Protesters see red
at Blue Man launch
Metro
News
Published June 20, 2005
Chanting
"Boycott Blue Man!" about 300 people gathered in
front of the Panasonic Theatre yesterday to protest the Toronto
premiere of the Blue Man Group show.
The festive
demonstration — filled with balloons, a musical band
and children's face painting — was organized to denounce
what protesters say is Blue Man's anti-union stance.
"We
are not here to shut down the show," said Henry Martinuk,
a local puppet-maker and musician, while sitting on a bicycle
decorated to look like a buffalo. "We are here to have
fun and make people aware of what is going on."
A recent
labour board decision by Kevin Whitaker of the Ontario Labour
Relations Board prevented the protesters from blocking the
entrance to the Panasonic, which is on the east side of Yonge
Street.
The decision,
handed down Friday, was made after James Knight, the lawyer
representing Blue Man, filed an application with the labour
board to prevent the unions from interfering with patrons
and production employees from entering the theatre.
According
to the decision, all protest activities, including picketing
or the distribution of leaflets, had to be confined to the
west side of the street.
The restrictions,
however, did not stop protest participants from expressing
strong views about Blue Man.
"This
show is the corporatization of the arts, values and society,"
said Kevin Mahoney, executive officer of the International
Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 58.
A provincial
politician who spoke at the protest was even more blunt.
"Don't
import George Bush anti-union policies," said NDP MPP
Marilyn Churley (Toronto-Danforth), as she denounced the U.S.
multimedia group.
The New
York-based Blue Man Group started as an off-Broadway show
in the early '90s, then expanded to three other U.S. cities
and Berlin. None of these shows have faced a labour dispute.
The Toronto
production, which opened last night at the Panasonic Theatre,
has been hampered by the failure of Blue Man to enter into
a collective agreement with unions for actors, musicians,
technicians and other theatrical workers. The unions are opposed
to Blue Man's use of non-union labour.
The failure
to reach an agreement led members from across the labour movement
to attend yesterday's protest.
Blue Man
Group's representatives could not be reached for comment following
the protest.
©
2005 Torstar
News Service
The original article is located HERE
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