Stagehands Reported to Strike Saturday 10am

Numerous sources are reporting that Broadway stagehands will go on strike effective 10am Saturday, November 10, 2007. The decision to walk off the job came after negotiations stalled between Theatrical Stage Employees Union/Local One and the League of American Theatres and Producers. The first show to be affected will be the 11AM performance of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the St. James Theatre.

Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League, said earlier Friday, "In the event a strike is called, please be assured that all affected ticket holders can receive an exchange or full refund."

BroadwayWorld.com will bring you the latest as the story develops.

A strike would cause nearly all Broadway houses to close their doors. A total of 35 shows are currently running on Broadway. The non-profit houses and a handful of others operate under separate contracts and will remain open. They include: The New Amsterdam (Mary Poppins), Helen Hayes Theatre (Xanadu), Hilton Theatre (Young Frankenstein), Circle in the Square (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), American Airlines Theatre (Pygmalion), Studio 54 (The Ritz) and Biltmore Theatre (Mauritius) and Vivian Beaumont (Cymbeline).

Since July, the union and the League have been in rigorous contract negotiations, which came to a stand-still in October when both sides proposed their "final offers." 

As explained by Campbell Robertson of The New York Times, "The producers have proposed loosening rules on when stagehands are needed for work, how many are needed and what tasks they are allowed to perform. The union has said that any alterations to the rules that would mean less work for stagehands needs to come with exchanges of equal value."