Friday, November 30, 2007

Local 51 open house and holiday wish list

Local 51 invites all members and their families to join us Monday, December 10th for our annual Open House from 11 am to 5 pm at the Local 51 meeting hall, 3030 North Freeway. . There will be food, beverages and good company for all to enjoy. Leave your wishes for the holiday season on the comments page and try to stay within the spirit of 'Good Will to Men' and women... We wish for each member to be who they need to be without harming each other or themselves. Sappy, yes, sincere too.

Comings and Goings


TUTS continues loading in 'A Wonderful Life'
Houston Ballet 'Jubilee of Dance' and then the Nutcracker returns
Houston Symphony 'Romeo and Juliet' with Evelyn Glennie
The Grand has 'A Tuna Christmas'

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Stagehands End Walkout on Broadway


By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON of the New York Times

Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Published: November 29, 2007

The league representing Broadway’s theater owners and producers and the union representing its stagehands announced a settlement last night, bringing to an end a strike that had shuttered most of Broadway for 19 days, disrupted the plans of thousands of theatergoers and cost the city tens of millions of dollars in lost revenues.
The accord ended the second strike on Broadway in five years but the longest since a 25-day musicians’ strike in 1975. A musicians’ strike in 2003 lasted just four days.

The announcement came around 10:30 last night, capping a third day of marathon negotiations, and was met by cheering stagehands, with nearly 100 gathering outside the law offices where the negotiations had been taking place.

Leaving around 10:45 p.m., Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the League of American Theaters and Producers, announced: “Performances begin tomorrow night.”

In a statement issued later, she said, “the contract is a good compromise that serves our industry.”

About five minutes after Ms. St. Martin left the building, senior union officials, including James J. Claffey Jr., the president of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the stagehands’ union, came outside to louder applause, holding their fingers in the air to represent Local 1.

“You represented yourselves and your families and your union proud,” Mr. Claffey said to the stagehands who had gathered. The membership of the union is scheduled to vote on the settlement in 10 days. Local 1 officials would not comment on the chances of ratification, but officials on the union negotiating committee seemed happy with the terms of the five-year contract.

“It’s equitable for everyone involved,” said Kevin McGarty, a business manager for Local 1. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a statement last night, called the agreement “great news not just for everyone who earns their living on or around Broadway, but for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits New York City.”

About 350 of the 2,200 active members of the union participated in the walkout, which began Nov. 10.

The strike, the first in the union’s 121-year history, darkened 31 theaters, shuttering 27 shows and one Duran Duran concert, which moved elsewhere. Eight shows remained open on Broadway in theaters that maintained separate contracts with the union, though a ninth — “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” — was reopened Friday after a judge granted an injunction forcing the theater to let the show run.

Broadway lost out on millions, posting ticket sales of $7.2 million for the two weeks that ended on Sunday. Last season, Broadway grossed $42 million for the two comparable weeks.

The city comptroller’s office reported that the strike was costing the city $2 million a day, which would mean almost $40 million in lost revenue over the two and a half weeks of the strike.

Many shows will resume performances tonight but it is up to the individual productions to decide if a day is enough to get back onstage. There are a variety of logistical obstacles to opening up a show that has been dark for two and a half weeks, from restarting complicated machinery to doing the dry cleaning, all of which may take longer than a day for some of the bigger shows.

At the center of this dispute were work rules in the stagehands’ contract that the producers’ league considered costly and inefficient. The league wanted changes to several rules, including those governing how many stagehands must come to work every day that a show is being loaded into a theater; minimum lengths of time for which stagehands can be called to work; and the kinds of tasks stagehands are allowed to perform during certain work calls.

From the beginning, Mr. Claffey said the union would be open to changes in return for benefits of equal value. But the league, pushed by a more aggressive generation of producers, was determined to cut labor costs.

For months the sides bargained, and some changes were made, if not the major ones the producers originally sought. And in the last few days, the negotiations came down to how much the union thought these changes were worth.

The sides met for three long days at the law offices of Proskauer Rose, the firm representing the league, where they calculated the value of each other’s offers and went back and forth in old-fashioned horse trading to arrive at a series of wage increases that both sides could live with.

Neither side released details of the settlement.

But among the changes the league was able to achieve, according to officials involved in the talks, was a daily minimum of 17 stagehands on the load-in, the lengthy and costly period when a production is loaded into a theater. In the recently expired contract, producers would set a number of stagehands needed for a load-in — say, 35 — and all of them would have to stay every day for the entirety of the load-in, an arrangement that producers said often left large groups of stagehands with nothing to do.

(Page 2 of 2)

The league was also able to gain an extra hour on the continuity call, the hour before or after a performance when stagehands perform duties related to that performance. In the old contract, any work that took longer than one hour required a minimum four-hour work call. In the tentative deal, stagehands can be called for two hours before a performance or for an hour before and after, though they would earn double for the hour after the show.

