The Broadway stagehands union and theatre owners and producers say they will resume negotiations this weekend.
"Talks have been scheduled between Local One and The League of American Theaters and Producers beginning this weekend, at an undisclosed place and time,” said a joint news release. "No interviews or comment from either organization will be issued until further notice."
Actress Belle Calaway, left, a star of the Broadway musical Chicago, joins pickets at the Ambassador Theatre in New York on Saturday.
(Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)
The move comes on the fifth day of the strike by stagehands, who walked out on Nov. 10, shutting down 27 plays and musicals in New York City.
The strike has scuttled one of the most highly anticipated premieres, that of The Farnsworth Invention by Aaron Sorkin, creator of TV's The West Wing .
The Farnsworth Invention is an examination of the birth of television starring Hank Azaria. The play's name comes from inventor Philo T. Farnsworth, who created an electronic television prototype in 1928.
Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees represents about 500 members who work on Broadway.
Silent pickets are up at many theatres around the Times Square area of New York City. Eight productions that have separate agreements or use nonprofit theatres are still running. Off-Broadway shows are also still continuing.
Other unions, including Actors' Equity and the musicians' local, support the stagehands. Broadway press agents have been instructed by their own union to honour Local One's picket line.
The stagehands union and the League of American Theatres and Producers remain far apart on the issue of staffing requirements.
At the centre of the dispute is a disagreement on how many stagehands are required to open a show and keep it running. Stagehands do everything from moving scenery, lights, sound systems and props into the theatre to installing the set and keeping everything functioning.
The existing contract requires theatres to use at least four stagehands for plays: a carpenter, a property master, an electrician and a fourth, either a sound technician, a fly man or a second stagehand.
The league wants to have flexibility in how many stagehands are hired for shows, and does not want to use all four.
Local One says it's unwilling to give up any ground without some concessions in return.
The stagehands union also has cost-of-living and pension concerns. The annual salary for stagehands ranges from $67,500 to $88,500 US, according to the union.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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