Entertainment unions flexing muscles

As the WGA (Writer's Guild) strike over DVD, internet and other residuals ends its first week with no sign of negotiations in sight, and a rally of thousands of screenwriters in Hollywood, we've got breaking news about the imminent I.A.T.S.E (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local One (Broadway) strike starting at 10am tomorrow, for the first time in their history.

With Actor's Equity and United Scenic Artists (my own union of designers and scene painters, which is a subsidiary of I.A.T.S.E.) voting to honor the picket lines, shutting down 25 shows in performance and several more in pre-production.

From Variety.com:

Both the union and the trade association of Broadway producers, the League of American Theaters and Producers, have stockpiled funds to help endure a shutdown.  Local One and the League have been wrangling over a new agreement for several weeks. The stagehands have been working without a contract since their previous agreement with producers expired in July.

This from an e-mail sent to members of my union a few minutes ago:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Local USA 829 has been informed by the office of IATSE International President Thomas C. Short that as of 10:00 a.m. EST, Saturday, November 9th, IATSE Local One will be on strike with the League of American Theatres and Producers (Broadway). All members of Local USA 829 are hereby instructed on orders from the International President to be out of the affected theatres by 10:00 a.m. and to honor all Local One picket lines wherever encountered.

If you have a work call in an affected theatre tomorrow morning, you should report to work, but under no circumstances should you remain in the theatre after 10:00 a.m.

This is a landmark event; Local One has never struck Broadway in their long history. Because Local One is the strongest IATSE union on Broadway, the rest of us can only be as strong as they remain.  We must all support the stagehands in any way that we can.

Yours in Solidarity,

Michael W. McBride
National Business Agent

The issues at stake are very different: revenue sharing and residuals for DVD's and internet media for the WGA, and a battle over long-protected work rules for IATSE (a small portion of which really do need to be updated to reflect modern theatre realities, but the majority must be protected, because once you work rules and protections are negotiated away, you never get them back, especially against the background of what will be a record Billion dollar Broadway season this year, and the opening of the show with the most expensive tickets in history (Young Frankenstein).

I find it interesting that after an unsuccessful NYC transit strike last December and short strikes in Detroit, the entertainment industry seems to be at the forefront of the labor-management battles in 2007.