In a grievance dating back nearly two years, an arbitrator from the American
Arbitration Association has upheld the position of the League of American
Theatres and Producers/Shubert Organization. (Arbitrator’s decision can be read
in its entirety in the Members Only
section).
The Union, on behalf of the affected House Manager members, asserted that, in
the situation where a load-out of one show, and the load-in of a second show
occurred in the same week, House Managers were due one half week’s salary for
the show going out and a full week for the show coming in. Counsel for the Union
argued that the language in the collective bargaining agreement was clear and
also supported by the manner in which stagehands were paid in the same
circumstance. The Union also argued that the House Managers had to still perform
certain un-related duties with regard to the load-out of the closed show in
addition to those associated with the load-in of the new show. The Union pointed
to specifics such as two separate payrolls, two separate settlements etc.
The League/Shubert argued that due to the overlap of the work weeks, paying
the House Managers in the manner described in the contract would amount to
"time-on-time" in spite of the fact that the employer has willingly and
historically engaged in this practice with regard to the stagehands.
The arbitrator took a third position which, in brief, was that the contract
language was linked to minimum guarantees of employment only and was not worded
sufficiently to support the Union’s position.
The practical effect of the Arbitrator’s decision is that no retroactive
payments are due to the House Managers in question. It also means that, for the
balance of the term of the collective bargaining agreement, House Managers will
receive one week’s salary in weeks where a load-in and load-out both occur.
However, House Managers should be aware that, depending on the work schedule,
such a situation could trigger a seventh day premium (2/6ths) during that week.
Any other premiums, such as Holidays are not affected remain payable during
load-in and load-out weeks.
