Broadway Stagehands Union Ratifies Contract

The new five-year contract for the Broadway stagehands union, Local One, will go into effect this morning following an "overwhelming" union vote yesterday to ratify the new provisions that the union and the League of American Theaters and Producers settled on 10 days ago, a union spokesman, Bruce Cohen, said.

The vote affected two contracts, one with the Nederlander Organization and the other with the League of American Theaters and Producers, which represents the Jujamcyn and Shubert theater organizations.

The specific terms of the contracts were not made public, but a source said the union members would receive a 4.5% pay increase in the first year of the contract and subsequent increases thereafter.

"Broadway is back, and this is a very, very happy and satisfied membership," Mr. Cohen said.

The executive director of the league, Charlotte St. Martin, said in a statement, "We are pleased that Local One has ratified the contract."