NBC 7 San Diego: The convention and trade show industry is blaming a billion-dollar loss nationwide on coronavirus fears pushing organizers to cancel or postpone huge events across the country.
The cancellations are taking their toll on the members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122 in San Diego, plus those wanting to join.
4 comments:
This is such a terrible thing to happen to both the stagehand union and Actors’ Equity. When CMU announced that we would be home for the semester, I thought to myself, I guess I need to go work on some shows and maybe hang some electrics. Then I remembered that there are not any shows that will be happening for a while. It really is such a horrible situation for union members that rely on these gigs to live. I am lucky because I’m still in school and can rely on my parents for some aid, but this is all some of these people have. I read that Actors’ Equity has sent out memos to the federal government to try to secure some unemployment funding for their members and I would assume that IATSE has done the same. At the rate our government is handling this pandemic, I do not really see this funding on the list of top priorities for them which is so unfortunate. We need a government that believes in science and would have started preparing for something like this weeks ago when it started to break out around the world. I hope these union workers get the funding that they deserve.
It must be extremely terrifying to start hearing that people are recommending that members of your team or industry should start getting unemployment insurance. When shows started to be canceled the concept of being out of work became real for many people. As more and more shows were canceled it became even more and more real. Hearing that you should start looking into unemployment insurance, that probably made it about as real as it could be. I can not imagine what many local stand hands are fearing at this moment. While I am primarily a student, I do work outside of school to make some money for food and other spending. While it may be a blessing and a curse, I am at least lucky that my job is in EMS and Fire, two services that can not shut down in times like these. All we can do is be more careful. Luckily, the virus has yet to put me out of a job, but I still feel for everyone that it is.
I am glad there is an article in the news about how all of these canceled shows and events affect the stage crew because I think everyone knows this is affecting performers but fewer people know how many people work backstage that are now out of a job because of this. I am so happy with all of the support I have seen going around for the artists and stage crew in the Seattle area. There are a lot of Facebook groups dedicated to people who need odd jobs done or help with child care who are specifically looking to hire theatre artists and stage crew members without a job right now. There have also been so many support funds and fundraising efforts to help support theatres that needed to close and the people who are left without a job. I hope this kind of support can continue through all of this but I know the economy is hurting too so I am not sure but it does make me happy to see this kind of support for artists.
Like Annika said, it’s good to see the recognition that there are so many crew members behind that are also losing their jobs and getting hurt by the events going on, and that it’s not just actors and performers that are getting their lives turned upside down by this. It’s hard not getting any work and floating in a limbo for an indefinite amount of time. When I heard that CMU was closing campus for the rest of the year I thought that maybe I’d be able to get work and earn some money before the summer; but that’s not happening now that everything is shutting down. Something else that was shocking to read was that IATSE suggested getting unemployment insurance. It must be really jarring to have to accept that you won’t be able to get work and need to apply for unemployment. I hope the government can be active enough in this situation so that everyone can get back to working and living normal lives sooner than later.
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