The Broadway strike is over!

After multiple overnight discussions the strike has been settled for the next 5 year contract term.  So why don't I really feel like a lot has been accomplished?

Finding out what the strike has been about hasn't been the easiest thing in the world.  Maybe it's because the TV strike has to do with writers who are better with words, but the stagehands haven't done anything to explain their side.  From what I've gathered it seems that the producers wanted to make some cuts in their current contracts and replace those cuts with new amendments and the stage hands wanted none of that.

• Producers didn't have the ability to choose how many stagehands were assigned to a production (either for the whole thing or for set-up.  that's been unclear).  This led to many producers paying for stagehands that had nothing to do.  For days at a time.
• The producers wanted to have the ability to choose the number of stagehands and in exchange for hiring less (READ: amount actually needed) they would give all of the workers a raise.

Now that the strike is over the times reports that the stagehands are dropping the number of workers for opening set ups and giving raises to the ones who do work.  So we went through over two weeks of dead Broadway for the stagehands to throw a hissy fit and then take what they were essentially offered from the start?  I know that unions are supposed to be great and champion the working man but this is bullshit.  The writers guild is striking to get pay for work they do now and don't get payed for.  The stagehands had a strike to keep getting payed for work they don't do.  Is that ok?  It doesn't seem right to me.  This seems more like a union striking just to get attention and because they're worried they're being called on their shit.

I bet they did get more of a raise after the strike than what was initially offered.  I'm not saying that they took the same exact deal that was offered in the beginning.  But I'm pretty shocked that they broke off talks and then came back and took the same TYPE of deal that was initially offered.  Breaking off talks and striking is for when you don't think you have any common  ground in a deal and need to create some leverage.

So here's what it comes down to.  I support the stagehands.  I know how much they're responsible.  Hell, they stopped Broadway for 2 and a half weeks.  But I just can't bring myself to support their strike.  They go upset because they were pretty much caught stealing free time and panicked when a solid portion of their pay was going to be cut.  But it was stolen time and the cut would come with a raise.  I just can't see the strike as anything more than immature tantrum and trying to keep the status quo, even if the status quo was getting paid regularly for not working.