Oh yes, this is the biggest news in the Broadway community right now.
It is very dissapointing for all involved. I feel so badly for those who bought tickets to a show during this strike. I hope it can be worked out quickly. The casts of most shows have been out on the streets signing autographs and some casts have been performing some songs on the streets. A lot of newer shows will suffer horribly from this, and some may close down permenantly.
The stagehands who are on strike have been working without a contract since July, and have been trying to negotiate with producers and the League since that time. The League has cut their pay, reduced their benefits, and cut jobs and gave no reason for it. The union pushed back the cut off date for months, and they were originally going to do a lockout - meaning that no one would be paid anything. none of the Broadway community is getting their full pay - Actors' Equity said that they will support the strike, so the actors are only allowed to cross the lines to sign in at their theatres. They are only getting about $15/day, and orchestras are getting nothing. It is a very bad situation. My friend was at the picket lines yesterday picketing, and she said that some actors expect it to last from weeks to months. Let's hope that one side will be able to let up a little bit. The producers are losing millions of dollars everyday, I don't know what their problem is. I support the stagehands 100%, because this is something they've been trying not to do.