Carnegie Hall Stagehand Moving Props Makes $530,044
 

Carnegie Hall Stagehand Moving Props Makes $530,044 (Update1)
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By Philip Boroff

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- After you practice for years and get to Carnegie Hall, it’s almost better to move music stands than actually play the piano.

Depending on wattage, a star pianist can receive $20,000 a night at the 118-year-old hall, meaning he or she would have to perform at least 27 times to match the income of Dennis O’Connell, who oversees props at the New York concert hall.

O’Connell made $530,044 in salary and benefits during the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. The four other members of the full-time stage crew -- two carpenters and two electricians -- had an average income of $430,543 during the same period, according to Carnegie Hall’s tax return.

At Carnegie Hall, which has featured on its three stages such varied musicians as Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan and the Berlin Philharmonic, only Artistic and Executive Director Clive Gillinson makes more than the stagehands.

Gillinson earned $946,581 in salary and benefits in the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. Chief Financial Officer Richard Matlaga made $352,139, while General Manager Anna Weber received $341,542.

Labor Clout

The stagehands benefit from a strong union: Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees demonstrated its clout in November 2007 when its members walked off their Broadway jobs and closed 26 shows for almost three weeks. The strike ended after stagehands and producers agreed to a five-year contract that both sides called a compromise.

Joshua B. Freeman, a U.S. labor historian at Queens College and author of “Working Class New York,” said the union’s power to shut down a vital part of New York’s entertainment industry gives it leverage in negotiations.

“They have a credible threat of withdrawing their labor,” Freeman said.

Local One President James J. Claffey Jr., who earned $260,877 in salary and benefits in 2007, declined to comment. Union spokesman Bruce Cohen said O’Connell had no comment. Gillinson also had no comment, while Matlaga and Weber didn’t return calls.

Cohen said in an e-mail that members “work under collective bargaining negotiated fairly with management, signed by management and ratified by the membership of the union.”

Sanford Weill

The Carnegie Hall board is led by Sanford I. Weill, former chairman of Citigroup Inc., and includes philanthropist Mercedes Bass, former World Bank president James Wolfensohn and Sallie Krawcheck, president of Bank of America’s wealth-management division.

How exactly do the stagehands earn their money? According to Carlino, they move equipment in and out of the hall, prepare the three stages for performances and operate audiovisual and sound fixtures. In addition to Stern Auditorium (2,804 seats), the company has Zankel Hall (599 seats) and Weill Recital Hall (268).

Producers who work there said a prop manager usually moves and supervises the moving of objects that aren’t plugged in, such as a piano or music stands. An electrician handles objects that get plugged in, like microphones and amplifiers, while carpenters are involved in the construction and handling of scenery.

The size of the crew, which is determined by management and the union, varies by production. Carlino wouldn’t provide specific numbers, but producers said it can exceed a dozen for a major concert and overtime is a key component of pay.

Operating Deficit

Gillinson, who came from the London Symphony Orchestra in 2005, made less in 2007-08 than two other New York performing- arts leaders with more complex tasks. Lincoln Center President Reynold Levy made $1.1 million to oversee a 16-acre complex that houses 12 resident companies. Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb earned $1.5 million to produce 219 opera performances.

Judith Arron, Carnegie Hall’s leader from 1986 to 1998, had compensation of $386,131 in her last year. The hall’s operating budget has more than doubled since, to $84 million.

Gillinson oversees management, raises money and develops “artistic concepts” for concerts, according to the hall.

It presented about 200 concerts in the 2008-2009 season, up 3 percent from the previous year. Its stages were rented for an additional 600 events, down 12 percent from the year before.

Stern Auditorium costs $15,600 to rent on a Friday or Saturday night. The producer must pay extra for stagehands, ushers, security, insurance and the sound system.

Carnegie Hall had an operating shortfall of $40.2 million in 2007-2008. After including funds from donors, investment income and government grants, the hall ended the season with a $1.9 million surplus.

To contact the reporter on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: October 20, 2009 14:51 EDT

:whatwhat: Wow...didn't know this.

The Asian dude that used to do sound there was a real fucking cunt too. I wanted to deck him. Fucking prick. I wonder how much scratch that asshole pulled down...

Nobody to blame but themselves for dealing with unions.

Pretty much. Let them strike, then hire some scabs. They can get rid of the high salaries and the union all at once. That assumes that the other unionized labor they need will not stop dealing with the theater (I'm thinking of teamsters in particular).

It was strange when they went on strike. People were like NYC was going to shut down, granted the theater industry brings a lot of revenue to the city but its not like they provide a necessary service.

Tom

...which is equivalent to making about $73,000 in Cleveland.

That's assuming that both people purchased the same types of things. If the $500K earner in NYC chooses to be a fool and buys or rents in Manhattan, living by himself, with no other tenants to help, and chooses to own a car for which he has to pay $15K a year in parking, then yeah, his cost of living will take a big hit. But a more intelligent person would find a way to live more frugally so that he or she could save a sizable chunk of that $500K.

So you are saying that if someone is making $73k in Cleveland and chooses to live frugally, he can save a few hundred grand a year?

No, that's exactly the opposite of what I'm saying. The NYC person earing $500K could, if he lived frugally, walk away after 3-4 years with maybe $400-500K in the bank. The most the Cleveland guy could ever put away is maybe $50-75K during that time.

