First of all, let me start by saying that Ferrari’s provocative question is a bit of an inside joke. I am a union-yes guy from a union family going back to my grandparents. I am thrilled that the New York Comedians Coalition, has banded together to try and force the showcase clubs in New York to increase comics’ pay. The idea that I would be a scab is - in a very limited, and not laugh-out-loud, kind of way - hilarious. Regardless, I couldn’t be a scab if it wanted to. I don’t play in clubs very often, I don’t get paid on the rare occassions that I do play them and - most importantly - there hasn’t been a strike. I haven’t written about the possibility of a strike before for a couple of reasons.
The main reason is that I am outside the loop. I am just starting out as a comic and only starting to meet people. I didn’t get wind of the organizational meetings for NYCC until right before the news of the threatened strike broke in the local press. The first information of any substance that I received was by way of an email from a friend with a link to the article in the New York Times. Since then I have contacted the leaders of the Coalition and should be attending a meeting later this month.
As we speak, I only know what I’ve read in the papers. What I’ve read, though, sounds like the comics have a hell of a point. The same rate for a set as clubs paid in the mid-1980’s? A comic working a full schedule exclusively in New York clubs can expect to make $20,000 a year? What bullshit. With drink prices as high as they are at comedy clubs in New York, those are pathetic returns for the comics.
I also didn’t write because I am somewhat removed from the issue. I am a good bit away from being paid to do “feature” spots at clubs in New York. Since I’m not getting paid, I wasn’t really hip to what I would be getting paid if I were at a more advanced stage of my career. The best I can hope for now is an unpaid guest spot here and there. If I were suffering from the low pay that featured acts get, I’d probably complain more, but right now the paltry fees paid to the features is still more than I get for the bringer shows I sometimes do.
Perhaps working for free is part of the Coalition’s agenda, but I doubt it. Performing for free at bars and bringer shows is a dues-paying phase. I don’t really see how it could be otherwise. I should probably get something back from the club if I bring audience to a show - and some clubs do pay by the head - but the money in those situations is so small it hardly seems fighting over. I’d only be taking that money from my friends who have come out to see me anyway and that takes some of the shine off the idea also.
In any event, I can unequivocally state it here: If the New York Comedians Coalition pickets a club I will not play at that club even if I am contacted to perform.
Let me also state that if the National Hockey League tries to play scab games during the lockout, I will support the players’ union by refusing to lace up the skates and play.
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