In return for these changes and others, union members would get yearly raises well above the 3.5 percent that the league had been offering.

The league was determined for these negotiations to be different from past talks, raising a $20 million fund to weather a work stoppage, declaring a deadline and floating the possibility that it would lock the stagehands out.

The talks, which were at times acrimonious, broke down in early October, with both sides presenting what they called final offers. On Oct. 12, the stagehands voted unanimously to give union officials authority to call a strike; four days later, the league announced it was imposing parts of its final offer on the stagehands, and the scene was set.

On Nov. 8, Thomas C. Short, the president of Local 1’s parent union, gave Local 1 strike authority and the next day he ordered the stagehands to walk out. The strike began at 10 a.m. on Nov. 10, a Saturday.

The mayor offered to provide a mediator and a neutral place to talk, an offer that the union repeatedly declined.

The latest round of talks came about after a series of back-channel conversations between league members and union officials. The two sides met until just before dawn on Monday, recessed until that evening and went for a second all-night session that ended after dawn on Tuesday. Then, after what union officials called a “rain delay,” the final day of talks began yesterday morning with the contentious financial issues still to be resolved.

Asked about the protracted length of the negotiations, Mr. McGarty said: “There were a lot of issues that had to be ironed out one at a time.”

The league seemed happy with the outcome, or at least happy that the strike was finally over. “Everyone was thrilled,” said Alecia Parker, an executive producer of the musical “Chicago” and a member of the league’s negotiating committee. “Everyone was shaking hands.”

THE LOCAL ONE BROADWAY STRIKE IS OVER

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
President James J. Claffey, Jr., Business Manager Kevin McGarty, Business Manager Michael Wekselblatt, Attorney and Brother Steve Spivak, Attorney James Murphy and the Local One Negotiating Committee have successfully completed the contract negotiation with the League of American Theatres and Producers.
The strike is over. Do not, I repeat, do not report for picket duty.
The Executive Board of Local One has ordered the picket lines to cease. If you receive a call to report to work, please do so.
The Local One Negotiating Committee is firmly behind the ratification of the contract.
Thank you all, Brothers and Sisters, for all the support and understanding during this historic time.
Fraternally,
Robert C. Score
Recording-Corresponding Secretary
T.P.U. Local One I.A.T.S.E.
320 West 46th Street
New York, New York 10036
212-333-2500 ext. 142
Fax: 212-586-2437
rscore@iatse-local1.org

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

LOCAL ONE BROADWAY STRIKE UPDATE Late Wednesday

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Please be advised that the article that appears in the New York Post today, Wednesday, November 28, under the byline of Mr. Michael Riedel is completely false, inaccurate, and incorrect. Please disregard the information contained in his column.

The Local One negotiating committee is meeting today at 10 AM as previously announced.

In Solidarity,

Robert C. Score
Recording-Corresponding Secretary

Broadway Talks Scheduled to Resume After Break



By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON of the New York Times

Photo by Sara Krulwich of the New York Times

Published: November 28, 2007

Negotiations are scheduled to resume this morning between the stagehands’ union and the league representing Broadway theater owners and producers after a one-day hiatus that was described by a union spokesman as a “rain delay.”

A member of the stagehands’ union, on strike for 17 days, arrived at the Broadway Theater yesterday to join the picket line.
After a 12-hour round of talks that began Monday night — just 12 hours after a 20-hour session that started Sunday morning — league and union officials left the bargaining table a little after daybreak, and both sides issued statements that the talks had ended without a deal.

But within hours, they announced that they would be coming back to the table for more negotiations today, the 19th day of a strike that has left 26 Broadway shows dark and cost the city tens of millions of dollars.

The league announced that all performances of shows affected by the strike had been canceled through matinees today.

While the talks are apparently in the endgame, it’s an endgame that could last for quite a while, said officials who are involved with the negotiations on both sides.

Discussions about wage increases are usually considered the final stages of a labor negotiation, but the gap between the sides that has existed all along is still very much there, the officials said.

The situation is fairly simple: The league wants changes to a number of work rules in the stagehands’ contract, including restrictions on rehearsal time and other nonperformance-related duties.

The union, Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, has agreed to many of the changes, or variations of them, and has set what it considers just compensation in wage increases and other areas for their agreeing to the rule changes. The league considers the union’s price tag unreasonable.

Tensions were apparently somewhat high in the talks, which have been taking place at the law offices of Proskauer Rose, the firm representing the league.

About 2 a.m. yesterday, a union official who was outside with other officials for a cigarette break got in a fistfight with a panhandler who was walking around 48th Street.

In the two and a half weeks of the strike, producers have lost out on millions, while stagehands — and the members of other Broadway unions, including actors, musicians, hair and makeup artists and ushers — have been getting by on strike pay, considerably less than what they would be making if they were at work.

