How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Or, better yet, where do I apply for a union job at Carnegie Hall?

Carnegie Hall Stagehand Moving Props Makes $530,044

O’Connell made $530,044 in salary and benefits during the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. The four other members of the full-time stage crew — two carpenters and two electricians — had an average income of $430,543 during the same period, according to Carnegie Hall’s tax return.

As far as I’m concerned, all that matters in an honest job is that you get paid, and I don’t believe in “job status”, so believe me when I say those guys have the best jobs at Carnegie Hall, and I’d love to apply for one of them if there’s a vacancy.

It also reminds me of Joe, Adam Bellow’s stepfather

One day he took me aside and pitched me what he obviously thought was an immensely clever scheme. “I’ve got it all figured out,” he said. “Here’s what you do. You join the sanitation department.

“Now hear me out,” he said, raising a hand to block any objections. “You haul garbage two, three years, tops.” (Tops!) “Then you start taking civil service tests and get into management. In five years, you’re driving to work in a limousine. In 20 years, you retire at half pay and spend the rest of your life writing books.”

What matters is the union label,

Producers who work there said a prop manager usually moves and supervises the moving of objects that aren’t plugged in, such as a piano or music stands. An electrician handles objects that get plugged in, like microphones and amplifiers, while carpenters are involved in the construction and handling of scenery.

The size of the crew, which is determined by management and the union, varies by production. Carlino wouldn’t provide specific numbers, but producers said it can exceed a dozen for a major concert and overtime is a key component of pay.

Heck, I’d sacrifice an evening or two of tango for that juicy overtime.

That said, if you read the rest of the article, maybe Artistic and Executive Director Clive Gillinson ought to be asking for a raise.

UPDATE
John Derbyshire:

Note that this isn’t an opera house, with huge sets to manipulate. It doesn’t even have a curtain to raise and lower. It’s a concert hall. These guys set out chairs. For ten grand a week. Two hundred and fifty bucks an hour.

See? I can do that!