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Friday, October 08, 2021
MAMMA MIA! Resumes Performance At North Shore Following IATSE Local 11 Strike
www.broadwayworld.com: BroadwayWorld has learned that performances of MAMMA MIA! will resume tonight, October 7th, 2021, following last night's IATSE strike which caused the evening's performance to be cancelled.
5 comments:
Victor Gutierrez
said...
Hey look at that, strikes work! I personally never joined local 11 but its all generational stagehands from Southie and most of the work was outside the city, but nonetheless I am very happy that they are getting what they deserve and that the rather rude Bill Hanney is eating his words and forcing to pay workers a comparable wage. I do appreciate the shade of BroadwayWorld listing the accolades of North Shore Music Theater at the end of article. Usually, when an article lists your accomplishments it’s a good thing. However, when you are trying to underpay your workers and claiming to be a small suburban regional theater, the fact that you held the world premier of a Tony-award wining musical kind of undercuts the vibe you are going for. Here is hoping that all of the other strikes coming down the pipeline from the TV/film studios to the Kennedy Center to wherever else workers decide to stand up for themselves are as successful.
Nothing more powerful than a strike to make the big man give you the pay you deserve. Stagehands both formed a union then went on strike as soon as it was created to get their well-deserved pay. 3.7 million dollars in grants are not intended to line the pockets of venue owners, but rather to keep the people that are usually employed well paid and on staff. North Shore Music Theatre did not do this, and they got what they deserved for it. If you mess around you find out, and boy did they. I am very excited that union action is being covered more in this country. Now more than ever, workers are realizing that they are worth their labor and that people must be well compensated for working amidst a pandemic. While individuals are used to negotiations with employers for more money or benefits, a union is much more powerful in getting those than any one worker is, and the union is a constant advocate for its members. The theatre industry has been unionized for a while, but it’s now coming for places it wasn’t for the benefit of all.
It's amazing what happens when people who are underpaid realize that they have so much power when they just refuse to do the work that would make the show stop without them. The reasoning for this strike was absolutely founded and I am glad they realized that they should strike. I'm also glad that the other technicians and people on the show backed up this strike and stood by them, there is strength in numbers! I appreciate that it seems that the larger IATSE strike has brought to light recently the strength that a strike can have and what people should be fighting for and the reason that they are in the union in the first place. Overall, I'm glad that they had this strike, I'm glad that the strike worked, and I'm glad they got what they well deserve!
I love that this strike worked for these workers and they are going to get paid more. I really do think this larger IATSE strike in Hollywood is empowering people to reassess their needs from their employer and fight for them, which is great. I am hoping we start to see more strike and more negotiations that lead to better working conditions in the theatre and entertainment industries. And I think that it might actually happen, looking at how many of these articles this week and last are about the strike and other locals striking across the country either in solidarity or with their own grievances. And I very much agree with Victor that for North Shore Music Theater to call themselves a small suburban theatre and have so many patrons a year and have produced premiers of Tony winning shows, just so they can pay their people less feels so slimy. Also them saying they pay on par with other theatres is not the point, the problem is bigger and people need to be paid more all around.
Wow, it's surprising how similar this situation feels to the one about the Kennedy Center strike--theatre receives extra funding during the pandemic, theatre doesn't use it to pay its workers. Or maybe it's not surprising at all if it continues to happen. I'm glad to see this particular strike happened effectively, and I think part of it is due to the fact that it was organized and specific to this one theatre. Organizing a nationwide strike across the multiple different industries IATSE works for seems like an enormous feat (and from what I understand, that's not exactly how it would work either). I wonder if the theatre saw the strike coming, and if they were warned, if they chose to take it seriously. Regardless, I hope this event prompts theatres to make equitable changes before a strike even needs to happen. I also hope audience members or even donors of the theatre take some time to consider why this happened and gain some awareness.
5 comments:
Hey look at that, strikes work! I personally never joined local 11 but its all generational stagehands from Southie and most of the work was outside the city, but nonetheless I am very happy that they are getting what they deserve and that the rather rude Bill Hanney is eating his words and forcing to pay workers a comparable wage. I do appreciate the shade of BroadwayWorld listing the accolades of North Shore Music Theater at the end of article. Usually, when an article lists your accomplishments it’s a good thing. However, when you are trying to underpay your workers and claiming to be a small suburban regional theater, the fact that you held the world premier of a Tony-award wining musical kind of undercuts the vibe you are going for. Here is hoping that all of the other strikes coming down the pipeline from the TV/film studios to the Kennedy Center to wherever else workers decide to stand up for themselves are as successful.
Nothing more powerful than a strike to make the big man give you the pay you deserve. Stagehands both formed a union then went on strike as soon as it was created to get their well-deserved pay. 3.7 million dollars in grants are not intended to line the pockets of venue owners, but rather to keep the people that are usually employed well paid and on staff. North Shore Music Theatre did not do this, and they got what they deserved for it. If you mess around you find out, and boy did they. I am very excited that union action is being covered more in this country. Now more than ever, workers are realizing that they are worth their labor and that people must be well compensated for working amidst a pandemic. While individuals are used to negotiations with employers for more money or benefits, a union is much more powerful in getting those than any one worker is, and the union is a constant advocate for its members. The theatre industry has been unionized for a while, but it’s now coming for places it wasn’t for the benefit of all.
It's amazing what happens when people who are underpaid realize that they have so much power when they just refuse to do the work that would make the show stop without them. The reasoning for this strike was absolutely founded and I am glad they realized that they should strike. I'm also glad that the other technicians and people on the show backed up this strike and stood by them, there is strength in numbers! I appreciate that it seems that the larger IATSE strike has brought to light recently the strength that a strike can have and what people should be fighting for and the reason that they are in the union in the first place. Overall, I'm glad that they had this strike, I'm glad that the strike worked, and I'm glad they got what they well deserve!
I love that this strike worked for these workers and they are going to get paid more. I really do think this larger IATSE strike in Hollywood is empowering people to reassess their needs from their employer and fight for them, which is great. I am hoping we start to see more strike and more negotiations that lead to better working conditions in the theatre and entertainment industries. And I think that it might actually happen, looking at how many of these articles this week and last are about the strike and other locals striking across the country either in solidarity or with their own grievances. And I very much agree with Victor that for North Shore Music Theater to call themselves a small suburban theatre and have so many patrons a year and have produced premiers of Tony winning shows, just so they can pay their people less feels so slimy. Also them saying they pay on par with other theatres is not the point, the problem is bigger and people need to be paid more all around.
Wow, it's surprising how similar this situation feels to the one about the Kennedy Center strike--theatre receives extra funding during the pandemic, theatre doesn't use it to pay its workers. Or maybe it's not surprising at all if it continues to happen. I'm glad to see this particular strike happened effectively, and I think part of it is due to the fact that it was organized and specific to this one theatre. Organizing a nationwide strike across the multiple different industries IATSE works for seems like an enormous feat (and from what I understand, that's not exactly how it would work either). I wonder if the theatre saw the strike coming, and if they were warned, if they chose to take it seriously. Regardless, I hope this event prompts theatres to make equitable changes before a strike even needs to happen. I also hope audience members or even donors of the theatre take some time to consider why this happened and gain some awareness.
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