Yesterday I got a very strange call, at least to me.

Every year for the past 15 or so I play a Christmas cocktail reception for the NJ Realtors Convention in Atlantic City NJ. Over the years its been held in two different Casinos but always the same type gig. For years I would off load onto my R & R cart, valet park, and take the stuff up myself. This year I was told by some management company I would have to have Union Workers handle my equipment ! When I explained it was just a small setup and I always did it myself I was told new rules dictate that anything coming into the Casino must be handled this way. And I was told the Realtor's office that booked me would be charged.
Now I was a teacher for 35 years and believed our Union was important to us but this is ridiculous. I'm not Bon Jovi coming in with 5 tractor trailers !!
I've also worked in New York City which is really crazy with these kind of rules and handled my equip. myself. I could barley get someone at the back door loading dock to show me where the elevator was. They couldn't care less about helping me.

Another point that bothers me is if people are going to be charged extra for booking small time entertainment what does it say for future bookings ? And will the next step be that all Casino music must be Union, whether its part of one of their shows or just in one of their private reception rooms as I'm playing in?
( Which for NJ I don't know if the Musicians Union still exists. It was a joke when I belonged years ago.)

Bill, I used to go through the same BS when I worked for The Fisherman Magazines and we had a booth at the New York National Boat Show. We could back up to the loading dock, but THEY had to unload the gear on to the loading dock, then take it to the location inside the hall where it was to be set up. They guys at the loading dock pretty much told us that if we wanted to see that stuff, at least in one piece again, it would require a $50 tip. After we set up the booth, which took all of 20 minutes, we were not allowed to plug into the power strip behind the booth. That required a union electrician - and guess what, it was a $150 fee for plugging in a single plug. Ya gotta love NY and NJ.

Gary

That has been the case at Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, former home of the Louisiana Hayride, and I suppose it still is. You can't tote your gear in. I must say they were very professional and careful, and certainly didn't extort a tip! As far as I know they were paid by the venue, because they didn't charge me anything, and there was no agent involved.
Can't remember if I OFFERED a tip, but I usually do if someone helps load my gear. It would be $5.00 though, not 50!

I have experienced this in Wildwood, NJ..several venues, most evident, the Wildwood Convention Center..

We would pull up to the loading dock...and company guys hauled the equipment...

Where were they when we had to hand carry across the beach to a temp stage..

McCormick in Chicago was the WORST! The National Hardware show was held there for years.

To get things set up, I carried $1,000.00 in $50.00 dollar bills to pay "Tips"-bribes to get things off dead center. If you had a box of slides, for instance, a carpenter could put the carousel on the machine (you couldn't), but you had to wait for an electrician (read that-break out another fifty) to plug it in.

The first year Square D Company had me booked to play the piano at the Lakeshore suite (top floor), I wasn't through the first tune before the union showed up. I had a card and was booked by a private company, but at McCormick, you had to have a pre-arranged visiting artist's badge from the local.

The Union bartender, whom I had requested the previous three years turned me in.

He never worked our suite again.


Russ Lay

As some of the above posts indicate, it's not just NY and NJ ... I even had a similar situation in a hotel in RI ...

When you get south of Richmond, the problems seem to vanish. No problems playing anywhere along the Intra Coastal Waterway and the Florida Keys.

Cheers,

Gary

Never came across this stuff up here in Canada, either. Nor in the UK before that. Mind you, a lot of things trickle down, so who knows?

UNIONS ... grrrrrrrr

They were necessary and very helpful when they began, but to a large degree they have gotten out of hand ...