StageCall: IATSE Local 205 Newsletter – Page 3 – StageCall: IATSE Local 205 Newsletter, Online Edition

Rigging Primer

IATSE 205 ETCP RIGGING STUDY RESOURCES

BY JOE MARTIN

DISCLAIMER

THE RESOURCES AND TIPS GIVEN IN THIS GUIDE ARE NOT ENDORSED BY ETCP OR ANY ORGANIZATIONS RELATED. THIS IS MERELY A GUIDE TO FIND INFORMATION AND REINFORCE INFORMATION THAT IS RELATED TO STAGE RIGGING AND COVERS KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL BE USEFUL IN TAKING THE EXAM. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE THIS KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT PROPER EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING. JOE MARTIN AND IATSE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY OF THE MANUFACTURERS LISTED. ALL MANUFACTURER LINKS ARE FOR THEIR SUPERIOR INFORMATION AND REPRESENT INDUSTRY STANDARDS. THIS DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED OR DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE OF IATSE UNLESS PERMITTED.

FORWARD

Hello Brothers and Sisters of the 205! I have created this guide in hopes that all in our local who want to pass the ETCP Theater and Arena Rigging exams have the resources necessary to pass with flying colors. As someone who is a certified Theater Rigger, I have taken the exam and know what it takes to acquire the title. While individual study is necessary, the essential key to success is group study. Throughout the year, I will be holding study sessions for everyone who is interested in testing for the certification. These sessions will be mostly on the math aspects of the test, as most experienced riggers can already pass the general knowledge portions. Those with an interest in rigging but not the test should attend the Beginner Rigging Class, as everyone in the field deals with rigging on a daily basis. I encourage everyone to dig deep into the knowledge pool of rigging. The principles that we use in stage rigging apply to many other trades, and will serve you well in your career. Much of it comes straight from high steel ironwork and ship/crane rigging. In your studies, it is also important to brush up your knowledge of mathematical and general physics. Everything we do as riggers is directly related to the properties of gravity and geometry/trigonometry. A solid background in these subjects will be a big help. I wish everyone success in their journey, and I am always here to help! If you have any questions, please contact me here.

RIGGING PRACTICE, TERMINOLOGY, AND MATHEMATICS

Unfortunately, the information that needs to be given in this section can not be pulled from a website. That used to be the case, but some of the authors listed below figured out that this information is valuable, and should be compensated for their time and effort in compiling it. While I know the books are pricey, they are the definitive texts in the field. Any serious rigger with intensions of moving on up in the entertainment world needs this information. You will have it for life. The texts here should be studied more than anything above. The respective books on Arena and Theater are mostly what the ETCP test is written from, and have the most official information on the subject to date. The math book by Delbert Hall is a fantastic addition to your arsenal. While Arena Rigging and Stage Rigging Handbook: 3rd Edition explain the math, Delbert teaches it in a way that doesn’t blow most humans minds. The book is totally optional, but will help immensely. When the book was a website a few years ago, I used it to study and I would have been much worse off without it.

Stage Rigging Handbook: 3rd Edition -For Theater test takers

Harry Donovan’s Arena Rigging – For Arena test takers

Rigging Math Made Simple – All disciplines

Continue for links containing detailed manufacturer information on rigging materials.

COMMON RIGGING MATERIALS

Here are links to many of the major manufacturers that provide rigging hardware for the entertainment industry. The information you are looking for are the material data that specifies weight capacity, tolerances, and acceptable uses. Arena applicants should pay special attention to shackle, chain motor, and wire rope specifications, while Theater applicants need to pay special attention to hardware used in a counterweight system (i.e. batten clamps, tracks, hand line, 1⁄4” wire rope, trim chain, loft blocks, head blocks, and SCH40 1 1⁄2 pipe)

Types of Shackles:

This page shows what types of shackles you might encounter out in the field. Anchor shackles are what we most commonly use, you will likely never see chain shackles out in the entertainment world outside of special circumstances. If you do see a chain shackle, remember they are only to be used with one rigging attachment. A bridle hung from a chain shackle will place a side load on the straight vertical members causing an unsafe situation. Remember that an anchor shackle can only be used in a bridle if the bridle angle is more than 30 degrees. Anything less will be considered a side load on the shackle. For example, when we do low-low bridles at the Erwin center, we use a pear ring to make the apex of the bridle to prevent side loading of the hardware.

Master/Pear rings:

Make sure you scroll all the way on this page. It covers a variety of hardware from different manufacturers you will see in the field. As described above, this is the hardware you need to use for any bridle over 30 degrees or when there are more than 2 rigging attachments in the shackles bell. While it is not recommended you do so, sometimes the only way to get a point where you need it is through the utilization of this hardware. As long as you are using a Master/Pear ring that is rated at least 5:1 the tension you are placing on the bridle, all is well.

