Everything you write is true and fair, and the situation at NYTW is fairly standard among NYC non-profits, in that the two highest positions earn six figure salaries, and many people on the payroll are doing seasonal, part-time labor, such as building scenery, running crew, doing phone banks, etc.
At the same time, every non-profit I've known pays its full-time staff fairly low wages compared to the top salaries that go to leadership. I can't speak to what Literary or Development get paid at NYTW, but I'd be surprised if they get even a third of Jim's salary. Those jobs in their own way are intensive, working long hours and weekends, and their workis equally important to the success of the institution.
While summertheater's post is motivated by their misplaced campaign against liberal theaters that hire Robert O'Hara, the post does point to the larger realities of inequities in the non-profit sector, which reflect the largest schism between workers and executives in America. Perhaps NYTW is doing a better job of fulfilling their left-wing politics than other theaters (helped by their commercial successes, although it's been a while since they had a transfer, and enhancement funds have tended to diminish long-term returns on commercial hits), but we should all be aware of how little the hardworking employees of our favorite non-profits are being paid. |