People seem to have this impression that you need a huge salary to work in Manhattan. If this was true, I guess we better tell that to all those Analysts there, right out of college, who only make about $80-90K and still survive. I've never lived there, so I wouldn't know shit, but if someone insists on "living the lifestyle" and owning property and a car on Manhattan, then yes, they'll need a lot more money than that. But a smart person would figure out a way to live more frugally and sock away some of their high salary while they're still young. After a few years they could move back to where they came from, and buy a home with cash, while the rest of their friends are still upside down on their homes.

Plenty of cheap livin in NYC.
There is affordable livin in Manhattan.

A lot of people livin in Manhattan soon find that cars are overrated.

There is? I'll pack my bags now. I love Manhattan.

Wha the doesnt tell you is it swith the mole people who live in the abandoned subway tunnels :lol:

I cant see how anyone would want to work or live in manhattan, I dont even like going there for concerts or hockey games.

Tom

If I was single, and could find a job in Manhattan, I'd move there tonight.

Theres def work to be found out there, they wanted our medical group to set up asite at the WTC jobsite. I am glad they turned that down, commuting ot manhattan would suck esp downtown. Plus dealing with all the city agencies down there would be all sorts of fun.

Tom

Engineering jobs?

Not sure about engineering.

Tom

Half a million a year and a roomate to save money?? :lol:

If someone manages their money right they could do that job for 10 years and retire very comfortably. That may involve having a roommate and commuting on public transportation. If that same person wants to live in Manhattan in a nice place, own a car that is parked in the city, and eat out at good to great restaurants every night they may retire broke in 40 years. Making a half million to move shit around a stage can be whatever this person wants it to be.:shrug:

Yea but most union stagehands are dumb as a box of rocks. Any monkey can get in to stagehand work. But unless you know someone high up in the union it'll take you 3 or more years to become union in most states.

I hate unions for the most part.

They had their place a hundred years ago and did a lot of good for workers in America. I think unions have become leeches who try to create discord between actual workers and management in order to justify the dues they take. Through their behavior they have done as much as anyone to drive American jobs overseas and drive American manufacturers in to the ground.

Agree 100% with all of that.

I'll do the job for $100k a year and scratch the pianist's balls everytime they itch during hte performance.

I'd just live somewhere away from the city like New Jersey, Connecticut, or in the NY suburbs and commute there like I do everyday now for my crappy job and pay.

fuck unions. I celebrate everytime a union stronghold fails in Atlanta. That POS GM plant they had in Doraville, GA is probably going to be the new Falcon's stadium built by Arthur Blank. It'll do 10x more good than that POS union petri dish ever did.

Edit: I'd like to add that as a private company that fucker's pay should be between him and the company (unions too if they are included).

Who cares what a private company pays its employees or contract workers.

I wouldn't go there because it isn't my type of music, but hey.

The wire services print any piece of crap that crosses their desks, don't they?

OMG, somebody in a union is making good money for a job that involves physical labor! :willy:

So he would have to work for five weeks to make as much as someone else makes in a year? And three nights to substantially exceed the median income in the US. Ok. Thanks for the trivia :idk: Guess i should've taken piano lessons as a kid.

Who the fuck is Carlino?

"Handles objects that get plugged in". Really? I'm sure the author would have no problem setting up and running the lighting at a major concert venue... after all, he knows how to plug in his iPod, right?

So in other words, they should quit messing with the music shit and stick to panhandling and suckling off the public teat? :nono:

That's less than i would have expected. You can't even hire a good pianist for that. Hell, there are hotels in Manhattan that run 2 grand a night. If i had robber-baron money, i'd rent it for a night just to have sex on the stage :dthumb:

Stage hands run cable, push heavy shit, and load trucks. They will often "help" attach light bars to trusses, run follow spots, and help in the assembly of light rigs and stages/props. They have no idea how to set up, or run lighting and sound. That's what tour roadies do.

Tour roadies are almost always non-union.

A typical labor call will overstaffed by the union by 30-40% You call them and ask for 6 guys, because that's all you need. They say "No, you need at least ten". Out of the 10, you get two old guys nearing retirement. These two guys don't do shit, don't even ask. Four of the guys will be fat and slow, and two of them will be young and stupid. The remaining two of consist of the lead guy, (who doesn't do shit) and the one guy who actually works and knows what he's doing. Welcome to my (ex) world.

JC

That's why I'm saying that this article is a piece of shit. They're taking the salary of the Property Master and full time facility technicians, then describing the jobs of the stagehands they oversee, leading the reader to link the big money to the scut work. And among the random statistics with no particular relevance which are tossed in to fill out the article, it gives out the director's salary from 13 years ago, which, no surprise, is lower than what the technical heads are making today, as if that means anything.

I'm not quite foil-hat enough to say that there's a media conspiracy to badmouth unions, but I'm tired of seeing deliberately misleading articles like this (and as disclosure, I have never been a Union worker in any field).

OK, gotcha. Yeah, venues like Carnegie Hall are different from stadium venues, in that they have a full time sound and light systems as permanent fixtures, and the people who run that stuff do have more knowledge than your average road case pushers.

Still in all, I never met anyone in the rock business who was pulling down half a mil a year to run a light board. Rock and roll money was good, but it wasn't THAT fucking good. :lol:

I wouldn't begrudge them the money if they earned it, but in my seven or so years doing rock shows, 99% of the union guys I worked with were lazy to the point of being useless. They all acted like they were doing you a favor by showing up. There were many times I overheard the older guys telling the younger guys to "Slow down, you're making us look bad". These dudes were getting paid 80 bucks an hour to drive forklifts, but if the forks needed to be shifted (manually) they wouldn't get out of their drivers seats to do it, they had to call somebody. Shit like that drove me crazy.

JC

True.