Wire Rope/Eye Bolts/Chain/Hooks/Turnbuckles/Swages/Clips/Thimbles/Snatch blocks:

Here is one of the greatest resources I have ever found on the subject of wire rope. Contained is not only strength ratings of many different types, but explanations of the reasoning behind structural design with wire rope as well as most everything it attaches to. Not only does it give the raw info, it lays out theory behind safe usage. All disciplines of rigging should study this well.

This page lists many of the common ropes used in counterweight and hemp systems today. Multiline II is the most common, you can see it in use at the Long Center. Stage Set X is also a variety you see in the McCullough Theater at UT. Other ropes listed on this page are much less commonly seen, but it is nice to know of their existence and material properties in case you are ever faced with a project that requires rope with a special application. These ropes come from manufacturer New England Ropes, which has been the standard in quality for entertainment industry rope needs. Most theaters you go into with a counterweight system will likely have New England Ropes, which is handy to know when ordering replacement line. When it comes down to your personal hauling line, generally any polybraid or polyester rope between 1⁄2” and 5/8” diameter with over 2000lbs tensile strength will get the job done. Your rope needs to pull through a pulley easily, and provide a good gripping surface without being hard on your hands. Do not purchase rope from a big box hardware store however temping it may be. The rope sold there is mass produced in China and does not come with an official tensile breaking strength or material data sheet. Make sure the rope you are buying is rated and batch tested. You can find rope for the same price as Home Depot through Rose Brand that is solid core polybraid and carries an official rating. Even cheaper if you buy a spool, which I highly recommend. (Custom colors!)

Track Hardware/Counterweight Hardware and Operation/Pipe Attachments:

H&H Specialties has a veritable gold mine of information on these subjects in their catalogs. Diagrams, rules of use, in depth explanation of track weight capacities and hanger spacing are all here. The PDF on Counterweight Rigging isn’t very exiting visually, but is a fantastic guide for the beginner, and a great refresh for the experienced. Spend some time here.

Steel/Pipe:

Check out this website to look up information on common steel material you will rig on in theaters and arenas. As a rigger, it is useful to know more than the average bear about building structure and the materials that comprise your theater/arena specifically. Always consult the building engineer in regards to the actual strength of the beams. Every building is different. In no way should the tensile strength of any material be used as a means of rating a system.

Fantastic article about chain grading and the reasoning behind chain grading. It even gives you the formula for calculating tensile strength of chain. As long as you know the size and grade, you can calculate the strength rating of any chain. Also provides links to spec sheets for every grade of chain. Note that anything under Grade 80 is not suitable for overhead lifting. Example of deck chain used in Arena rigging.

Chain Motors:

Here you have the bread and butter of the entertainment rigging industry, the classic CM Lodestar motor series. Most road shows and rental houses will have a small army of these in varying lifting capacities. It is essential to know chain weights and motor weights to calculate your lifts. On the page, you can find the official maintenance manual for Lodestar series motors. Study this to get a really in-depth look at chain hoists, their parts, and troubleshooting. You will know much more than the average rigger. Most of the info you need to pay attention to for the tests purposes are the lifting capacities, electrical/control properties, and knowing that chain motors are rated 25% under their actual capacity to account for the small shock load produced by the initial inertia of lifting/lowering. Also note that Lodestars are rated in metric tons. Make sure to check out all the different models CM offers too. ProStars are popular for their light weight and silent operation, and are rated from 300-1000lbs, differing from the metric rated Lodestars. Make sure to note this difference when you look at the label on the butt of the motor housing.

Beam Clamps:

You will use beam clamps whenever beam clearance is too low to use traditional 5’ wire rope slings and still achieve trim height. Note that beam clamps of large capacities will not allow you to attach to steel too small to take the load it is rated for. In other words, if your rig is going into a building with 2” angle trussing (typical in small ballrooms and venues), you won’t be able to rig your show with your 1 ton beam clamps. Better hope your points are rated for less than a half ton!

Stewards Corner: Zero Tolerance Policy

STEWARDS CORNER

In past articles I have tried to shy away from fluff pieces that just mimic old inefficient policies of dealing with important topics. Our members need perspective and honest appraisals on important issues that face our workers today. With that in mind, I have tried in the past to address the issue of lax and less than forceful representation by our leaders, sexual harassment in the workplace, and political activism.

This piece involves the complicated issue of suspension and termination from your job, due to drug test failures and drug use by our workers, either in the work place or on your personal time. This issue tends to be very divisive in its opinions by our members. There are strong feelings for and against the implementation of heavy-handed drug policy with vigorous enforcement clauses. I make no moral judgments on anyone’s opinion either way. I will simply attempt to lay out some legal aspects maybe not commonly known by our members; and yes, I will try to point out some improvements that can be brought to bear. My only motives are to educate and to keep our technicians on the job and working.

