A decade ago, Kravis Center broke its contract with the stagehands' union, IATSE. The union took the Kravis Center to court, and the court agreed that Kravis Center engaged in unfair labor practices, and ordered management to negotiate with the union and re-instate the workers they illegally fired.
And they still haven't done it. The Center wants to keep the 10 people they illegally hired to replace the union crew they ejected, and the Union rightfully points out that they can't have the jobs that already belong to someone else. So IATSE is going to start picketing, according to The Palm Beach Daily News.
The Kravis Center is wrong on this issue; they've been wrong since the first day they ejected the union, and wrong every day since the court ordered them to clean up their act.
Kravis CEO Judith Mitchell argues that since most shows in the center require more than 10 stagehands, the center should be allowed to keep the ten stagehands because there will be "plenty of work." But the bottom line is that the Kravis Center did not have the right to offer the 10 workers the jobs in the manner they did; these ten employees are holding someone else's job. It's a stinking mess, but we have to remember that it is Kravis Center management who created the mess, and have been aggressively maintaining the mess.
Two other important facts to be aware of: the Union is not shutting anything down: they will be working shows during the pickets. And this concerns the Dreyfoos Hall; the Rinker Playhouse, home to Florida Stage, is not an issue in this contract dispute. The union is not making a single unreasonable request; they are simply demanding that the Kravis Center honor the terms of the contract, as dictated by law. Something the Kravis Center seems unwilling to do.
And they still haven't done it. The Center wants to keep the 10 people they illegally hired to replace the union crew they ejected, and the Union rightfully points out that they can't have the jobs that already belong to someone else. So IATSE is going to start picketing, according to The Palm Beach Daily News.
The Kravis Center is wrong on this issue; they've been wrong since the first day they ejected the union, and wrong every day since the court ordered them to clean up their act.
Kravis CEO Judith Mitchell argues that since most shows in the center require more than 10 stagehands, the center should be allowed to keep the ten stagehands because there will be "plenty of work." But the bottom line is that the Kravis Center did not have the right to offer the 10 workers the jobs in the manner they did; these ten employees are holding someone else's job. It's a stinking mess, but we have to remember that it is Kravis Center management who created the mess, and have been aggressively maintaining the mess.
Two other important facts to be aware of: the Union is not shutting anything down: they will be working shows during the pickets. And this concerns the Dreyfoos Hall; the Rinker Playhouse, home to Florida Stage, is not an issue in this contract dispute. The union is not making a single unreasonable request; they are simply demanding that the Kravis Center honor the terms of the contract, as dictated by law. Something the Kravis Center seems unwilling to do.
What most people don't know is that
ReplyDeletestagehands only work two to three days a week. So if you don't work the
Show itself, you don't make any money. Plus the fact that the Show season is just about five to six months long. Let me know if you can make a living doing that.
The quality of Stagehand has to be high because what they do is potentially deadly if done incorrectly. Adding unqualified people to the mix only increases
the danger. Remember the Kravis is already legally responsible for one persons death. Don't let them add to this.