industry this past year. I know that the Equity contract had similar delays, and I cannot help but wonder why. These contracts are so crucial to the way people work. It is unfathomable that they should be expected to work without guidelines, either on their side or on their employer's. In any other industry, we would not see this kind of roadblock on people's ability to work. No respectable company would put off, for instance, someone's inflation raise until 6 months after it was supposed to be added. Theatre is always evolving. We cannot expect people to operate under assumptions that are 6 months overdue. There are safety concerns, livelihood issues, and many other potential complications that come with waiting too long to update a contract. These people deserve written agreements. We should not expect anyone to work without them.
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