—Zero Tolerance Policy—

Bosses LOVE “zero tolerance policies.” One arbitrator called them “the last refuge of weak managers.” In my opinion, he should also to include weak union negotiators in his statement. Hard to believe, but several of our current contracts rely on a zero tolerance policy regarding what might be called egregious behavior in the workplace. This could refer to fighting, threatening violence, stealing, drug test failures, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, felony convictions, etc. For our discussion purposes, let’s narrow our view to drug test failures. This could mean just using pot, not just the harder drugs which are in no way acceptable to our professional standards. Hey, come on, some have called out liberal Austin as a marijuana local. Be that as it may, these discipline policy issues are on the rise.

A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY provides that workers who commit a specific infraction (failed drug test) be immediately discharged with no consideration for mitigating circumstances such as an employee’s long standing seniority or past record. Worse yet, if an accident occurs they test all parties, even those collaterally damaged by the incident. These workers are clearly victims in the incident, only to be re-victimized by having to pass a urine test.

If the union questions the policy, the employer is likely to cite contractual language which gives it the right to issue rules and regulations. This is part of the “managements rights” section in most contracts. Management can set rules, policies, and regulations for employment. Arbitrators generally uphold these rules when they are used to maintain production quotas and insure a safe working environment (something they are legally bound to do).

However, even if the contract’s management rights clause waives the union’s right to negotiate on the contents of the rule, the employer must allow the union to bargain on how it will be applied. I believe this tactic has eluded our leadership. Our representatives simply look to a strict interpretation of contract language for what they can and can’t do. But, as labor attorney and writer Robert Schwartz shows, there is a tactic to combat, somewhat, even the strictest of contract language. I believe Local 205’s negotiators are not aware of this tactic and simply say “it’s not in the contract,” believing they can’t argue, discuss, or negotiate on the contents of the rule; or bargain on how it’s applied. To clarify, we have an option to challenge the conditions of the violation and we are not doing it. I believe our negotiators just look at strict contract wording, which is very limiting as the final word. And apparently Schwartz agrees with my interpretation.

These overly broad zero tolerance policies can lead to grossly unfair punishments. And some of our working brothers and sisters have suffered because of them.

Let me explain. When an employee whose conduct should result in a warning or short suspension is discharged because of a zero tolerance policy, the union should assert – through the Business Agent and Stewards’ Committee (Grievance Committee) – that the policy violates the Just Cause clause of the contract. Fair notice, disparate (uneven) treatment might be a good reasonable argument. This is one of several possible tactics to argue against a mandatory drug test. At the very least, it may mitigate the severity of the punishment. It would be to our benefit for our contracts to have language – that employers deem reasonable – more clearly defining the union’s contract interpretation.

Summary discharge is contrary to the basic principle of just cause for discipline. Outdated as it is, it’s the old master vs. servant attitude that employers constantly try to enforce. Not to mention, if discharge was instituted before test results or a good faith investigation of facts, we can argue the employee did not receive due process.

It is widely accepted that the just cause concept compels an employer to weigh the gravity of the offense, consider the mitigating and extenuating circumstances, and apply the least severe penalty that is likely to lead the employee to correct his or her mistakes. A disciplinary firing and drug test failure can have long term negative effects on an employee’s career.

Zero tolerance unilaterally extinguishes these just cause-bargained protections.

Union Silence on the Issue

The union will have a hard time contending that zero tolerance violates the contract if it has failed to object before the current discharges. The employer will undoubtedly argue that past practice shows agreement with the policy. Management will never want to appear to condone illegal recreational drug usage by its employees. As a tactic to overcome that contention, we, the union, should distinguish the current cases from the earlier cases, stating that current cases more clearly violate the just cause standard.

Other Arguments

Unions can use the wording of zero tolerance policies against the employer. A policy might state that a violation “may” lead to immediate discharge. This can be interpreted to mean that dismissal is only one of several possible alternatives. Similarly, if a policy states the offender is “subject” to discharge or punishment “up to and including discharge,” the union may have some wiggle room.

It is hard to believe that our International and local representatives signed on to this overly broad zero tolerance policy. Although we as stewards, reps, and advocates can raise defenses such as lack of evidence, lax of enforcement, disparate treatment, and due process, we will be fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our backs until we get some basic change at the contract level.

Until then, in my opinion, it’s nothing short of a crapshoot to spend time and money taking these kinds of situations to arbitration.

I found a case recently in researching arbitration cases of mandatory dismissal in drug cases:

COMPARE BIOLAB INC., 114 LA 279 (BRODSKY 2000) “If required by the contract, a discharge based on a positive drug test is likely to be upheld in arbitration even without evidence of impairment.” (*3)

GES Contract Wording

Our agreement with the Tradeshow employer GES has this kind of extreme zero-tolerance policy. I would hope the International and IA Reps would listen to our pleas to change this policy in future contracts or give us support, in both time and monies, to properly process these kinds of dismissals through the Grievance Procedure. It would surely go all the way to arbitration and that is an unfair burden on a small local like ours. Or, a much easier remedy would be to strike it from future contracts all together.

Jim Ford, chair
Stewards’ Committee
IATSE Local 205
Austin, Tx
j…@hotmail.com
JUST CLAUSE: A UNION GUIDE TO WINNING DISCIPLINE CASES by Robert Schwartz was the primary source for this article.

