N.Y. stagehands, management upbeat about strike settlement

There was optimism Sunday night on Broadway as both sides in the stagehands strike returned to the bargaining table and said that a settlement might be imminent.

“I think that we’re going to be able to make a deal,” Herschel Waxman, labor relations chief of the Nederlander Organization, told reporters as he arrived on the scene in the Midtown theater district. “I’m very optimistic. I think both sides will be smart.”

Minutes later, Bruce Cohen, spokesman for Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, sounded equally upbeat, saying: “There’s a lot of hard bargaining and good-faith negotiations going on, and we’re hoping at some point before the day breaks tomorrow there will be a settlement.”

The negotiations between the stagehands and the League of American Theatres and Producers began early Sunday afternoon. The clear hope on both sides was that a settlement could be reached in time for 26 Broadway shows to reopen for Tuesday’s performances.

At 10 p.m. Cohen said, “The teams are working very hard, but at this point there’s still a good chunk of work to do. We’ll stay here until there’s a deal.” Talks were continuing early today.

Sunday’s talks began as the strike entered its 16th day, having shut down the theater district during the traditionally profitable Thanksgiving weekend. The two sides had not met since last weekend, when discussions broke down and both parties accused each other of bad faith.

The key issue in the strike is how many stagehands should be required to work in various Broadway productions. The League has said that the staffing requirements in the union’s earlier contract were excessive, verging on featherbedding; they asked that the numbers be more flexible. But the union has protested such cutbacks, saying they threaten workplace safety and hard-won jobs.

Since Local 1 began the strike Nov. 10, some of Broadway’s biggest shows have been temporarily shuttered, including “Wicked,” “Avenue Q,” “Spring Awakening,” “The Lion King” and “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Nine shows have remained open because they had signed separate labor agreements with Local 1.

Estimates of the strike’s financial toll have varied: The League said the cost, including economic damage to restaurants, parking garages, tourist shops and the like, was $17 million a day. City officials have pegged that loss at $2 million.

--

josh.getlin@latimes.com