Broadway Producer-Stagehand Union Talks May Result in Lockout

[billyoc]

Broadway may be facing its first dark days since 2003, when the musician's guild walked off the job, halting stage business for several days.

Local One, the Broadway stagehands union, and the League of American Theatres and Producers have been trying to hammer out a new working contract since last summer; their most recent pact expired at the end of July. But no agreement has been forthcoming and tensions are rising, according to reports in Variety and Crain's.

The League recently made it clear that it would not negotiate beyond the end of September, and the trade organization is expected to make its final offer by Sunday, Sept. 30. If Local One rejects the offer, a lockout of the union's members is a possibility. A lockout would allow the League, and not the union, to control the timing of a work stoppage.

Past reports have identified the "load in" as the main sticking point in the talks. The load in refers to the period when the sets, costumes and equipment for a new show are loaded into a Broadway theatre. The process takes a few days, and requires by contract a large number of stagehands working for a set number of hours. It is therefore quite expensive, and producers wish to curtail costs. Both parties have accused the other side of greed, the producers demanding that stagehands only get paid for actual work, the stagehands pointing out Broadway's recent record-breaking profits.


http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111304.html