2007 Broadway Stagehands Strike was a strike action by stagehands represented by Theatrical Protective Union Number One (Local One) of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) against the Shubert, Jujamcyn, and Nederlander theaters (represented by League of American Theatres and Producers). The strike (the first in the union's 121-year history)[1] commenced on November 10, 2007, at 10:00 A.M. in New York City. It was the second strike on Broadway in five years (the other was the 2003 Broadway Musicians Strike).[2]
On November 28, 2007, at 10:30 PM, the two sides announced a settlement to end the strike, with shows beginning the evening of November 29. This was the longest strike to hit Broadway since a 25-day musicians’ strike in 1975.[3]
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IATSE Local One engages in collective bargaining with the League of American Theatres and Producers (the League), an association of Broadway theater owners and producers.
IATSE Local One was formed in 1886, and represents about 3,000 stagehands and other theater workers in the New York City area. Roughly 350 to 500 of its members work for Broadway theaters, building, installing and operating scenery and sound and lighting equipment.[4]
The League includes nearly every one of the 39 theaters on Broadway. The Jujamcyn Amusement Corporation owns five theaters, The Shubert Organization 17 theaters, and the Nederlander Organization nine theaters. The remaining members of the League (Disney Theatrical, Live Nation and six nonprofits) each own a single theater. Generally, Jujamcyn and the Shubert Organization are the only owners represented by the League in negotiations. The Nederlander Organization has a separate contract, but a clause in the contract guarantees that its terms and conditions reflect the contract reached with the League.[5] The remaining League members engage in individual contract negotiations with IATSE Local One.[6]
The collective bargaining agreement between Local One and the League expired in the summer of 2007. Members of Local One agreed to work without a contract and promised other unions in the entertainment industry that they would not strike until an agreement was reached. In late summer, Local One and the League, representing the Shubert and Jujamcyn theaters with the Nederlander Organization observing, entered into negotiations.[6]
Contract negotiations generally focused on work rules. Broadway shows offer a standard eight performances per week ("performance calls"), each of which lasts three to four hours. Additionally, there are "load-ins" (periods during which a show moves into a theater), rehearsals, "maintenance calls" (during which scenery, lighting and sound equipment are serviced, repaired and maintained), and opportunities for overtime. The League has accused the union of using its contract to secure featherbedding, a practice made illegal by the federal Taft-Hartley Act. Among the work rule changes sought by the League were:
Many labor relations experts said that the negotiations were not about work rules or economics, but the relative power of the two sides. Producers, who pay the theater owners, are also part of the League, and for the first time they took a vocal and active role in pushing for contract changes in order to break the union's control over theater management. Subsequently the League established a $20 million "defense fund" to help theaters weather a strike.[1] In response, the union established a $4 million fund to help its members during a possible job action.[6]
Contract negotiations stalled between the two parties and the league threatened Local One with a lockout if it would not comply with their demands. On October 21, Local One held a special meeting and its membership voted to authorize the executive board of the union to take any action deemed necessary, including but not limited to a strike, in order to reach an agreement between the two parties.[7]
In late October 2007, talks between Local One and the League again ended in a stalemate. On October 16, the League imposed a portion of its final offer (primarily, the proposals regarding new work rules) on the union. For two weeks Local One worked under these rules before talks with the League resumed.[8] The following day, the Nederlander Organization announced it would not join the Jujamcyn or Schubert owners in imposing the final offer on the union.[9]
On November 8, talks with the League resumed, this time including Thomas C. Short, international president of IATSE, for part of the negotiation session. After seeing progress being made, President Short left the talks early to assist members affected by the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike. After his departure, the negotiations once more ground to a halt. On the evening of November 9, Local One President James Claffey, Jr. was directed by International President Short to begin a strike on Saturday, November 10, 2007 at 10:00 AM Eastern time.[10]
Negotiations resumed between both sides on November 17, 2007 but broke off the following day. All performances of the affected Broadway shows were canceled through November 25. Negotiations between the League and Local One resumed on November 25.[11]
Negotiations continued November 26 and November 27. The first bargaining session began November 25, and lasted 20 hours. It recessed at dawn on November 26, and resumed later that evening. A 13-hour bargaining session lasted through the night into the early morning hours of November 27. The two sides agreed on work rules regarding "load-in"—the period when productions are moved into theaters. Talks concerning work rules governing rehearsals and other kinds of work progressed only slowly and incrementally. Economic issues, such as wages, had yet to be seriously discussed. Although producers canceled all shows through Wednesday, November 28, observers noted that the talks had only taken a break and had not appeared to actually break off.[12]
Both sides applauded the agreement. The union and League agreed to flexibility in the ability to dismiss stagehands during load-in, so long as there was a daily minimum of 17 stagehands on duty at all times. The parties also agreed to extend the continuity call to two hours before or after a performance. However, employees who work the post-performance continuity call earn double pay for the first hour of the two-hour continuity call. Union members also won raises significantly higher than the 3.5 percent increase the League had publicly offered.[3]
The strike was a costly one. At least one estimate placed losses by theater owners and producers at $34.8 million through Sunday, November 25. The New York City comptroller’s office said the city had lost another $40 million in revenue through November 28.[3]
Below is a list of unions and IATSE Locals honoring Local One's strike:
The first show to be affected by the strike was Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the St. James theater. Stagehands reported to work at their normal time, and after one hour of working left the building and formed picket lines outside. However, because the controlling contract fell outside the union dispute, pickets in front of the theater ended.[12]
The strike halted business for all other affected shows. However, unaffected Broadway shows, various Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, and other live entertainment such as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Wintuk, all experienced a boom in sales and attendance.[2]
The impact of the strike was severe. The New York City Comptroller estimated that the city had lost $2 million a day in tax revenue because of the strike. Many businesses in and around Times Square also suffered significant financial losses.[13] The charity group Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS saw a dramatic drop in donations due to the strike, because it normally relies on donations from theater patrons after performances.[14] BC/EFA launched an internet donation campaign called "Team Raiser" to offset losses.
Below is a list of shows affected and unaffected by the strike. All Off- and Off-Off-Broadway shows were unaffected.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! was originally part of the strike, and shut down on November 10 like the other affected shows. The producers of this show were not members of the League, and because of the show's special schedule they had negotiated a separate contract with Local One that was not in dispute. On November 19, the union authorized its members return to work on the show.[16] However, the owners of the St. James Theater, Jujamcyn Theatres, locked out both producers and stagehands, keeping the show closed.[17] The producers then sought an injunction in the Manhattan Supreme Court to force the owners to reopen the theater, and on November 21 the judge granted the injunction, allowing the show to re-open on Friday, November 23 at 11:00 AM.[16][18] Jujamcyn Theatres had planned to appeal the ruling, but dropped the case, allowing Grinch to play its entire run.