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Thursday, October 23, 2025
AFM Local 802 Prepared to 'Strike Immediately' If Contract Isn't Reached By Thursday
www.broadwayworld.com: AFM Local 802, the union representing Broadway musicians, has released a statement from Local 802 President Bob Suttmann, noting that they are prepared to strike immediately if a new contract isn't reached by Thursday.
2 comments:
Eva L
said...
The fact that 98% of the union's members voted for a strike is pretty telling. All of those musicians deserve to feel financially secure and safe in their occupations and it’s honestly really messed up that the Broadway League isn’t seeing that now. It’s also surprising that rather than reaching a deal and negotiating with Local 802, they are willing to have so many of the most popular and influential shows close. As I am writing this, they decided not to strike after reaching a last minute deal, which I think is good as long as the deal truly benefits the musicians and wasn’t a rushed compromise to avoid the strike. Overall, I am glad that Broadway was able to continue to run but disappointed that Broadway League was so hesitant to get better contracts for the musicians. The rights of musicians (or artists in general) should never be a debate.
As they should. The point of a union is to go on strike if you don’t have a contract that meets the working people's needs. I think this headline is kind of hilarious because it makes it sound like “oh they’re prepared to strike immediately if they’re contract doesn’t work” like yeah they should be prepared to strike. It's a great thing that they are actually prepared to take action together. I’m glad that they are at a place where they can go on strike to try and get their working rights better. Sometimes it’s really a difficult decision whether you need to go on strike or not because people aren’t actually prepared for what a strike might bring to them individually as far as economically so I think it’s really great that they are able to confidently say that they are ready to strike if their needs are not met.
2 comments:
The fact that 98% of the union's members voted for a strike is pretty telling. All of those musicians deserve to feel financially secure and safe in their occupations and it’s honestly really messed up that the Broadway League isn’t seeing that now. It’s also surprising that rather than reaching a deal and negotiating with Local 802, they are willing to have so many of the most popular and influential shows close. As I am writing this, they decided not to strike after reaching a last minute deal, which I think is good as long as the deal truly benefits the musicians and wasn’t a rushed compromise to avoid the strike. Overall, I am glad that Broadway was able to continue to run but disappointed that Broadway League was so hesitant to get better contracts for the musicians. The rights of musicians (or artists in general) should never be a debate.
As they should. The point of a union is to go on strike if you don’t have a contract that meets the working people's needs. I think this headline is kind of hilarious because it makes it sound like “oh they’re prepared to strike immediately if they’re contract doesn’t work” like yeah they should be prepared to strike. It's a great thing that they are actually prepared to take action together. I’m glad that they are at a place where they can go on strike to try and get their working rights better. Sometimes it’s really a difficult decision whether you need to go on strike or not because people aren’t actually prepared for what a strike might bring to them individually as far as economically so I think it’s really great that they are able to confidently say that they are ready to strike if their needs are not met.
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