NEW YORK, March 8 (UPI) -- A strike by the union representing theater musicians has shut down Broadway for the weekend, after actors and stagehands refused to cross picket lines Friday.
No new talks were scheduled Saturday between the League of American Theaters and Producers and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians.
The contract between the league and the union expired last Sunday, but union officials extended a strike deadline by four days after some progress in negotiations.
The sticking point continues to be the long-standing minimum number of musicians that producers must hire at each theater.
After wanting to end mandatory hiring altogether, the producers offered to retain a minimum of seven musicians at the city's largest theaters. That is down from the current number of 26.
In addition, the producers have offered a grandfather clause that would protect the jobs of all current union members.
"The league has on the bargaining table a proposal that guarantees there will always be live music on Broadway while permitting a Broadway show's creative team more flexibility in determining how many musicians a show must hire to meet an outmoded minimum rule," the league said in a statement.
However, union officials fearful that producers will replace them with recorded or computer generated music are insisting on more.
Eighteen musicals and three in rehearsals were shut down by the work stoppage. The strike affects about 325 musicians.
Broadway musicians last went on strike in September 1975, shutting down nine musicals for 25 days.
