OK I’m back with another MAJOR GRIPE!! – Coonass “The Union View”
I’ve been in this business for a long time. I started with Bar bands in the 70′s, toured with major rock bands, toured Broadway shows & worked as a LOCAL all over! My job was either as a Production Rigger, Head Carpenter or as assistant to one of the above!
Let me preface this with: Although the following statement is in my opinion TRUE, I cannot ignore the FACT that there are a SOME Production Crews & localities that have very high quality Tech’s!!
Something that I have noticed getting worse over the years.
The quality of labor, both Local & Touring personnel is turning to SHIT!!
I see new Production personnel that are great Tech’s, BUT, have NO IDEA how to direct a Local Crew!
& also some Production Tech’s that should never have left HOME!!
As for Local Crew, Over the years it seems that some areas or particular Production Labor Companies,
Labor seems to be turning to “DAY LABORERS” rather than using REAL STAGEHANDS!
I’m a UNION Stagehand & I am NOT just talking about NON-UNION workers!
In many jurisdictions there are no “APPRENTICE” Programs!
YES! I do believe that a QUALITY Apprentice Program is ESSENTIAL!
I don’t think any Collage courses teach you the way this business works in the REAL WORLD!
It seems that there are very few people entering this TRADE that have the ability to “LEARN on the JOB”!
This needs to be addressed!
Production Companies & Promoters all over are cutting wages & the excuse that I hear most often is:
“What skills do these people possess? Anyone can do this work!”
Unskilled labor is CHEEP! That’s why salaries for “Road Gig’s” are dropping!
I think EVERY, ROADIE, STAGEHAND, TECH, Whatever you call yourself, needs to REFUSE to WORK for a low wage!!! It will take some time & it will be painful for some. But in the end, These Companies will see that UNSKILLED LABOR is NOT CHEEP! Unskilled Stagehands & Production Crews translate to LOSS OF PROFIT for the COMPANY!! Shows repeatedly starting LATE & CANCELLED SHOWS COST MONEY!
The only way to make our situation better is to have a stronger better trained labor force than the LABOR PIMPS that are driving the wages down!
Hone your skills & be the BEST you can!! Then STAND STRONG with the other men & women that you know are the BEST!! The people that do NOT have the desire to learn the job & do it to the best of their ability? FUCK THEM!!! KICK THEM TO THE CURB & DON”T LOOSE A MINUTE OF SLEEP!!!
These are MY OPINIONS!! So don’t kick KK in the shin when
you see him!!!
Respectfully.
CoonAss!
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I hear you CA! The problem with labor is a direct result of the Evil Empire taking over the entire business. I was a local running my own business providing local Runner, Catering, and Production support in Orlando for 10 years then in 2008 I had enough when some smarmy kid with the building didn’t think I was worth my rate & the E.E. promoter who I worked with for a few yrs concurred!! (Suck it fanboys you aint gettin no kickback from my hard work.) They charge the Show $20 per hr & pay these people $10 hr for a 16 hr day, take out taxes, use their cars, don’t give them any gas allowance, rarely feed them, and expect good work. I was making that kind of money in 1998. Gone are the days of the independents who paid for the best and got it. So sad to see them go.
CoonAss,
I couldn’t agree more. I grew up in the biz just like you and what I see today just blows me away. I’ve been seeing a gradual decrease in the quality of touring techs and engineers for at least the last 10 years. It seems like all you have to do is spend a sh!t load of money and go to one of those schools, we all know which ones I’m talking about, then one of the production companies will hire you and put you on the road.
You don’t have to put in your time and earn your patches. You may know how to turn a knob, push a fader or patch a light board but you have no idea how to direct hands to pin a stage or put together a light rig or whatever.
I watched a guy just a few weeks ago get so flustered at the stage hands that he started screaming at them. This was a group of well trained, seasoned IATSI hands. I tried to work with him and let him know that he just needed to tell them what he needs them to do. His response was, “They’re stage hands, there supposed to know what to do!” After that I just made it a point to make the rest of his load out as difficult as I could for him and amusing for me.
I’ve seen many of these green guys flat out work dangerously and they have know idea they are doing so, dropping hot tails, having 2 hands lift something that needs 4. Recently I saw an audio tech run a chain motor up a guys finger taking off a quarter size chunk of skin.
etc….etc….
On the other hand I agree with you that the locals aren’t what they used to be either. I’m going to piss some people off, but I don’t care if you’re union or not. There are good union hands and there are bad union hands. There are good non-union hands and there are bad non-union hands.
The problem with a lot of union shops is that moving up the ranks by following the apprenticeship program and being rewarded for hard work and putting in time has been replaced by nepotism and cronyism. I’ve seen some really good hands give up on getting their card because they don’t have a relative in the union or fit a certain stereotype.
That’s one reason we have a very strong non union company in our town. And they do get compensated just as well as the union.
Sparky