Stagehands Broadway Strike Is First in 121 Years
As Producers Start to Force Work-Rule Changes

Responding to Broadway producers’ insistence on cuts in staffing and changes in long-standing work rules, Stagehands Local 1 of New York City struck 27 theatrical shows after a series of negotiating sessions failed to produce a contract to replace the one that had expired in July. This was the first time that the union had shut down Broadway theaters since it was founded 121 years ago.

The strike hit Broadway at the start of the holiday season when tens of thousands of tourists had come to New York to enjoy its many theatrical attractions. As the work stoppage moved into its third day with no negotiations scheduled, hotels, restaurants, bars, souvenir shops and many Midtown stores began to feel the loss of business. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was still trying to get the producers and the union to agree on a mediator in the hope of settling the dispute.

The employer group, the League of American Theaters and Producers, had been enjoying profitable years: its shows had sold 12 million tickets at escalating prices per ticket. In the 2006-7 Broadway season, box office receipts totaled 938.5 million dollars, according to Variety, the trade magazine. So why were the producers taking such a hard line against their employees? Probably because they felt they could win concessions on work rules as the price of agreeing to a union contract.

So the producers were surprised when on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 10, picket lines appeared before the struck theaters, with members from other unions marching in solidarity with the stagehands. Actors Equity Association and the Musicians Union announced their support of the strike.

Pickets were handing out leaflets to Broadway pedestrians which said, in part: “Cuts in our jobs and wages will never result in a cut in ticket prices to benefit the public, but only an increase in profits for the producers.”

Theatergoers can still attend eight shows whose producers are not parties in the dispute and will continue with their performance schedules. They include Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein, Pygmalion and Cymbelin.

Are Producers Short-Sighted as Well as Greedy About Work Rules?

The core of the dispute has been mainly about the work rules that are a part of the written contract which stipulates how many stagehands are to be assigned to a starting show and what kind of tasks they can perform.

There is no question about the essential role of stagehands in a theatrical performance‹or saving it from a possible disaster. The 350 union stagehands who work in Broadway theaters build and maintain scenery, install and operate lighting and sound equipment and handle other tasks that require the attention of professionals. They must be ready, at a moment’s notice, to rectify a scenery problem, restore failing light and sound systems and see that the curtains rise and fall properly. They also have a “stand-by” function: to see that anything that goes wrong is quickly rectified. They protect the audience and the actors from possible hazards.

There can be times when the stagehands are available, but not performing tasks. In the eyes of the producers, they are “doing nothing,” It is this “wasted time” that producers would like to capture and exploit to lower their labor costs. (We don’t complain about the amount of stand-by time that firefighters have as long as they are ready and able to put out fires.)

The wages of top stagehands on popular shows can run as high as $1,600 with overtime and benefits, but others can earn as little as $25,000 over the year if their shows have a short run or close quickly. No one is certain how long the strike will last, but it can be over sooner if the producers return to the bargaining table with a more conciliatory attitude.

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