by Jacob Goldstein
NARR: When the musicians' union first threatened to strike last year, producers promised to keep shows running by replacing live musicians with synthesized music. But the theaters were forced to close when members of the stagehands' and actors' unions refused to cross the musicians' picket lines.
Robin Gammel has been a member of the union Actors' Equity for more than 30 years. He says that as Equity heads into its own contract negotiations this spring, last year's strike is on many actors' minds.
TAPE: GAMMEL: We anticipate that the upcoming production contract may have bad blood in it because of our support of the musicians during the last strike.
NARR: The main bone of contention between actors and producers is the status of productions that leave Broadway and go on national tours. It is becoming increasingly common for producers to hire non-union actors for those shows -- a trend that producer Eric Krebs says is born of economic necessity.
TAPE: KREBS: The industry is in shambles. The touring industry is particularly difficult because the local presenters cannot afford to pay the guarantees that the producers are demanding to bring in Equity shows. So the producers, in order to have a product that's affordable, have turned to non-Equity. And if the producers can't do them non-Equity, a lot of those tours simply will disappear.
NARR: Actor's Equity has responded to statements like these by demanding to see the books of the companies that produce touring shows. The union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board earlier this year, claiming that the companies had denied them access to the financial records.
Maria Somma, an Actor's Equity spokeswoman, is skeptical of the production companies' assertions.
TAPE: SOMMA: The first thing that always goes is the human element -- the actors and the musicians. They lower those costs so they can still make a large profit.
NARR: Earlier this year, Actor's Equity broke off discussions with Big League Productions, a company that was preparing to send a version of the play Aida on a national tour. The Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers responded by prohibiting its own members from working for Big League. The union's executive director Barbara Hauptman says the move was an act of solidarity that further heightened labor tensions on Broadway.
TAPE: HAUPTMAN: The atmosphere is charged in a way that makes me concerned about our negotiations as it does every union, and I'm sure every management association as well.
NARR: Negotiations on the Actor's Equity contract are scheduled to begin in April. Jacob Goldstein, Columbia Radio News.