Today, Local 802 has released a letter about the ordeal
Friday, February 22, 2019
Update: Local 802 Will File Grievance Against BE MORE CHILL for Reinstating Orchestrator in Pit
Today, Local 802 has released a letter about the ordeal
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2 comments:
This seems, at surface level, an incredibly tedious and relatively silly issue to be making into such a big deal that the Union is filing against an entire musical production. However, as artists and as musicians it can be incredibly difficult to find jobs if you are a newcomer to the scene. So many people end up making friends and friends call their friends when they have a new gig. In order to protect and create more opportunities for musicians this trivial sounding issue makes perfect sense. It may be just one extra position, but that one extra position helps. I wonder what was going on on the side of Be More Chill. Waiting to file the appropriate paperwork and hiring forms makes the whole deal sound a lot more shady that I think it ever was or was meant to be. They probably just liked the orchestrator and was hoping to save a bit of money or time by just making the guy they new the part that was a last minute inclusion. The article links a comment from Charlie, but not the production itself and I am curious...
This article makes me feel good about going into the industry as most likely a freelance stage manager. Every time I see an article showing how a different entertainment industry union exerting power, I am glad to know that I am going into an industry with strong unions. This article brings a great point up and a reminder that by using union members, the organization implicitly agrees to the union rules and that a union can’t fire someone. This brings up a sticky issue though because if the producers of Be More Chill didn’t comply and fire the person then the union is forcing one of their members to not work. However, the union member should have known to not take the job. The union rule of having two different people for a musician and orchestrator is smart. It is great to hear that the musicians’ union is under constant policy review. This means that the outdated rules can’t stay in place, which is important for protecting the workers to the best of the union’s ability.
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