That Union Thing

IATSE Shuts Down Riverdance

An International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) picket line forced the Kravis Center to cancel a performance of Riverdance, resulting in the producer, Abhann Productions, canceling its contract with the Kravis Center and hiring IATSE crews directly to resume performances.

IATSE crews traveling with the production refused to cross the line and would not unload trucks until local IATSE crews' issues were addressed. This was the first time the Kravis Center has ever canceled a production.

IATSE has been fighting since 2000 to negotiate a contract with the Kravis Center. In the past eight years, two administrative law judges and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have ruled in the union's favor, stating that the Kravis Center has failed to bargain in good faith. Last fall, the NLRB has ordered the Kravis Center to reinstate workers, negotiate a contract, and pay lost wages, and yet the Center has still failed to comply, and has instead applealed the decision yet again, this time to the federal appeals court in Washington, where it will be at least another six months before a decision is reached. IATSE is particularly concerned because the Kravis Center will be producing its own broadway series next season, to replace the Broadway Across America productions by LiveNation. The LiveNation productions used IATSE crews under a union contract, something the Kravis Center does not intend to do for their new series.