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Broadway stagehands on strike

11/11/2007

Stagehands at theatres lining New York's legendary Broadway have gone on strike, with more than 20 plays and musicals forced to close.

The strike comes after three months of intense negotiations between producers and the Local One stagehands' union failed to produce an agreement regarding pay and working conditions.

All but eight Broadway shows have closed as the League of American Theatres and Producers requests more flexibility in rules that govern the number of stagehands that must be called for work, their working hours and the tasks they are required to perform.

"Our goal is simple - to pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed," Charlotte St Martin, executive director of the league said.

But according to the union, theatre owners have reputedly been less than forthcoming regarding the offsetting benefits available to stagehands in return for not working.

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed he had spoken to both the stagehands and theatre owners as the city looks to minimise the financial repercussions of the strike; a four-day strike by Broadway musicians in 2003 cost New York city around $7 million (£3.3 million) a day, tourism officials reported at the time.

"While this is a private labour matter, the economic impact is very public and will be felt far beyond the theatres closed today," he said, adding that "the city continues to stand ready to help in any way we can."

Patrick Page, star of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, said he was behind the strike but hoped for an early resolution.

"These guys on strike over here are the backbone of Broadway," he told the BBC.

"They are the guys who keep me safe, when I get hoisted up in the air in the show, they are the guys who put light on me, who make sure everything happens.

"I know that the Actors Equity Association really supports the guys at Local One, I am a member of the union and we all just want the shows to happen again," he added.