BroadwayWorld Strike Coverage Day 3: New Statement from League

A new statement has just been released by Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the League of American Theatres and Producers.

"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."

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