Cry Me A River

[mithrandir2001]

'Trouble" is not just the title of one of the best-known songs in The Music Man. The stage actors' union sees so much trouble in the touring production of the musical that it plans to send pickets to the Merriam Theater this week to protest the show and urge people not to buy tickets to the six-day engagement.

Actors' Equity objects to The Music Man's use of nonunion actors, which it says poses a serious threat to union employment security. This is the first national tour of a major Broadway musical that has gone out without Equity-affiliated performers, and in doing so, according to the union, it sets a dangerous precedent.

The producer of the show counters that there wouldn't be a tour if the 38 actors had to be paid the salaries and benefits stipulated in an Equity contract.

...

The standard Equity contract for Broadway and touring productions sets a minimum salary of $1,252 a week, plus $106 a day for meals and hotels when traveling. Union members are also covered by a pension and medical insurance.

Link

Wah! Threat to employment security? Grow up, people, this is the real world. When you demand a minimum salary of about $2000 a week, don't be surprised when the free market tries to find cheaper alternatives.

Why do Union people expect to find sympathy with the public? I'm supposed to be happy to overpay for a service?

 

[Pastfinder]

I hate Unions. They served a important purpose in the beginning, but now unions are nothing more than a means to pay people more for nothing. Look at the United Auto Workers for instance. You have to be a member to build a car in Detroit I believe. What if you don't want to join but want to build cars? Hmm, maybe Hoffa knows, but then again he was with the Teamsters...

 

[Jzero]

<< Wah! Threat to employment security? Grow up, people, this is the real world. When you demand a minimum salary of about $2000 a week, don't be surprised when the free market tries to find cheaper alternatives.

Why do Union people expect to find sympathy with the public? I'm supposed to be happy to overpay for a service? >>


Many unions went from demanding good pay and conditions to just plain demanding over the course of this century...
The Music Man isn't exactly a hot ticket (or so I believe), so since you can't really charge high ticket prices unless you've got a big name, how can you afford to pay equity actors through the nose? Being a non-equity (albeit amateur) actor myself, I see this as an opportunity for folks like me to be able to do what we love even though we don't have a union card. If I ever saw an audition call for a national tour in my area that didn't specifically call for equity actors I'd seriously consider quitting my "real" job.

I once read an article in which Morgan Freeman bemoaned being the lowest paid actor, getting only like $200k per movie.
But he's wrong. I am the lowest paid actor--I've never been paid a penny for any work I've done

But, I've done The Music Man and I live near Philly. If the Merriam needs a scab to do some work, I have some vacation days saved up

 

[StageLeft]

<< it sets a dangerous precedent >>

Oh no! Heaven forbid these people have to live and work in the same world most of us do. Heavens no!

 

[CKDragon]

<< I hate Unions. >>



As do I, but sometimes Big Business is no better. In my mind, it depends if the excess money that is saved on cheaper employees is passed on to the consumer. The example in my mind is Professional Athletes. The players unions have been driving the asking price of players up for years along with the increased ticket prices. Can't wait to see the MSG ticket prices next year with Bure on the roster.

CK

 

[Pastfinder]

but sometimes Big Business is no better

Good point, I agree to that. I always like how some athletes made thousands of dollars for sitting on the bench. Wish I got paid to sit on a bench and do nothing!

 

[mithrandir2001]

Philadelphia is an old-school city that caters to Union demands. The PA Convention Center is one of the most expensive centers in the country mainly because of ridiculous contracts with the labor unions. If you are an exhibitor, you must use special union laborers to set up your display. Even if you do not need a carpenter, the contract states that a carpenter must be on hand - and a supervisor - to "make sure the rights of the carpenters union" is preserved. Oh, and you have to pay each over $100/hour to stand idly. ?!?! This is just as bad as soulless big business, perhaps worse because it's possible to share in a big business's profits (buy the company's stock) but big Union pay is reserved only for Union members. Ordinary slobs get nothing from the deal. I don't see evidence today that Unions, in general, raise the compensation standards of all workers. Education and experience seem to be the main precursors for gaining superior pay, not Union-sponsored class warfare.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Get this, there were volunteers turned away from the ground zero cleanup because they weren't union members. Niiiiiiccce, makes me proud to be an American.

There was a time when unions were needed, now with revised labor laws, they are mostly a burden. I work in a shipyard, I'm an engineer so I don't belong to any of the trades unions. Time and time again, we read about employees and management who were fired because of violence, drinking, sleeping, time card fraud, down loading porn, gambling, etc, and then a couple weeks later they are back in their current position because the union came to their aid. BS pure and simple.