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Seattle’s “Beauty and the Beast” musicians’ strike

This month marks the 25th anniversary of Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater musicians’ strike.

The labor movement has always found strength in numbers. This strike stands as one Seattle history’s most dramatic examples of union solidarity and strength in numbers.

In February 1997, a tiny group of 18 union employees at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater went on strike over proposed wage cuts in management’s new contract offer. The theater was running Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” show at the time.

The theater bosses hired strikebreakers. They probably expected to be picketed by a dozen or so strikers. Instead, night after night, well over 1,000 picketers chanted, “No Beauty! No Beast!” Hundreds of ticket holders stayed away and some performances were canceled. After two weeks of this, the strike was settled. Read a contemporary news account here and watch video below.

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