“We negotiated for seven hours [on Sunday], and at the end of seven hours, management would still not agree to get off of that proposal,” said Barnes, who went on to explain why the union wouldn’t concede the point. “Without movement on that issue, there’s really no contract that’s in place, because essentially whatever we negotiate doesn’t have to be adhered to because they could replace us at their beck and call.”
Calls to the theatre for a comment on the strike and contract negotiations went unreturned, but the theatre’s press rep did email two statements from the Philadelphia Theatre Company. One from PTC’s producing artistic director Sara Garonzik said that despite the strike PTC would continue with their current production of Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop—which, in a twist even O. Henry would love, is about the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, after he had marched in solidarity with the striking Memphis sanitation workers—and that they remained open to negotiating with the union. It read, in part: “PTC will continue its focus on presenting this powerful play despite the stagehands’ strike. We will also continue our efforts to negotiate a reasonable contract that is fair to all parties.” The second statement asked that, because the show was unfinished and being presented in compromised circumstances, that it not be reviewed by the press.
The show was originally scheduled to open to the press Wednesday, Jan. 23, and the theatre attempted to hire non-union stagehands to mount the show, but were unable to do so. It is still being performed, but without the help of technicians. The show includes actors who are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the actors and stage managers union, who are working in accordance with their contract.
The stagehands of the Philadelphia Theatre Company who worked at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre have been marching outside the theatre since last Thursday, January 17. But it was in June of 2012 that the stagehands approached IATSE Local 8 and asked the Local to represent them for contract bargaining purposes. “In the summer, we asked the management if they would give us voluntary recognition, which they would not,” said Barnes. The stagehands participated in a National Labor Relations Board election in September and voted to let the union represent them. The union began negotiating with the theatre in September. Negotiations broke down last week, culminating in the strike.
According to Barnes, the goals of the strike are to preserve the stagehand jobs and staffing levels that existed prior to unionization (no retaliation firings); to record the working conditions prior to organizing in the contract so they don’t deteriorate; to receive a 25 cents per hour raise; and health benefits.