Apathy and cynicism need not apply


Some of the posts have spoke of the hope for change, others of the futility of participating because of the lack of success in getting our leaders to lead. It is the duty of all members to be part of the process by voting, showing up for meetings, complaining to the elected officials, discussing the state of the Union, and generally being a living breathing representative of our trade. Don't get beaten down, don't settle for mediocrity, and don't stop pushing for a better Local. Nobody is going to give you anything that you don't earn. You won't get better at your trade unless you work at it, you won't get better conditions unless you fight for them and you won't get better officials unless you either vote for them or become one... All of our advances have been hard fought, what makes you think today is different?

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

LOCAL ONE BROADWAY STRIKE UPDATE

Please be advised that negotiations with The League of American Theatres and Producers broke off early this morning, Tuesday November 27th at 7:30 a.m. We have made progress and believe that we are closer to making a deal. Talks will resume tomorrow morning, Wednesday November 28th at 10:00 a.m.

Please consult the Local One Hotline at 646-459-1916 or the Local One web site for any additional updates.

The Local One Negotiating Committee remains committed to achieving a fair and equitable contract.

Thank you for your support and understanding.


New Hope, New Members


A number of our people, who have sat on the sideline, are getting ready to apply for membership. Some of the reasons for this range from 'it's about time' to optimism that things are going to change. Even if this election does not produce the results you wish for, it is important that all members stay connected. And if the 'official' web site is not to your liking, this one or another will be around so you can have your say.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Broadway Talks Resume After a 12-Hour Break



By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON of the New York Times

Published: November 27, 2007

The stagehands’ union and the league representing Broadway’s theater owners and producers resumed talks last night after a 12-hour break from a marathon session the day and night before.

As of 8:30 p.m., the two sides were still in negotiations at the Proskauer Rose law offices on 48th Street and Broadway. The firm represents the league.

The talks that began midmorning Sunday were the first by the two sides in a week. The session lasted nearly 20 hours, ending at daybreak. For some, that was a promising sign that an end was in sight to the 17-day stagehands’ strike, which has darkened most of Broadway.

But people involved in the talks said that while progress was being made, it was slow and incremental.

The two sides have come to an agreement on the rules that apply to the load-in, the costly and often lengthy period when productions are moved into theaters. But they are still bargaining over the rules governing rehearsals and other kinds of work calls for productions that are up and running. Wage increases, usually one of the final issues in a labor negotiation, have yet to be seriously discussed, people involved in the talks said.

The strike has cost the city $2 million a day in lost revenues, according to estimates by the city comptroller’s office, though the league says the figure is much higher. Twenty-six shows have been left dark.

Another, “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” reopened on Friday after a judge granted an injunction forcing the St. James Theater, where the show is playing, to let the show run.

Officials from the Jujamcyn theater chain, the owners of the St. James, appealed the decision and had initially sought to stay the injunction. But yesterday they told the producers of “The Grinch” that they would not seek a stay, and that the show could remain open for its entire scheduled run through the holidays.

Server down Blog late!

Our apologies for having this morning's post appearing so late. It seems our server had developed a problem and everything was in a queue until this evening.

Talks Resume Again in Broadway Strike

Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON of the New York Times

Published: November 26, 2007

Talks in the Broadway strike resumed yesterday between the league representing the theater owners and producers and the union representing the stagehands.

Around 8:30 p.m., Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for the union, emerged from the negotiations and said that both sides were working very hard and that it would probably be a long night. As of 5:30 a.m., in th 19th hour of negotiations, they were still meeting.

The talks to end the strike, which has left 26 theaters dark for 16 days, were being held at the law firm of Proskauer Rose.

Yesterday was the first time the two sides had held formal negotiations since talks broke down the night of Nov. 18. Shortly after those talks ended, the producers announced that all shows affected by the strike would stay dark through Thanksgiving week.

The city comptroller’s office has said that the strike, which began Nov. 10, costs the city $2 million a day, but officials from the League of American Theaters and Producers place the cost much higher. Last year, Broadway pulled in around $42 million in grosses over Thanksgiving Week and the week before.

Some of the main issues the two sides were bargaining over involved the rules governing shows that are up and running. The league and the union, Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, were close to a compromise last week on the rules that apply to stagehands during the load-in, the costly, lengthy period when a production is being set up.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

rumors and innuendos...


Seems like even our union elections have their slimy moments. There have been a few unsubstantiated rumors and a few distortions. Remember all of the candidates are pledging to serve the Local in some capacity rather than stand on the side line and complain.
If you have questions about something, go to the candidate and ask. Nothing like the truth to open one's eyes...

