Next week is the kids and my annual NY Thanksgiving pilgrimage (pun intended). The tradition now is to go to a Broadway show during the trip. Last year it was “The Wedding Singer”. This year it’s “Legally Blonde” – maybe. We’re anxiously watching the strike by Local One, I.A.T.S.E. , the stagehands union.
Let’s look at both sides of the issue.
According to I.A.T.S.E:
Theatre owners and producers are demanding a 38 % cut in our jobs and wages. They have built a $20 million fund to be used against us from the sale of theatre tickets to the public.
Broadway is a billion dollar a year industry and has never been more profitable than now.
Cuts in our jobs and wages will never result in a cut in ticket prices to benefit the public, but only an increase in the profits for producers.
Unlike the producers, we are not fighting for our second or third homes; we are fighting to keep the one that we have.
Okay, a 38% cut in wages sounds like a reason to strike.
Let’s hear from the Broadway Producers:
It takes a few minutes to move a piano, but we are forced to pay stagehands for four hours of work. As a result, over the course of a year, many stagehands add another $50,000 dollars to their six figure salaries from moving pianos or mopping floors.
Head Electricians earn a six figure salary, but their contract only permits them to work a total of 80 minutes a week.
A flyman making $160,000 annually in salary and benefits is required for all productions, even when there is no fly cue in the production and no flyman is needed.
Ouch to Local 1. If you’re reading the war of words, I’d say that the producers won this round.