As I write this the stagehands union and the League of American Theatres and Producers are still at lager heads over the terms of a new contract. The two parties have agreed to resume talks so I hope that as you’re reading this the strike has already been settled.
I don’t have any detailed information to pass along. The information that I’m receiving is coming from my union, the Actors Equity Association. I don’t feel it is appropriate to dispense to the public information that is meant only for the eyes of the union members.
What I can say is that it’s unfortunate that the events of the negotiations have come to this boiling point. What most people don’t know is that contract talks have been going on since July of this year. Now here we are in the holiday season and no matter what the outcome of the strike/negotiations there are bound to be long lasting repercussions and animosity over how the events transpired.
This strike has affected thousands of lives from everyone who works on Broadway to the numerous fans who may have come for an once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York only to see it turn into a monumental disappointment.
I was working on Broadway during the musicians strike in 2003. That strike lasted only four days but it was more than enough time to see the disappointment on the faces of the bewildered theatre-goers and to hear the stories of cross-country trips and life-long dreams of seeing a Broadway show.
It’s difficult to try to shed light on the business side of theatre in a situation like that. But this once-in-a-lifetime event for most people is a livelihood for the professionals involved. Ask yourself how you would react if your boss, while enjoying record profits from his/her business, asked you to take a pay cut and wanted to skirt safety procedures in order to save money?
Now that we are in week three of the strike what is quite apparent is that there will be no winners when this whole mess finally comes to pass, only losers: lost wages, lost shows, lost dreams and a lost faith in the magic of Broadway.