LOCAL ONE BROADWAY STRIKE UPDATE


Saturday, November 24, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Please be aware that a meeting has been scheduled with the League of American Theatres and Producers in regards to the contract negotiation for Sunday, November 25 th. The exact time and location will be determined shortly

Local One thanks all the community businesses and organizations for their unwavering support for all the Brothers and Sisters, family members and volunteers manning the picket lines

The Union has received letters of support from Local 2 IATSE, Local 4 IATSE, Local 16 IATSE, Local 19 IATSE, Local 751 IATSE, Local 251 IATSE, Local 340 IATSE, Local 534 IATSE, Local 600 IATSE, Local 784 IATSE, Local 927 IATSE, the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the McManus Midtown Democrats, the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the Stage Managers’ Association, NYS Senator Thomas Duane, the Ohel Foundation, the Association of Pennsylvania State College & University Faculties and many individuals from around the United States who strongly identify with our struggle to maintain middle class values and understand our concerns for the future of our families Corporate greed reaches far beyond the boardrooms of theatrical producers and theatre owners. The people of New York City and citizens throughout the United States have clearly demonstrated their support for Local One and have stated unequivocally that our struggle is their struggle.

The support from the members of Actors’ Equity Association and Local 802 American Federation of Musicians continues to be an inspiration to us all at Local One. The bonding of the three Unions is a clear example that unity brings with it a great of strength.

We also want to thank the following elected officials who have shown their support by joining the picket lines: NYS Senators Bill Perkins, Eric Schneiderman and Thomas Duane, NYS Assemblyperson Linda Rosenthal, City Council Members Robert Jackson and Eric Gioia. Their support is greatly appreciated.

In closing, the Union is standing strong, Brothers and Sisters. You, the rank and file, and the members of all your families generate that strength. The Union salutes you for your understanding, commitment and solidarity.

On behalf of the Local One Executive Board,

Robert C. Score
Recording-Corresponding Secretary

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Local 51 projects or How we learned to love the Art Car!


What would you like to see your local get involved in? More community service? More regional issues? Nothing? Give us your thoughts...

Friday, November 23, 2007

comings and goings


The Nutcracker marathon starts today.
Tori Amos at Jones Hall on Sunday.
King Solomon Lives at the Sarofim Theater
Gypsy at the Zilkha.
TUTS loads in on Monday.
Symphony back in Jones mid week.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

sol·i·dar·i·ty (sŏl'ĭ-dăr'ĭ-tē)


n.

A union of interests, purposes, or sympathies among members of a group; fellowship of responsibilities and interests: “A downtrodden class … will never be able to make an effective protest until it achieves solidarity” (H.G. Wells).

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Thankgiving and your Union Brothers



Look around and see if you can extend a helping hand to those of us who could use a kind word, a pat on the back or something even in making it through another day.
This is a perfect time to reflect on what we are grateful for and a better time to remember that all of us need help to make it work...
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Concerned Union Member.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A Little Late...


November 20, 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Please be advised that President James J. Claffey, Jr. has ordered the picket lines to come down at the St. James Theatre so that the production of “The Grinch” can proceed. Please be aware that the producer of the show, Mr. James Sanna of Running Subway Productions, has had no voice, no vote and no participation in any of the contract negotiations with the League of American Theatres and Producers. Mr. Sanna has had no input in trying to resolve the contract negotiations and because of that, President Claffey felt it was unfair for “The Grinch” to suffer.

The considerations to pull the picket lines were as follows:

  • Running Subway Productions is not a member of the League
  • Running Subway Productions did not participate in the $20 million League Mutual Assistance Fund
  • Running Subway Productions did not implement work rules upon the Local One crew
  • It is a holiday show with no opportunity to reschedule later in the year
  • The purchased tickets cannot be exchanged

“The Grinch” was simply not part of the equation to affect the outcome of the contract negotiations. Local One wishes, at this time, to show not only “The Grinch” some good will but the theatre going public as well.

Fraternally,

Robert C. Score
Recording-Corresponding Secretary

Monday, November 19, 2007

Galveston work roster


What are your thoughts on the recently passed proposal? Try and keep it civil and/ or constructive...

Offer a topic for the Blog


Calling all hands! Leave a topic for a blog and we will post it later today or tomorrow. The blog's life expectancy seems to be dwindling, since all the candidates promise to make the Local website more member friendly... Talk is cheap...

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The nominations are closed


Nominations are closed. We know who the next President will be, now it is time to choose who will make up the administration that will lead us for the next three years. The Local's web site does not reflect the final nominations, yet, but we are sure it will, in the next month or two...

Champs Again!



Congratulations to our hometown champs.
(photo courtesy of the Houston Chronicle)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Membership and Training


Got this photo through by way of three concerned members, who forwarded it and then re- forwarded it to our email.
Glad to see some of our junior members taking advantage of the opportunities to learn new skills.
This is the way we keep strong in our jurisdiction.