***A good contract with a good union is good business***
—John T. Dunlap, US Secretary of Labor

Education Committee Report RE: Freeman AV

Written by Katy Hallee

April 24, 2014

As we move forward in our goals of obtaining a contract with Freeman AV, I believe training is an essential step in that process. If we continuously present Freeman with more and more highly trained workers, they will ask for a contract with us to retain those workers!

On January 29, 2014 I came across a set of PDFs on Local 122’s website entitled Freeman AV Operational Standards. The data seemed relevant to the work we have been doing for Freeman AV here in Austin. I saved the files and began making inquiries through Brother Perez to confirm that these PDFs were something we should be sharing with our membership.

I did not hear back from Brother Perez, so when I found myself working for Freeman at the end of February I questioned the Freeman employees I was working with and happened to be introduced to Dave Vass who is the Safety Officer for Austin’s Freeman AV and in charge of training here! Dave confirmed that they previously had a training seminar series for their employees that has since been distilled into these 25 PDFs. They now carry out training with these documents and on-the-job training.

Dave is more than happy to have this information disseminated as widely as possible. He also informed me that one area they are in need of trained individuals is covered in standard #9 AUDIO RECORDING – MARANTZ PROFESSIONAL CDR-420. This device is used to record sessions when the client wants a record of what happened. They are more than willing to provide their equipment for us to use in training our members and individuals on the hiring hall list that work Freeman calls. They are also open to members shadowing other members on a call, off the clock, in order to learn a new skill such as camera operator. This is how training is handled in the San Antonio local and they are more than willing to follow the same method here. All we have to do is show and interest and ask. Arnold Garcia has taken advantage of this opportunity and went to Freeman’s shop for training on one of their video recorders. He got a week of show call out of it!

I have already shared these documents with 19 members. All I need is a gmail address for anyone wishing to have access to the folder. We could also send the document at the bottom of the folder that is a copy of all the links I have downloaded to our membership. I would like the stewards help in informing those people working Freeman calls of this opportunity and collecting their email addresses if they want the information.

I also recommend compiling a list of members that have the aptitude and level of responsibility required to learn the audio recording skill and solicit their interest in a training class. I believe a demonstrated ability as board operator in another area and the corresponding level of responsibility is required for this job as it is like wedding photography. You only get one chance to do the job properly and there is little supervision to make sure you do the job correctly.

We need to make this information widely known and reach all of our workers that are working these calls. A more educated workforce will further our cause for a contract much better than trying to push the issue with Freeman!

AV Standard 0001 – Tripod and Fast-Fold Screens
AV Standard 0002 – Fast-Fold Screen Dress Kits-1
AV Standard 0003 – Flipcharts and Whiteboards
AV Standard 0004 – Safelock Stands and AV Carts
AV Standard 0005 – Cable Care and Taping
AV Standard 0006 – Electrical Metering-Circuit Load Calculation
AV Standard 0007 – Cleaning Exhibit Equipment
AV Standard 0008 – Meeting Room Speaker Placement-Setup
AV Standard 0009 – Audio Recording-Marantz CDR-420
AV Standard 0010 – Analog Audio Recording
AV Standard 0011 – Video Display Image Optimization
AV Standard 0012 – Choosing Correct Video Conduits-Distance Limitations
AV Standard 0013 – Presentation Computer Setup
AV Standard 0014 – Security-Theft Prevention
AV Standard 0015 – Pipe and Drape
AV Standard 0016 – Microphone Placement
AV Standard 0017 – General Session Lectern Microphone Placement
AV Standard 0018 – Conventional Lighting Instruments
AV Standard 0019 – Lighting Trees
AV Standard 0020 – Blocking Exits
AV Standard 0021 – Marking Damaged Equipment – Repair Stickers-Damaged Tape
AV Standard 0022 – Flat-Panel Video Display Handling
AV Standard 0023 – Console and Cable Labeling
AV Standard 0024 – Truck Loading-Unloading
AV Standard 0026 – Wireless Microphone Setup

#StagehandView: Organizing Opportunities Are Everwhere

My last work day was long, even by stagehand standards, a six a.m. start with a load-out from one p.m. until … depends on who you asked. And this lengthy work call came at the end of ten early starts to ten long days. By about eight that night I was crispy. And that’s my excuse for missing an organizing opportunity.

Like I said, I was pretty fried when a longtime non-union Austin stagehand irritated me by hurrying up when it didn’t really make sense to hurry up. At the time, most of the carpenters were involved in a repetitive multi-person heavy lifting situation, so steady and safe would have been the right way to go even if we were all fresh and rested. But this guy kept moving faster than the group at a moment that required the group to move as one. I barked – I was the local department head, so it was my week to give f**k. He back-talked. I barked again. He figured out he needed to listen to me and eventually slowed down. We continued picking the heavy things up and putting them in their road case. End of incident.

