Union Plans Junos Protest

A local union of stagehands and technicians is planning to protest Canada’s Juno Awards, set to take place April 3rd at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre.

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees is upset that the arena’s owners have hired Nasco Services Inc., a non-union company from British Columbia, as technicians for all concert and sporting events.

The union – which had a contract for nearly 50 years with the Winnipeg Arena until its closing last year – reportedly negotiated with MTS Centre for a year but the venue ultimately chose Nasco. The IATSE protested before the $133.5 million venue’s grand opening last November but stopped when arena owner True North Sports and Entertainment agreed to continue negotiations.

“We’ve tried to have discussions with them, and they really haven’t amounted to much,” said Kevin Donnelly, senior VP of facility management at MTS Centre.

He said the two sides last met in mid-February but the union canceled their subsequent meeting.

“They’re not in a strike position. There’s not a lockout,” Donnelly told Pollstar. “There’s no legal position to say that the work is theirs … . They have no connection whatsoever with our building. We’re a brand new building with no successor rights granted to what they used to do in the old arena.

“In our opinion, it’s a small group of 40 to 50 individuals that are disappointed that they’re not working and they’re making their opinion appear like it’s a bigger issue than it really is,” Donnelly said.

A union spokesman told The Globe And Mail the protest will occur during the red carpet arrivals and live tapings. Organizers are aiming for 1,000 people to take part, he said. The IATSE has 220 members, according to the paper.