Skip to main contentHe has crafted giant mythological sea creatures, packed people into vegetable costumes and forged an army of mannequins. Now, celebrated Scappoose puppetmaster Michael Curry stands accused of treating his employees like a band of marionettes.
According to the National Labor Relations Board, Curry terminated three employees last year in an effort to crush a union drive by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 488.
The allegations are particularly awkward for Curry, 45, who was--at least until recently--a darling of the labor movement.
In 2000, when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union mounted a union drive at Powell's Books, Curry outfitted protesters with a gigantic effigy of Michael Powell to parade around town. When the World Trade Organization made its fateful visit to Seattle, the puppeteer was on hand to supply his enormous creations for a pro-labor parade.
But union advocates say that when it came time to welcome a local theater union into his own business, Curry--the design dynamo behind Broadway's smash Lion King musical--brought the curtain down on the idea.
The trouble began in July 2002, when a contingent of Michael Curry Design's employees started a union drive. According to the National Labor Relations Board, Curry told one union-friendly employee that he "was not a team player" and quizzed others about their plans to attend union meetings.
The board also alleges that Curry took aside another union advocate on July 16 and told him that "if the employees unionized, the company would lose business contracts and/or work."
The following week, three ardent union supporters--Sally Ward, Adam Forster and Christine Hansen--were laid off.
The puppeteer disputes all claims that he toyed with the union drive. Instead, Curry insists the layoffs were driven by economics.
"I am pro-union, it's as simple as that," says Curry. "Last year we had a terrible economic year, so we had to lay a few people off. Theater is a fickle business, you can imagine. I don't know anybody who's $100,000 in debt and doesn't do anything about it."
But union attorney Monica Smith thinks the terminations were more than coincidence.
"Curry's employees contacted my client--the Local 488--to say they were starting an organizing drive, and in a short amount of time, the three most active people in that drive were laid off," Smith says. "We think this is a pretext for keeping unions out."
Curry says his 37-employee company still remains outside the union fold because no existing labor organization can represent his workers.
"We fall between the cracks of each union," Curry explains. "Nothing really fits the exact profile of our business."
The board's allegations should not be lightly tossed aside, says NLRB attorney Catherine Roth. Before issuing a formal complaint, the board conducts a neutral investigation of each case that is like a miniature trial in itself.
"Almost all of our cases end in a settlement," Roth claims. "We wouldn't issue a complaint if we didn't believe the National Labor Relations Act has been violated."
Indeed, Curry's attorneys have been considering settlement offers, but Curry himself maintains that settlement is not an admission of guilt.
"The attorneys and business planners who handle the money always consider all options at once," says Curry. "You have to remember, lawsuits cost a lot of money."
The drama's next public performance will be played before an administrative law judge early next month.
WWeek 2015