People's World: Union stage crew workers have spent the last 1,300 days fighting one of the largest live entertainment companies in the Midwest for a fair contract. Yet fair wages, health, and welfare benefits are still being denied to the workers who set the stage for highly lucrative live performances night after night.
3 comments:
It still makes me sad that the crew members in the theatre industry have to fight for their rights to a fair wage, healthcare, and basic rights when working in a theatre or on tour. Yes, there are contracts that guarantee this but more often than not these workers are not compensated appropriately for the time they put into the productions they work on. It’s interesting to hear how the pandemic affected stagehands not explicitly working in New York, and that in Columbus Ohio people realized the importance of union cards and made the change. With the presence of the union, stagehands are able to group together and fight for the rights that they deserve from the theatre industry and employers. With having a union, the stagehands are able to freelance and still know that they will be compensated appropriately. I hope that Local 12 soon gets the answers they want from their negotiations and that they start to work with healthcare coverage and a livable wage.
This is so disappointing that stage crew workers have to continuously fight for so long for basic workers’ rights. They should not have to fight so hard just to get health care benefits and fair wages. Stage crew workers are the ones that make these incredible live events happen, and they deserve to be fairly compensated for their hard work. If these workers are unable to get a wage that is enough to live off of, they will no longer be able to work on these events. Not to mention, if the workers get hurt, they will be unable to afford to pay any of their medical bills, leaving them injured and unable to work. People like these stage crew workers that are unionizing and fighter for better wages and benefits are brave and doing the right thing to make working on these live events better for workers in the future. It’s upsetting how long it takes for things like this to be fixed, but we need strong and patient people in order to make real change.
Despite the high incomes generated by the live theater industry, it is heartbreaking to see workers with exceptional and unique skills being denied basic rights like health insurance and fair wages. This phenomenon demonstrates the underestimation of the importance that can be placed on the workforce, these behind-the-scenes workers who are crucial to the success of this industry. The very serious injury of a colleague mentioned in the article illustrates the importance of ensuring a safe working environment for these workers. In fact, stage manager is one of the jobs behind the scenes. Through my experience, I often feel that many rights and interests of stage manager cannot be guaranteed. Although many of the stage manager safeguards are listed in the AEA rules. However, due to the flexible nature of stage management, there are many gray areas of hidden extra work. I think it is necessary to have a fair and equitable labor market, no matter what industry we are in, no matter what kind of work we do.
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