Nov 18, 2007 8:12 am US/Eastern
Broadway Talks Continue, No Deal Yet
Local Restaurants Hurt Badly By Strikes
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
No deal yet. So far the first new talks to end the week long Broadway strike have not produced an agreement between striking stagehands and show producers.
Saturday morning, the first concrete steps towards ending the strike were taken. Negotiators for the League of American Theatre Owners and Producers met in midtown with the leaders of the Stagehands Union.
"They're talking, which is a good sign," said a striking stagehand.
While they talk -- local businesses wait. The walk-out is costing the city millions of dollars a day. While hotels remain nearly full in the theater district, restaurants are suffering.
Business has been going down 70 to 80 percent. With the strike now threatening the normally busy Thanksgiving week, 25 restaurants are offering 15-percent discounts to entice customers.
The phone isn't ringing," the co-owner of B. Smith's restaurant told CBS 2 HD. "And a lot of people cancelled their reservations."
The weekend plans of many tour groups have also been cancelled. Janet Grimes came all the way from Ohio to see 'Grease.'
"We're just going to take pictures of the billboard," said tourist Janet Grimes. When asked if that's the closest she was going to get to the show, the disappointed tourist said, "that's the closest and we probably won't get back to New York."
On the picket lines, even if the union wins at the bargaining table - it has already suffered a tragic loss. On Friday, 57-year old stagehand Francis Lavaia of Nanuet suffered a heart attack and died while picketing in front of the Minskoff Theater.
Negotiations have focused on work rules -- how many stagehands are required to open a Broadway show and keep it running.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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