Stagehand union, Philadelphia Theatre Company reach deal to end strike

    Stagehands will get back to work at the Philadelphia Theatre Company two weeks after going on strike.

    Members of IATSE Local 8, the union representing local stagehands, went on strike earlier this month after negotiation talks with the Philadelphia Theatre Company stalled.Despite voting last summer to unionize, the stagehands had not yet settled on a contract.

    “We have negotiated a settlement that is reasonable for PTC and appropriate to our size,” PTC Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik said in a news release. “We want to express our appreciation to our audiences, subscribers and artists for their wonderful support and patience during this challenging period.  We are pleased that we can now focus on our mission of producing great theater.”

    The strike came just as the curtain was set to go up at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre for “The Mountaintop,” a play about Martin Luther King Jr.’s last night alive and his focus on workers’ rights and economic equality.

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    Details of the contract agreement have not been released.

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