The Economics Behind A Broadway Stagehand Strike

“Nothing happens in a Broadway theater without one or more of the industry’s 350 union stagehands getting paid. That won’t change. This makes Broadway producers crazy. Every time a contract comes up for renegotiation, they complain that IATSE’s work rules are responsible for skyrocketing production costs. The result, they say, is fewer shows produced, a higher failure rate of the ones that are produced, and inevitably, higher ticket prices. And they’re right, sort of. The stagehands have a pretty good deal.” But there are other factors…