Every other Saturday, two or three dozen out-of-work stagehands in IATSE Local 28 come together outside the union’s office at the Oregon Labor Center in Southeast Portland to receive donated food and household supplies. On Feb. 27, the array ranging from fresh produce to Hershey’s Kisses is overseen by Local 28 Good and Welfare Committee member Laura Fraley, above. Fraley was working at the prop shop of the Portland Opera when the pandemic hit; her last day of work was March 13, 2020. Local 28 member Liz Spottswood says the event doesn’t just help members stretch their grocery budgets; it’s also a chance to catch up with coworkers at a time of isolation.
Metropolitan Opera Backstage Workers: Without People, The Opera Is Nothing
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Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds Fights for COBRA Subsidies for Arts Workers
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Metropolitan Opera Backstage Workers: Without People, The Opera Is Nothing
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Metropolitan Opera Backstage Workers: Without People, The Opera Is Nothing
at 3:23 pm NPR
A union representing 800 backstage workers at New York s Metropolitan Opera began a publicity campaign today urging donors and government entities to withdraw support for the company because of a labor dispute.
The Met is the largest performing arts organization in the United States, employing close to 3,000 people, with an annual budget of over $300 million. When it shut down because of COVID last March, the company cited the force majeure provision of its agreements, and made the decision to furlough all its union artists and craftspeople.
In the midst of the furloughs, contracts with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or IATSE â which represents workers, from stagehands to box office personnel to make-up artists â expired. The two sides met for several negotiating sessions, beginning last July. The Met offered IATSE members a weekly