Until that same stagehand came up to me later and introduced himself and apologized. Completely unexpected behavior. I certainly didn’t feel he had done anything that merited an actual apology. I had probably barked at a dozen people during that particular load-out. It’s kind of how we do. That’s what made his choice all the more remarkable.

I thanked him and assured him things were good between us. By then the call was mostly wrapping up so we chatted some. I learned he was a veteran of some of Austin’s more, shall we say, union unfriendly venues and stage labor providers, which explained his speed-up mindset. Then we went back to work and I didn’t really think about it anymore.

Anti Union Poster by Party9999999 The next day it occurred to me that I had missed an organizing opportunity. I should have done more than just accept his apology and shake his hand and make small talk. I should have pointed out that our little mini-conflict lies at the very heart of why unions exist in the first place. We had each taken a side in a debate as old as capitalism: who controls the speed of the work? Or, to put it more fundamentally, should America’s ideals of democracy apply to workers while they’re doing their jobs?

Through his actions – namely, his go-go-go, work-as-fast-as-possible-all-the-time attitude – my new non-union acquaintance tacitly sides with management against democracy in the work place. His willingness to exhaust himself and put himself and his co-workers into dangerous situations, for whatever personal reasons, has the effect of ceding workplace power to the boss, in effect creating a little dictatorship.

On a union gig the stagehands are supposed to have a say in how fast a job happens (mostly because generations of workers have fought and died to win that right). And no, that does not mean we should all get out our milking stools. Union proud stagehands work as fast as the particulars of a situation allow. We work steady and we finish as quickly as possible without pushing past the speed of safety. That’s why fewer stagehands get hurt on union protected work calls.

These are some of things I should have said.

Of course, to be honest, I would have also needed to acknowledge that working union doesn’t fix everything. For example, there’s a national convention company my local is forced to work for (under a CBA we didn’t ratify that our international union shoved down our throats) where the contract completely sucks and where concepts like workplace democracy don’t apply. But that raises another democracy related question that won’t be answered here.

Because I just wanted to tell you about the organizing opportunity I missed. I just wanted to say that we should all be organizing all the time. And sometimes that simply means recognizing the chances we’re given and being willing to have the right conversations.

Behind the tutu: A Nutcracker Review

by Sister Joan Miller

When talking with deckhands during Nutcracker, I often say, “They keep me in the basement”, like some monster in the cellar. During the Broadway shows, they can see what I do. I may be in the wings or in a quick change area, and the performer arrives in one costume and leaves in another.

Nutcracker is different. Except for a single occasional quick change and the guest artist, I rarely go further than the wardrobe room, and the dancers can find me there. This is a resident company and I have been dressing the principal women for a long time, through changes of dancers, directors, theatre venues, and Nutcracker productions.

The new costumes are gorgeous. Every costume has multiple fabrics and trims with lots of details, from the small roses on the Sugar Plum classical tutu to the ruffles, beading and trim on the party dresses for the women and girls, with lush brocade fabrics throughout. The costume design reminds me of the women’s chorus costumes for Wicked – nothing succeeds like excess.

The previous costumes for the women in the opening party scene of Nutcracker were Empire style high-waist dresses. They were not tightly fitted and went on and off with hooks and eyes and snaps. Trinka and I could easily get them all dressed in the last five minutes, and there was a long curtain speech. The new design by Judana Lynn is Victorian, with tightly fitted bodices and very full skirts with lots of petticoats built in. And, every one of them laces up the back. The snowflake costumes also lace up the back, as they did before.

Sidebar — About lacing: Usually, lacing is just like shoes, the lace going from inside to out. But sometimes the bodice stretches out. So, to get a tighter fit, we might overlap the back and lace like an over under running stitch. And always tie at top and tuck in the ends really well.

So I start checking on/nagging the company dancers at half hour. No one wants to wear a heavy skirt for long, but they cooperate, and I can usually get one laced in before Bill calls fifteen. Trinka comes in to help, and we hook skirts and lace bodices as quickly as we can. Fortunately, there’s still a curtain speech.

Once they leave, I set out the romantic tutus for the 3 or 4 quick changes from party scene into snow. Then I help Trinka lace the apprentice dancers in the adjoining room into their tutus for snow.

The Snow Queen finishes putting on her shoes and ties the ribbons really well, stitching or taping the knot at her ankle, and I hook her into her classical tutu. (Made of a stretchy fabric, this one hooks up the back.)

There’s a brief pause before I hear the dancers running up the hall like the Queen Victoria race in a Monty Python sketch. Trinka and I begin unlacing them in the wig room even as Wendy and Casey take off their hairpieces, and I follow the dancer up the hallway, usually unlacing as we go.

In the dressing room, I unhook the skirt, then go and unlace and unhook someone else. We act quickly so that she has time to put on her snowflake headpiece, and pin it really well. Change from heeled character shoes to pointe shoes, and tie the ribbons really well. As well as put on her costume, so that Trinka or I can lace her up.

