Unions picket Blue
Man theatre
By
JAMES ADAMS
Thursday, May 5, 2005 | Page
R3-The Globe and Mail
About
75 theatrical workers yesterday staged an information picket
outside Toronto's former New Yorker Theatre, now the Panasonic,
which is currently undergoing a major purpose-built renovation
as the home for the Canadian premiere show by the Blue Man
Group multimedia troupe.
The demonstration
was just the latest tactic in a drive by four Toronto theatrical
unions to get the New York-based group to sign collective
agreements with local musicians, actors, makeup artists, costumers
and stage hands before Blue Man starts its open-ended run
early next month. The picket was also accompanied by the unveiling
of a 63-square-metre banner on a building about a block south
of the Panasonic. The banner names some of the many productions
or organizations the unions have worked for, and asks: "Why
won't the Blue Man Group work with us?"
Blue Man,
which prides itself on its "family/community" ethos,
has not been party to collective agreements in its 18-year
history and, besides its show in its New York base, has productions
running in Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago and Berlin.
Construction
workers at the Panasonic laid down their tools for about an
hour to observe the lunch-hour picketing. Late Tuesday afternoon,
a lawyer for Clear Channel Entertainment -- which bought the
New Yorker last year and has put more than $17-million into
its rehabilitation, and arranged for Panasonic Canada to pay
$5-million for renaming rights -- sent a letter to the four
theatrical unions warning that "any disruption and/or
delay in the construction and/or renovation work" by
the picket could result in "legal remedies . . . including
a claim for damages."
Representatives
of Blue Man Group were in touch yesterday morning with Jim
Biros, chief negotiator for the four unions, and indicated
to him that they have "a comprehensive idea" to
present. No date has been set for the presentation but it
is expected to occur later this week or early next week. A
push by the unions to get Panasonic to pressure Blue Man and
Clear Channel to seek collective agreements was rebuffed yesterday
by Panasonic Canada president Ian Vatcher. "While the
Blue Man Group is the first production to play the Panasonic
. . . Panasonic's arrangement is a sponsorship of the building,
not a specific engagement," Vatcher said in a letter.
©
2005 The Globe and Mail
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original article is located HERE
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