...Meanwhile, on Broadway.

• Author: Martin, Nicholas
• Position: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees' stringent rules

The Writers Guild of America may not be the only entertainment union more concerned with making money than with the well-being of its industry. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE, or "the alliance"), which represents all of the stagehands in the country's major commercial theaters, has a history of stringent rules and high salaries that stands in stark contrast to the happygo-lucky image of those who work on the Great White Way.

The union's work rules are notorious. Those who work on a typical Broadway show-carpenters, electricians, props men, and wardrobe workers-are not allowed to share even the simplest duties. According to the bylaws from IATSE's 1984 constitution, union members, as well as producers and theater owners foolhardy enough to infringe on other members' jurisdictions, can come in for heavy punishments. Working on "short-crew" show (one employing fewer stagehands than the union feels is necessary) carries a fine o "not less than" $100 for union members, while "working out of department"carpenters handling stage lights, for example-costs an extra $100. Second offenses are punishable by fines of at least $200 and suspension from the union for no less than one year.

Most stage managers say they do not encounter rigid adherence to the "out of department" rules in the middle of a performance-say, an electrician refusing to adjust a sandbag that seems precariously close to falling on Angela Lansbury. But given the penalties, producers do follow union rules during the months and months of preparations that go into a show. Why shouldn't the stagehands be cooperative once you've already hired everyone they told you to? According to one IATSE rule, if a particular department, electricians say, is required in the theater for a specific "work call," then the crew chiefs of all departments also must be called.

Under another agreement (now expired) crews were required to take down every stage light at the end of a show's run. It didn't matter if the next show needed some or all of the lights in the same placesthey still had to come down so that union crews could put them back up. Some rules are just silly. One designer remembers cutting a deal with his crew when they wanted to postpone lighting work (a "focus" session) to pick up a more lucrative job first. He was kind enough to agree if they would charge him less. To make the deal binding, the crew members had to run around the theater and touch each light...