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Unions announce BOYCOTT of Blue Man Group!
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| girllovingtvibe |
agree or disagree?
"Blue Man Group will not talk to unions
Actors, musicians, crew urge boycott Scheduled to open in Toronto June 14
ROBERT CREW
ARTS WRITER
The Blue Man Group will not negotiate with any Toronto union, despite a looming ticket boycott, a spokesperson for the group says.
Manny Igrejas was responding to a boycott announced by three Toronto unions at a media conference yesterday.
"We are clearly not going to be a signatory to any union. That's just not what we do," Igrejas said via phone from New York. "We have built our own business model and offer competitive salaries and full benefits."
The unions — Canadian Actors' Equity, the Toronto Musicians' Union and locals 58 and 149 of the International Alliance of Theatre Stage Employees — are demanding the Blue Man Group negotiate contracts covering base pay, benefits and working conditions before the boycott is lifted.
Toronto audiences will be cheated if the Blue Man Group doesn't reach an agreement with the unions, said Susan Wallace, executive director of Canadian Actors' Equity.
"Consumers and ticket buyers in Toronto are going to get ripped off if they buy tickets to a show where the money ... is not being fairly and equitably distributed to all the members of the production," she said.
Attempts at negotiation have failed and the core problem is one of "pronounced anti-worker mentality," IATSE's Kevin Mahoney said.
Mahoney described the group's actions as "leading to the increasing corporatization of Canadian values, Canadian arts and Canadian culture — in other words, the Wal-Mart phenomenon."
The Toronto production of the Blue Man Group is scheduled to open June 14 at the Panasonic Theatre, formerly the New Yorker.
Igrejas denied allegations that one performer was rejected because he was a member of Canadian Equity. "This is badly untrue," he said. "We have union and non-union members. We are just looking for the most talented people we can find."
The Ontario Federation of Labour, ACTRA and several teachers unions are also among those backing the boycott."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...id=968867495754 |
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| starsearcher |
| disagree...I can't wait to see those guys :happy2: (hopefully I get the chance now) |
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| rabbitjoker |
| quote: | Originally posted by girllovingtvibe
"Consumers and ticket buyers in Toronto are going to get ripped off if they buy tickets to a show where the money ... is not being fairly and equitably distributed to all the members of the production," |
How exactly am I (a ticket buyer) being ripped off if the show producers don't use union workers??? |
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| starsearcher |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
How exactly am I (a ticket buyer) being ripped off if the show producers don't use union workers??? |
lol that's true I didn't even think about it...good point RJ! :happy2:
this is from Globe and Mail...look at the unions supporting this...
| quote: | | The unions - including the Canadian Auto Workers, the United Steelworkers, Quebec's Union des artistes, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees |
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| MarkT |
you're not going to get an unbiased view from anyone, lol.
The Blueman Group will state the negatives of unions...the union members all stick together...and people here are either pro-union or not.
I don't know enough about the ins and outs of this situation...but...whereas the members of some unions are pretty much ALL paid well with good working conditions, the same is NOT true for others.
The teacher's unions do not garner much sympathy from me. I'm not saying I think they're "bad", just not as oppressed as they'd have us believe...and holding the city hostage by work-to-rule, strike threats after every contract, etc. does nothing to garner sympathy from me...I've said it before...give them the tools they need to adequately do their jobs and increase the starting salaries (long-term teachers get paid quite well) and then make teachers an "essential service" and legally bar them from striking.
ACTRA...not the same situation...so I'd be more inclined to support them in this boycott (though I have no interest in seeing the Blueman Group anyway). |
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| girllovingtvibe |
| I think this is so silly! As if anyone should not go see it because the "Blue Man Group" is not a part of a union. Really sad that this gets news coverage. |
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| starsearcher |
GO COMMUNISM! WORKERS...RISE!!! STAND TOGETHER...SEIZE THE POWER FROM THE GREEDY CAPITALISTS AND LANDOWNERS! POWER TO THE PROLETARIATS!!!!
:stongue: :stongue: :stongue: :stongue: |
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| ShadoWolf |
The BMG should be boycotted for what they did to this man:
:stongue: |
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| Jayx1 |
| Unions are a relic from the early 1900s and should be abolished or at the very least, radically reformed. |
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| VERTiG0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Unions are a relic from the early 1900s and should be abolished or at the very least, radically reformed. |
Fully agreed. They protect the lazy and ensure a shoddy product. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by VERTiG0
Fully agreed. They protect the lazy and ensure a shoddy product. |
exactly.. not to mention that they were designed to fight corperate and political power and have now become their own corperate and politcal power that needs fighting against. |
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| ShadoWolf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Unions are a relic from the early 1900s and should be abolished or at the very least, radically reformed. |
They have their place, especially in the private sector.
My problem is with public sector unions in government monopolies (Canada Post, public transport, police, fire fighters, etc.) If those people go on strike, that sector essentially shuts down because there's no competition or alternative. |
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