No Talks Yet Planned in Theater Flap
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No additional talks or negotiations for a union contract between the embattled Broadway stagehands and the theater producers are scheduled for the week, according to sources, despite an announcement over the weekend that the union would vote to authorize a strike next Sunday.
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees, which represents as many as 500 stagehands on Broadway, said Friday that it was calling its membership for a strike authorization vote, the president of Local One, James Claffey Jr., said in a statement. The October 21 vote does not automatically mean the union will strike, only that it will give union leadership the authority to call a walkout if the leadership deems it necessary.
A spokeswoman for the League of American Theaters and Producers, which represents two major theater owners, Jujamcyn and Shubert, said the league would not comment on the announcement and that the league has not threatened a lockout.
Over the weekend, Broadway shows went on as normal.
Both parties submitted what they said were their final contract offers Tuesday, and they met privately all day Thursday to discuss where the talks stand. No formal negotiation meetings have been held, though both sides have said they are open to further discussions. The union and the league are at odds over whether stagehands should be paid for the work they physically do, as the league argues, or whether a theater can hire stagehands daily regardless of whether work is available.
In an interview the executive director of the league, Charlotte St. Martin, said it was discussing its options internally and did not yet have a next step outlined.
A spokesman for Local One, Bruce Cohen, said the union was waiting to see how the theaters would act next and that the stagehands were planning to come to work tomorrow. A work stoppage would place a financial burden on what was expected to be Broadway’s first $1 billion year.
Mayor Bloomberg has said the city will arrange for an independent party to help negotiations, just as he did in 2003 when the musicians’ union went on strike.