Once they leave, the Sugar Plum Fairy finishes putting on her pointe shoes (and tying them really well) and gets into her tutu. She goes to stage as the snowflakes return to the dressing room.

And the Snow Queen who was gracefully bowing in front of the curtain has less than 20 minutes to become the lead Flower in Waltz of the Flowers in Act Two.

(End part one. Begin part two.)

As any stagehand knows, intermission is a break for the audience, not the crew or the dancers. A full costume change can take as long as a full set change. The spirit of cooperation among the dancers is amazing. The alternate dancer is standing by, helping with the change of headpiece and shoes.

So, intermission is — unlace and unhook snow costumes, hang them up, pull dress shields from the party dresses, take laundry to the laundry room where Linda will put it in the washer, while the dancers do their hair, makeup, and shoes. I lace and hook each dancer into the costume for whichever divertissement she is doing that show, which changes every performance. And, sometimes they change from one pair of tights to another. Which means, pointe shoes come off, old tights off, good tights on, and pointe shoes back on. There is no curtain speech, no extra time except a short overture.

Sidebar — we have a diminishing supply of tights as the Danskin factory has closed. The new costumes for party scene make the tights turn fuzzy with yarn pills. So the dancer changing to a classical tutu, such as in the Spanish divertissement, will save her better tights for act two.

Once the dancers go to stage, it’s time for Mother Ginger, the guest artist of each performance.

Usually Wendy is just finishing her makeup, and I chat with the ballet staff while keeping an eye on the show monitor. I dress the guest in the bodice, gloves, and headpiece for photos, and then take it off and carry it while the ballet staff leads the guest to stage left. The goal is to start putting the guest into the skirt framework at the first divertissement.

Sidebar — My mnemonic for the order of Nutcracker is Sacre bleu! Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Russian, French — then Mother Ginger.

I turn the guest over to Val and they disappear under the skirt, while I climb the 8-foot ladder in back. The guest pops out of the top of the skirt and I dress him/her from the ladder, telling her/him to turn around so I can zip the bodice and clip the headpiece, then let the guest know which way is front. I climb down, leaving the guest trapped in the skirt.

The guest is usually someone notable from the city — I’ve met the mayor, the city manager, the fire chief, army colonels, teachers, reporters — all of whom have agreed to be made up, dressed up, climb a ladder, put on a rolling platform and sent onstage.

The first time Mother Ginger went out (without guest) in the new production, the bonbons drop came in and hit the rolling skirt; I heard Glenn say over radio something about he shouldn’t fly it in that fast. The first guest for the dress rehearsal was Sarah Butler, one of the richest and most generous patrons of the arts in Austin. She told us that the hair was in her face (Wendy fixed it) and the chinstrap was too tight (Alexey fixed it). The first guest for a public performance was Jennie Tuttle, librarian at Clayton Elementary School. The disease ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) has taken her ability to speak, but she communicated beautifully with a look and a gesture. She gave a delightful performance, recognizing the amazing dancing of the bonbons before her.

Then the bonbons exit downstage left. Val and Charlie roll Mother Ginger off upstage left, George sets up the ladder for me, and I climb up, unhook the headpiece and unzip the bodice, and hand them to Sam, as the guest disappears back under the skirt. When he/she reappears, we go out to the hall, where I put the costume back on the guest for a picture with the bonbons. Wendy takes the headpiece and leads the guest artist off to remove the makeup. I take the bodice and gloves and go back to the basement.

I clean makeup off the Mother Ginger bodice and the snow tutu, and start replacing dress shields while the show finishes. The dancers return after curtain call, and we unlace and unhook, hang up costumes and spray them with alcohol, collect laundry from the dancers, start the washers, and go have a drink.

Then do it again the next day.

My prep for the call is to check tights and repair as needed (see sidebar about Danskin) and my show call is to lace bodices like corsets. I also do hand sewn repairs as needed, all very 19th century skills. I am glad that laundry has advanced to the twentieth century. And, grateful for 21st century monitors so I can see what is happening on stage, where the dancing is, and where my union brothers and sisters are doing their part to make Nutcracker a wonderful holiday tradition for Austin.

Names dropped
Part one: Trinka Withers, Judana Lynn, Bill Sheffield, Wendy Sanders, Casey (?), Queen Victoria, Monty Python
Part two: Linda Steele, Wendy Sanders, Valerie Sadorra, Glenn Dunn, Sarah Butler, Alexey Korygin, Jennie Tuttle, Charlie Hames, George Wenning, Sam Chesney

Stage Call April 2014

April Stage Call issue

#StagehandView: First, We (Re)Organize Ourselves …

You’ve heard me talk about organizing. A lot. I’ve written about it here and elsewhere. But I can be a little stupid sometimes, so it only just dawned on me that all the local 205 members I’ve been talking organizing with probably assume I mean the external kind where a union targets a group of unorganized workers, brings them into the union, and negotiates a new CBA.

That type of organizing is a big part of the equation. We definitely need more of it.