Friday, November 16, 2007

After a Week, Broadway Talks to Resume Tomorrow



Photo by James Estrin/The New York Times

The stagehands’ union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, picketing Thursday on West 44th Street.

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON New York Times

Published: November 16, 2007

Tomorrow, the stagehands’ strike will have reached the one-week mark, and those who make a living on Broadway and in its shadow are still teetering back and forth between fatigue and anxiety.

A list of some of the shows currently running that are recommended by Times theater critics.

But tomorrow is a big day. Local 1, the stagehands’ union, and the League of American Theaters and Producers are to sit down for talks at 10 a.m. It will be first round of negotiations since Nov. 8, and the pressure is rising.

Along with the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest and most lucrative of the year. In 2006, Broadway did $23.3 million in business that week.

The general sense around Broadway, as producers have been reporting their losses to the league, is that the past week was rough but not disastrous. The loss of another week of shows — and the Thanksgiving week at that — and the loss of another week of paychecks for the people working in the shows are another matter altogether.

For a few shows — like “Wicked,” “Jersey Boys” and “The Lion King” — a dark Thanksgiving week would mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost profits. But those shows have huge advance sales that help ease the blow.

Producers of shows, like “The Drowsy Chaperone,” that have less money in the bank would have to take a serious look at the numbers before deciding to reopen if the strike continues for two weeks or more.

Then there are shows that are strictly limited engagements, like “Cyrano de Bergerac,” which operate on budgets carefully calibrated to the length of the show’s run. Every no-show of “Cyrano” is probably an unrecoverable loss.

With all this at stake, two big hitters are flying in from the West Coast for tomorrow’s meeting. Robert W. Johnson, a top labor relations executive from Disney, which helped arrange this round of negotiations and is respected by officials on both sides, will be sitting with management, though Disney’s theatrical division is not a member of the league.

Thomas C. Short, the president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the parent of Local 1, will be sitting on the labor side of the table.

Most Broadway insiders refused to talk about the situation publicly, either because they were directed to do so by the league or one of the unions, or simply because they didn’t want to jinx the talks.

Meanwhile, the rank and file of Broadway is feeling the crunch. More than 800 actors, from the chorus girl to the Hollywood starlet, saw their salaries this week drop to $405, the strike payment given out by the Actors’ Equity Association. About 350 musicians are receiving loss-of-work pay from their union. Local 1 would not comment on what the 350 or so stagehands on the picket line were being paid, but it is not what they make while working.

There is another, scarier prospect if there is a long strike: the possibility that theatergoers may lose interest in Broadway. The week after the musicians’ strike on Broadway in 2003, which cost the industry an estimated $5 million, grosses on Broadway actually surpassed what they were in the week before the strike. That was a four-day work stoppage, though, and it was in March.

“Everybody in the industry was acutely aware that getting people back into theaters after the musicians’ strike was a key priority,” said Jed Bernstein, the executive director of the league at that time and now a producer. “The habit of Broadway theatergoing for New Yorkers and tourists is not something we wanted anybody to break.”

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Choices


All in all, all the candidates seem to be serious about being part of the body to run the Local for the next three years. We hope, at the next meeting, those that are not interested remove themselves from the nominations. This is to insure only those that are interested in working for the Union be considered. Everybody likes to kid around but the 'reluctant' candidate shtick gets a little old... So does the nominee for every position as well as everybody in the Local running for a position. So please be responsible in your choices.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

comings and goings...


Rent Loads in Friday and loads out Sunday
Houston Ballet load in starts Friday
Houston Symphony has sub concerts Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Kenny G with the Symphony on Friday

Union Meeting on Sunday
Final Nominations for Upcoming Elections

Update From Charlotte St. Martin Regarding Strike By Local One, IATSE Stagehands



Local One, IATSE, the stagehands union, has shut down Broadway. They left the negotiating table and abruptly went on the picket line. They refused to budge on nearly every issue, protecting wasteful, costly and indefensible rules that are embedded like dead weights in contracts so obscure and old that no one truly remembers how, when or why they were introduced. The union wants you to believe they are the victims, the little guys.

We have the highest regard and respect for our stagehands. But, they are not, as the Union leadership characterizes them, the typical "little guys" as far as compensation is concerned. Their "average annual earnings," in salary and benefits, is more than $150,000, with many stagehands earning more than $200,000.

*They are professionals and should be well paid, and will remain the best paid in this industry in the world. We simply don't want to be compelled to hire more workers than needed and pay them when there is no work for them to do.

For example:
# 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.
# We are required to keep the same number of workers loading in a show as hired on day one for the entire load-in process regardless of how many workers are subsequently needed.
# We have offered a significant raise in wages, but the union says there will be a cut in wages. The only explanation is that this would be the result of fewer people being paid for not working.

