Nov 12, 2007 7:57 pm US/Eastern
No Way On Broadway; Parties Refuse To Budge
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Theatrical Protective Union - Local No. 1 member walks the picket line outside a theater on Broadway in November.
AP
Is the strike really costing the city $17 million a day? Economists say no. In fact, so far, the tourists are still coming and still spending, even as things remain idle on Broadway.
John Fox, an analyst for the hotel industry, believes the strike to be having a minimal impact so far.
I think a lot of folks who came to New York were surprised by it but they're here and doing other things as well. So at least the impact on hotels so far is minimal," said Fox.
Hotels in the city are in the third year of record high rates and record occupancy – 85 percent – so according to Fox, they'll be fine so long as this doesn't drag on for months. Also not adversely impacted are movie theaters and museums, which are reporting no change or in some cases increases in visitors.
Striking stagehands and theater producers traded accusations but not much else as the Broadway strike is in its third day.
There's talk of Mayor Bloomberg stepping in to try to solve the labor dispute that affects the entire city and beyond.
Picketing stagehands along the Great White Way are saying "Thanks but no thanks" to Mayor Bloomberg's offer to find some "neutral ground" for a sit down and a mediator as the strike enters Day 3.
The producers would like Bloomberg to get into the act, but the striking stagehands say no way until they are shown a little respect. They say they are furious as being portrayed as money-grubbing thieves.
The Stagehands Union says workers will remain off the job until producers show them "respect" at the negotiating table .
The main issue is the number of stagehands needed for shows, particularly the rules governing the expensive process of loading in and setting up a show.
The dispute has focused on how many people are required to get a production up and running. The union represents men who move the scenery as well as electricians, carpenters and sound people.
Theater owners and producers say they should not be forced to hire more stagehands than are needed.
"Our goal is simple: to pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed," said Charlotte St. Martin of the League of American Theatres and Producers.
Local One President James Claffey Jr. said, "We couldn't do anymore. We exhausted everything. They wanted us on the streets. The just wanted to blame us instead of blame themselves. They provoked us to the street."
At the stagehands news conference, many actors and musicians say they support the striking stagehands.
"If we can just get behind the stagehands because they do have valid concerns, hopefully they will come back to the table. We can light these shows, and we can continue to entertain because that's what we do," said Horris Rogers from The Lion King.
And then there are the disappointed tourists, like 15-year-old Jenna Resiterer, who came all the way from Wisconsin for her 15th birthday.
"My heart just sank when I heard the news," she said.
Twenty-seven Broadway shows are shut down by the strike, including Cyrano, starring Jennifer Garner, whose sympathies are with the theatergoers.
"I hate thinking of people who are in town with their tickets and have flown here or driven here and have no show to go and see," said the Hollywood actress.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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