Carnegie Hall canceled its star-studded opening-night concert Wednesday after its stagehands went on strike, picketing outside the hall with a giant inflatable rat hours before the season was set to open with a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Union members were asked to meet outside Carnegie Hall at 8 a.m. "As he stood outside the hall, surrounded by pickets, Mr. Claffey noted that the union had been working without a contract for a year. Carnegie Hall said that accepting the union's demand would "Divert significant funds away from the hall's music education programs and into stagehand fees,'' saying that work in the education spaces would be performed by other unions that cost less."Mr. Claffey, the union president, said in a statement that the union had been negotiating for 13 months. "Carnegie Hall Corporation has spent or will spend $230 million on its ongoing studio tower renovation, but they have chosen not to appropriately employ our members as we are similarly employed throughout the rest of Carnegie Hall,'' he said."The spectacle of the strike surprised people passing on West 57th Street.
Source: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/carnegie-hall-opening-gala-canceled/?partner=rss&emc=rss
No comments:
Post a Comment