These issues can only be resolved at the bargaining table, not on the picket line. We remain prepared to meet 24/7 until we reach an acceptable agreement.

Charlotte St. Martin
Executive Director
The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The NY strike, the producers respond and Blog commentary

Broadway Producers Respond to Local One Strike

By Andrew Gans from Playbill News 11/10/2007
10 Nov 2007

Paul Libin, producing director for Jujamcyn Theaters.
photo by Aubrey Reuben

Several Broadway producers joined Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League of American Theatres and Producers, for a press conference Nov. 10 that was televised locally on NY1.

The producers spoke about their recent negotiations with Local One, the stagehands union, and the strike the union began earlier in the day. The producers said that negotiations between the two sides ended the evening of Nov. 8. "We were willing and able and anxious to negotiate on Friday," said St. Martin, "and [the union] responded by not showing up and not giving us the opportunity to do [so]."

Paul Libin, producing director for Jujamcyn Theaters, said the producers received no verbal or written notification from the union that the strike would commence Nov. 10. "The men came in to work at the St. James Theatre for their work call to set up for the 11 o'clock performance [of How the Grinch Stole Christmas], and at 10 o'clock in the morning, they walked out. No one told us they were going to do that until they did that."

Richard Frankel, a producer and general manager currently represented on Broadway by Young Frankenstein, addressed the issue of employing more union workers than the producers consider necessary, a practice that has been central to the contract negotiations. "There are several ways that the featherbedding manifests itself. It starts with the load-in of the show . . . We cannot hire the number of men we need, we have to hire the number of men [the Union tells] us to hire . . . The second thing is that men get paid exorbitant amounts of money for doing small pieces of work. The guy who mops the stage every day in the theatre, which takes about ten minutes, gets paid an extra $500 a week for doing that, even though he's doing it while he's on the clock and getting paid his regular wages."

Frankel added, "We have offered [the union] a three-and-a-half percent increase per year for five years, compounded, in exchange for reducing some of the most egregious practices, and they have refused to agree to any of them. It's not that we're not willing to pay them or we're not willing to give them substantial raises — we are — we just need some relief from these practices."

Shubert Organization president Phil Smith said that producers "want the right to be able to assign the employees to their work and reassign them when there is no work. We're not looking to fire them or get rid of them. We want to reassign them. The flyman is an easy example because if there's no work for them on the fly floor, as we've all said, they'll be reassigned something on the stage deck."

When asked how long she believed the strike will last, St. Martin answered, "As we've never had a strike with Local One, we don't know the answer to that. I have to believe that there will be pressure from the men to come back to work. We are ready to negotiate. We're sending that message as loud and clear as we can send it."

Although the union has not issued an official statement, picketers have been handing out flyers in front of several Broadway theatres. The flyer states, in part, "We truly regret that there is no show. . . 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."


BLOG COMMENTARY


The first thing that the producers all cite, as a extravagant expense, is the cost of labor. It doesn't matter that the designers have 'creative' freedom to run crews from morning to night. The labor costs, according to them, are unreasonable.

Many of the high labor costs of productions come from an unrealistic schedule. No stagehand in his or her right mind, wants to stay on force call for days at a time. No matter how many meal time naps we take, it doesn't take the place of a good night's sleep in one's own bed. In one of our local negotiations, the membership asked us to put more 'teeth' in the forced call language, not so that we might 'punish' the producers but, instead, guide them into making more realistic schedules. We really don't want to be in the theaters round the clock, but if we must, we want to be compensated about it.

If you were to go to any other place of employment and told them that there were going to work around the clock, for an indeterminable amount days and be paid only the base salary, how many people would continue to work there? And assuming they did say, how long would it take before exhaustion would start making the workplace an unsafe enviroment?

Would you want a brake job done on your car by someone who has been awake for 48 plus hours without a real meal or a real rest period?

Would you want someone working on a building, above your head, short handed and sleep deprived?

Yet, the public walks into theaters and concerts everyday and expect not to have objects falling on top of them or around them.

The producers want to reduce conditions that exist for compensation and safety. They say we are too expensive. The cost of the prime seats has increased tenfold, since they decided the scalpers were making money that belonged to them, but the production cost have stayed the same. The day of big stars carrying a show has been replace by nameless companies doing ensemble productions, so the cost of talent is reduced. The successful Broadway runs are going out as watered down, Non Equity Non Union shows, but the paying public pays 'professional' ticket prices. All to increase the profit line.

We need these company to be profitable for our business to continue but to claim we are responsible for the escalating costs of their show is to forget what part we play and the sacrifices we make to provide them with the professional technical crews they need to stay in business.

As far as 'featherbedding' the calls: Let's put just one fireman, one ambulance crew and one policeman on the street, and IF there is a need, we can call in as needed.

Just warms you heart, doesn't it?