But there’s a more fundamental, intra-union type of organizing that has to happen first because it serves as the foundation for the external kind. This kind of drive for primary, internal organizing has to grow out of the culture of a union local. Which is probably why it only seems to happen when the members actively run things instead of sitting back and relying on their e-board to handle all the work. It manifests in well-planned (and well-executed) bottom-up contract campaigns featuring strategic collective actions that back up the representatives at the bargaining table. Another sign that a union has embodied the organizing model is the presence of a lot of diverse, pro-active committees that accomplish assigned tasks on schedule. Internal union organizing boils down to the members making their local work for them by [You’ve figured out where I’m going with this, haven’t you?] working for their local.

Don’t sneer. Sure it’s trite, but that’s because it’s basically what JFK said.

You got a problem with JFK? I mean besides his pharmaceutical and sex dependence? … Or his refusal to push civil rights legislation. … But I’m getting off topic.

I kind of feel like our local might be starting to move toward embracing an organizing culture. At least a little. Maybe I’m just a starry eyed dreamer, but according to President Magee, we had over 70% voter turn-out in the last election, and that was despite all of the balloting silliness. We just need to figure out how to keep up this momentum and use it to our advantage.

Like the human body, if an organization sits still for too long it calcifies and starts to decay. Entropy affects collectives as much as it does individuals. And local 205 has been sitting still for a long, long time. So we need to keep figuring out ways to lube our squeaky joints and grind away at our shared rust.

I’m a writer and an editor. That means I’ve started writing and editing for the local. It helps the union and it helps me build my online platform. Everybody wins.

What are you when you’re not a stagehand? How can your unique skill set help?

Or, even more fun, what do you want to learn how to do? Our newsletter’s layout editor, Brother Ellinger, is a great example of how a lot of times you don’t have to be qualified to start volunteering, just interested and available. You can learn on the job. Years ago when we first started Stage Call, he volunteered to do the layout because he wanted to master the program he uses to put each issue together. I’d say we all benefited.

Because it’s not just about voting, though high election turn-outs are a good thing. It’s not just about paying dues either, though the money we amass can be a great weapon. It’s about the business union system – along with the thousands of passive, seemingly helpless members it continues to create – being just as much a part of the problem as Radical Right assholes like the Koch brothers and Grover Norquist.

Unlike America’s seemingly inexhaustible ability to spawn rich, Nazi-esque dickheads, which I don’t pretend to understand or know how to curtail, union members can control how we organize our reactions to those dickheads. We’ve cowed these guys before and we’ll do it again. If we we’re willing to work for it.

Unions have always been attacked from the far right, that’s a constant. Kind of like stagehands bitching about stuff, it’ll never stop. Unfortunately that means the union reaction to it can’t either. And, worse, we will never achieve any sort of ultimate victory. All we can do is choose to fight or choose to surrender.

I agree that the neverending class conflict caused by cannibal capitalism sucks. But how’s that relevant?

#StagehandView: Buying (sort of) American Made

Everybody got the run-off election results, right? Thanks again to Sister Miller for keeping on what’s seeming to be an endless process. Anyway, the results in case you haven’t heard: Treasure, Rita Kelso; BA, Lupe Perez; Convention Delegate, Rachel Magee (with one more to be determined at the April meeting). Congratulations to all and thank you for your continuing service to the local.

So I had to go buy new general use “tennis” shoes yesterday. I went to Academy and was surprised to notice they actually had some of New Balance’s (sort of) American made lines of walking and running shoes. I went ahead and paid the premium to wear shoes with the flag under their tongues.

The whole experience left me feeling wildly conflicted. On the one hand, I was happy to be able to buy a (sort of) American made product at a semi-big box store, even if that product was significantly more expensive than its Indonesian and Chinese made counterparts. But on the other hand, I kind of hated the fact that New Balance only keeps a token level of production in the U.S. (five factories) to take advantage of suckers like me.

The shoes actually came with a little micro-pamphlet highlighting the company’s so-called commitment to the American worker. It opened by congratulating me on buying “a pair of shoes that were made or assembled” in the U.S. Literally, the first word is “congratulations.”

I don’t exactly feel cheated. Just baldly and blatantly manipulated. After all, the vast majority of the New Balance shoes sold in the world are not made in the U.S., or anywhere in the Global North. Like most so-called American companies, for the most part, only their upper management remains on this continent. While its marginally better than nothing, what New Balance is doing with its (sort of) American made shoes is really just marketing. It’s kind of like a carnie showing the crowd ahead of time that the two headed cow isn’t actually alive, that none of the freaks or wonders inside the tent are real. And I’m the rube who smiled and handed over my money anyway.

And all of that might be okay if the damn shoes weren’t so hideous to look at. They’re mostly black with neon orange highlights. Even though I’ve been assured they’re quite fashionable, I find them downright distracting. They’re just so bright. But they sure are comfy. Again, major internal conflicts.

