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To steve from bk. No none of the stagehands have the last name Carnegie. To mark as far as I know with the exception of percussionist and harpist, string and wind players want to handle there own instruments with regard to stagehands being overpaid, nobody seems to mention the contracts they work under are agreed to by both parties through collective bargaining. Carnegie hall is what every performer strives for it's the holy grail of performing spaces so the crew that operates the stage at all capacities is paid well does the top brain surgeon at Columbia make more than an intern in Wisconsin I bet yes so why is this so difficult to translate to another field walk a mile in Someones shoes before you judge them.

According to Wikipedia, Carly Simon's sister, Lucy, is or was married to a man named David Levine.

I think part of the reason IATSE has so much power in the performance world, as opposed to the various artist groups, is that for the stagehands it really is just their job, and thus are perfectly willing to threaten or even carry out a strike to get their demands, just as most real-world labor unions will.

With artists, however, there is the assumption that the mere opportunity to practice their art is part of their renumeration. I am a (non-union) stage designer, and once had a producer tell me straight-faced that doing the work itself was 'psychic payment' for the artistic staff. And far too many artists actually buy into this. No stagehand I know considers moving equipment around stage as psychically rewarding.

Why are you prejudicing people against this 20th C opera by constantly referring to it as "thorny" and implyin that people won't or shouldn't want to hear. This is the music of our time! We can't just live in the past doing relevant or "director driven" productions of the same 19th C warhorses over and over.

This is all really a discussion of wages and what are really fair and adequate wages. Though there is the possibility that these stage hands are over payed I think really the vast majority of people are underpaid and a few top earners in our society are over payed. As such it makes this people seem to be making too much when we all make so little in comparison which we are told is not a pittance but middle class.

Is there any nepotism with the carnegie hall stagehands?

Local 1 is a strong union and they can stop theaters from functioning. I agree that they work long and weird hours. However, as a musician, I've seen stagehands move instruments at many theaters in the city with little regard for the instrument. I'm sure many stagehands are quite skilled at various jobs, but when it comes to actually moving valuable instruments, it seems the majority could stand to learn a thing or two.

An 80 hour work week and a VERY powerful union!

I am a manager of classical artists. About 25 years ago, I was told by the then general manager of Carnegie Hall that the stagehands were so well paid because it was easier just to grant their union's request/demand during contract negotiations AND pass the problem on to the next general manager than to risk a strike and work stopage.