Monday, November 12, 2007

President Claffey Ordering the One Day Removal of the Marriott Marquis Theatre Picket Line


Dear Brothers and Sisters of Actor’s Equity, Musicians Local 802, Operating Engineers Local 30, Teamsters Local 817, ATPAM, Local 306, Local 751, Local 764, Local 798, Local 829 and Local 32BJ:

Local One has just been made aware that a fund raiser for mentally challenged children was scheduled for tomorrow, November 12, 2007 in the Marriott Marquis Theatre. I have been contacted by that Organization, while The Nederlander Organization failed to ever do so.

Please be advised that I am removing the picket line at the Marriott Marquis Theatre so that this worthy event can carry on for the benefit of these children. After the load-out of the event, the picket line will resume along with all others.

In addition, Local One refuses to work under the expired collective bargaining agreement that we are exercising our legal rights against. We will work the event free of charge for the benefit of this Organization.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I again thank all the Unions for their support and understanding.

Respectfully and Fraternally,

James J. Claffey, Jr.
President
Local One, I.A.T.S.E.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Comings and goings...


Hobby Center Load Out Sunday
Doctor's Orchestra at the Cullen
Houston Symphony this afternoon and this evening at Jones Hall
HGO load out Monday

On the Writers and Stagehand Strike:
Nobody likes to strike. It is an action that has many consequences but the need is to keep the big picture in view. If we refuse to stand up for what is right, there will be nobody afraid to do what is wrong...

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Strike Shuts Down Most Broadway Shows

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON NY Times

Published: November 10, 2007

After a morning of confusion and anxiety during which members of Local One, the stagehands union, met and the producers waited to see what would happen, the stagehands strike has officially begun. Union members are holding picket signs in front of theaters and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the parent union of Local One, issued a statement confirming the walkout.

The stagehands took their picket signs to the wet sidewalks around 10 a.m. today, after a meeting of Local One, their union, at the Westin New York on West 43rd Street.

Twenty-seven Broadway shows, including “Wicked,” “Jersey Boys” and “The Lion King” were shuttered, starting with “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” which was to raise its curtain at 11 a.m.

Only eight shows, which are in theaters on a separate contract with the union, are still running: “Cymbeline,” “Mary Poppins,” “Mauritius,” “Pygmalion,” “The Ritz,” “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “Xanadu” and “Young Frankenstein.”

This is the second strike on Broadway in less than five years; the four-day musician walkout in 2003 was the first in almost three decades. But this is the first time Local One, a 121-year old union, has called a strike on Broadway.

Producers have made plans to give refunds to people who have bought tickets to shows that would be canceled. The first show to be shuttered by the walkout is “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” which begins performances at 11 a.m.

On Thursday, after two long days of negotiating with the League of American Theaters and Producers, the stagehands’ union was given the authority to strike by its parent union, the last step necessary before a strike can be called.

A session scheduled for Friday did not take place, and all around Broadway, producers, stagehands and just about everyone else in the industry were buzzing with theories about when or if the stagehands would walk out.

Local One officials had been expected to give a few days’ notice before a strike was called, though a note on the union’s Web site said that the parent union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, would advise Local One as to when the strike would begin.

The talks, which have been going on since before the union’s contract expired in July, broke down over the issue of work rules.

The contract with Local One has strict rules governing how many stagehands must be called to work, what kind of tasks they can perform and how long the work calls can be scheduled. League members say the rules inevitably lead to long periods of time when stagehands are on the clock with nothing to do.

The league has been pushing for more flexibility in deciding how many stagehands are needed for work and when they are needed, and they have offered a package of raises in return for that flexibility.

James J. Claffey, the president of the union, has said that the stagehands would be willing to make changes to the rules in return for benefits of equal value. But there is no way to tell how much work the stagehands would lose under the rules the producers are proposing, Mr. Claffey said, and so it would be difficult to gauge the value of what the league has been offering in return.

It is unclear how long a strike would last. League members have privately speculated that the pressure to get Broadway up and running again would keep the strike from going longer than three or four days. Union officials say that a strike could go for weeks if necessary; Mr. Claffey has already turned down an offer from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to help in the negotiations.

By taking a few cents out of every ticket over the past few years, the producers have amassed a $20 million fund to help weather a shutdown by covering fixed costs, like insurance. But for shows that do not have much in the way of advance sales — sales that could be refunded — a strike that went on for more than a few days could be fatal.

Local One, which has around 2,200 members, roughly a quarter of whom work on Broadway, has accumulated its own $4.1 million emergency stockpile. The union has set aside an additional $1 million to help members of the other unions that will be out of work during a strike.

Union officials also point out that there are more than a thousand non-Broadway jobs in Local One that stagehands can rotate into while they are not working on Broadway, but that rotation system has become more complicated now that the strike by the Writers Guild of America has left Local One members in the television industry without work as well.

