Union members picket outside Stambaugh

Union members say a verbal contract was in place.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- A difference of opinion over a verbal contract left members of one local union walking the sidewalk instead of working the curtain at Stambaugh Auditorium on Friday.
David Flasck, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage employees, said union members were on hand when Stambaugh Auditorium was built 75 years ago. He said members have worked every performance at the auditorium since the doors opened.
Union members, Flasck said, unload trucks, set up equipment and stage props, hang and focus lights and handle props and equipment. Most members are paid $15 per hour with a few compensated at $21 per hour.
Flasck and dozens of other members in the 110-member union held signs in front of the building and passed out informational leaflets while the show went on inside.
Flasck said he was told two weeks ago by someone affiliated with Stambaugh that the union might not be working future shows at the concert hall. He said he was shocked and disappointed to learn the news, but is still unsure who made the decision.
"There were no problems," he said. "We thought everything was fine, then when the Youngstown Symphony came in to do the 75th rededication ceremony, the executive director told me 'we are going in a different direction.'"
Seeking meeting
Flasck said he asked for a meeting with Stambaugh Association board members two weeks ago upon learning the news, but he was given a date of Nov. 15 for a meeting. He said union members are willing to meet that day but would like to discuss the situation sooner.
William Conti, president of the Stambaugh Association, said the Monday Musical Club, the group responsible for Friday's event, rents from Stambaugh and can use whomever it chooses as stage hands. He said neither the Monday Musical Club nor Stambaugh are contractually obligated to the union.
"This is not a union hall," he said. "Monday Musical and Stambaugh never had a contract with the union, period."
Flasck agrees that there is no written contract, but he said both sides have operated on a verbal contract without problems for years. He said the union will continue to picket until the matter is resolved.
jgoodwin@vindy.com