That’s it. Except to say that it’s not looking like there’s any need for me to write that story I had talked about doing on the Atlantic City casino stagehands and their fight for fair wages. But you can get involved by joining their Facebook group at IA917.

#StagehandView: IA917 Atlantic City Update

3/9/14

4:19 p.m.

Yesterday’s Facebook action for the Atlantic City casino workers’ union, Spread the Word Saturday, seems to have gone well. I ended up figuring out to work my phone enough to finally start copying and pasting into casino pages by the second show. But some folks really went to town until they got blocked from posting comments. Here’s how Michael Barnes summed up on the IA917 page:

The casinos changed the settings on their Facebook Page to delete and block our message. This a win for workers as it demonstrates we have motivated activists and the casinos are sensitive to the message. First mission can be ruled a success.

We will be launching a second wave of messages this week using secondary targets, beautiful faces, Twitter and from a suggestion today, Yelp.

Thanks to everyone for their help today. It’s Miller Time.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read yesterday’s Stagehand View.

Otherwise, I’m happy to report that I’ve been in contact with both Michael Barnes and Darrell Stark (see his comment on yesterday’s post). Anyone reading this should feel free to slap me on the back of the hand when you see me for my mistakes in the previous #StagehandView. I have corrected the piece.

But enough of that. It looks like Vice President Barnes is interested in talking to me for an article that I will write and submit to Labor Notes. Hopefully they’ll publish it and spread the word a little wider. At the very least, you’ll be able to read it here.

That’s it. Now I’ve got to go eat and do the final Austin show of Wicked … until the next time.

Don’t forget to join the IA917 Facebook page. The casino workers can’t participate in these kinds of actions without risking their jobs. That’s why it’s up to the rest of the union to do it for them.

#StagehandView: Call for Help from Local 917

This post has been corrected. The original contained factual errors. I apologize. In my haste to move at the pace of unfolding events I failed to figure out some rather important details about the major players. Again, I apologize.

March 8, 2014

9:17 a.m.

I recently and belatedly joined the You Know You’re a Stagehand If group on Facebook. I was almost immediately sucked into a cool little cyber campaign recently started by 1st International VP Michael Barnes on behalf of the IATSE local 917 in Atlantic City. He is asking people to cut and paste a message about how the casinos in his town have double crossed union workers. I can tell you that local 917 doesn’t have anything about the Facebook group IA917 or Barnes’s claims about a “sleazy” double cross by the casinos in Atlantic City. I think it’s only fair to mention that, as far as I could tell, Local 917 doesn’t really have much of a web presence at all. After hitting that dead end I did a couple of preliminary – i.e. very fast and un-thorough – Google searches which didn’t mention anything about the local having a beef with the casinos, either. However, I did find a couple of December, 2013, newspaper articles talking about a casino bankruptcy and an executive bonus judgement from the courts. These stories corroborated at least part of Vice President Barnes’s story.

None of which means much of anything, of course.

Granted, my bias inclines to believe his claims about the double-dealing casinos. Here’s what he wrote and asked members of the IA917 group to share on various casino Facebook pages:

WORKERS DOUBLECROSSED BY SLEAZY CASINO GAMES; The Atlantic City Stagehands Local 917 was chartered in 1978. Our mission is to represent the people working in the entertainment departments at the Atlantic City Casinos. In 2011, our union like many other unions in Atlantic City were asked to roll back cost to get Atlantic City back on track. The members of Local 917 agreed to a 20% roll back in wages and a three year wage freeze. The casinos asked and we agreed to take this step back to allow us to move forward. We were told we were in this together. We were gamed. The casinos took our roll back and immediately distributed management bonuses. The non represented workers in the casinos were given raises and in some cases now earn 25% more than the represented workers. Help us spread the message. Share and Tweet this post.

I went ahead and joined his IA917 page and shared his message on some casino Facebook pages.

Okay, I admit it; it’s my first time. I’ve never done this kind of cyber-activism before. I only shared his message twice, at Harrah’s Atlantic City and Trump Tower Las Vegas. I was nervous and almost chickened out. But then I pushed Post. After the second time I did lose my nerve and went and had breakfast. It’s been about a half hour and my computer has not caught fire. Nor has my Facebook page fallen victim to some massive and irrecoverable hack. In fact, nothing’s happened. … I think I might be a little disappointed.

Two performances of Wicked today. The plan is to do some more posting of Brother Barnes’s “Double Cross” message between half-hour and top-of-show. I honestly don’t know if this kind of thing – Am I ‘”trolling?” – works or not. But it seems like it might. If anybody else does it, let me know how it goes.

9:51 a.m.

I can tell you that my posts at both Harrah’s and Trump have been removed. Though I just liked about a half dozen postings of it on the Harrah’s AC page. According to Barnes, there are at least 200 people working on this action.

Like I said, I have no idea what the result of this will be. But it’s kind of fun.

Next up, I’ll reach out to Vice President Barnes and see what he has to say. If you join in, let me know by commenting here. Or not. That’s cool, too.