Kate Hammer contributed reporting.

Strike on Broadway?

Courtesy of the Houston Chronicle

Nov. 10, 2007, 12:03AM
Stagehand strike likely to darken Broadway

NEW YORK — Stagehands will go on strike today, a move expected to darken most of the plays and musicals on Broadway, according to a person close to contract negotiations.

The strike was to begin at 11 a.m., shuttering an early matinee of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because the person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Both the union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the League of American Theatres and Producers held two days of unproductive meetings Wednesday and Thursday.

Lisa Linden, a spokeswoman for the League, said, "We have not heard from Local One regarding a strike and it would be shocking if they would hurt the theatergoing public by shutting down Broadway without notice."

A union spokesman declined to comment.

The strike would not affect all Broadway shows. Productions playing off-Broadway or in theaters operated by nonprofits will still be running. Also not affected are commercial theaters, which have separate agreements with the union.

November is a crucial month for Broadway, leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the most profitable time of the year for shows.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Some things never change...


The Local 51 website is down. The only reason we can tell is there is less information that usual, if that is possible...
Next week, rumor has it, the Loc 5 website will be ready...

Thursday, November 8, 2007

These times they are a changing...


'When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal'
Bob Dylan said it a long time ago and it still holds true.
What direction will the Local and membership take in the next 10 years?
What do you foresee as the biggest problem we need to tackle?
Are you looking at the comfortable mediocrity or are you looking to better yourselves and your lives?

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

On this day in History


The President of the United States, a Texan named Lyndon B. Johnson, signed a bill that created the Corporation For Public Broadcasting in 1967.
Happy 40th Birthday to our Public Broadcast Stations!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Election Day


We understand that the upcoming Local elections will determine how our Local is ran for the next three years, but don't forget today is Election Day and there are a number of candidates that need your help. The voting process is the foundation of our government, even thought at times it seems like a meaningless gesture. But each population gets the government it deserves, so if you think you are being ignored, use your vote to get their attention. A strong electorate elects leaders that will do what it constituents want. A weak electorate elects leaders that will do what the leaders want.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Never let a rant go unanswered


To our anonymous commentator:
The italicized quote came from a study in 2005 For a more reasonable analysis of this item, we send the link to Wired.com, to show that 'we' did not concoct this story. Unlike the comment, that has all the earmarks of the habitual user, the only habit we cultivate, these days, is honesty in presenting issues of interest to our trade...

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/15-07/st_redbull


PS Part 2
We have included the original link:
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/redbull/

Friends don't let friends ...


Drug abuse of any kind affects all that come in contact with it. Most of the major addictions get front page news, while some of the 'legal' jones are hardly mentioned. One 'legal' addiction that gets little press is caffeine.
While at times we all need a little 'pick me up', an excessive amount of caffeine can be as hazardous to rational thinking as a little 'Peruvian marching dust' or any other stimulant.
Let's all reach out to the 'mainstream' abuser and tell them to "Just say NO" and Easy Does It.

The label on a can of Red Bull boasts caffeine, vitamins, a carbohydrate (glucuronolactone), an amino acid (taurine), and about five teaspoons of sugar.

We tested Red Bull for those ingredients. We hired a laboratory to analyze the contents of the slender silver and blue can – and sure enough, the label’s no bull. A 250 ml can of Red Bull contains, among other ingredients:

  • 80 mg of caffeine (more than three times the caffeine that’s in the same amount of Coke)
  • 1000 mg of taurine, an amino acid

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Writers Guild of America Votes to Call for Strike, Effective Monday, November 5


LOS ANGELES -- The Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Council of the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), acting upon the authority granted them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Monday, November 5.

The decision was made following over three months of negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP. To date, the studios have not responded to a single one of the WGA's important proposals, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction.

On October 18, WGAW and WGAE members voted by an overwhelming majority of 90.3% to authorize a strike if a fair deal was not reached by the October 31 contract expiration date.

Below is a complete transcript of WGAW President Verrone's and WGAE President Winship's remarks from today's WGA press briefing:

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Let's Hear Your Thoughts


The current nominations are posted.
Who do you think will be there in January, who do you consider a long shot, who do you think has a tough road ahead and how does the whole picture look?
Let's have some real input into the process...

Friday, November 2, 2007

What's going on...


Avenue Q Load Out Sunday
HGO loads on Sat and Sun (Thanks for the correction, Mr. Anonymous!)
Big Meetings at Woodlands Marriott thru Thursday
Glenn Miller with Symphony through Sunday
AVW last minute calls

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Out in La La Land


The International, who would go ballistic if any local union signed a contract with an ‘no strike’ clause, informed the membership in a letter that if the writers go on strike in Hollywood, the membership will be expected to continue to work and could be ‘permanently replaced’ for failure to do so.