Nov 11, 2007 7:36 pm US/Eastern
Stageworkers Strike Continues On Broadway
Protests Close Many Broadway Shows
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The Great White Way went dark for the most part.
CBS
Striking stagehands remain off the job for the second day in a row, as many Broadway theaters are still dark. Stagehands say they want the producers to start acting "honorably" at the negotiating table and until then the show won't go on at 27 Broadway theaters.
"We couldn't do anymore," said Local One President James Claffey Jr. "We exhausted everything. They wanted us on the street, they just wanted to blame us instead of blame themselves. They provoked us to the street.
The walkout is taking a big bite out of an industry that pumps hundreds of millions into the big apple economy, but the stagehands are getting support from musicians and actors. Mayor Bloomberg says the city is willing to help both sides get back to negotiating.
"We certainly have offered to give them a venue to get together that's sort of neutral ground and to have someone to sort of be a moderator and help them pull together," said Bloomberg.
The main issue is the number of stage hands needed for Broadway shows. Theater owners and producers say they should not be forced to hire more workers than they need.
Charlotte St. Martin, of the League of American Theatres and Producers said their goal is simple: "To pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed."
But it's the theatergoers who traveled from around the country who are striking out, stunned by the sudden strike.
"I've traveled three thousand miles tonight to see this show," said one disappointed theatergoer.
My heart just sunk when I heard the news," said Jenna Reisterer, who came from Wisconsin just to see Broadway shows for her 15th birthday. She saw a few plays before the theaters closed and on Sunday settled for Xanadu, one of eight still open.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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