LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The announcement for theOakland A’s means more possibilities for jobs in the valley.
The local stage hand union "IATSE 720" was hard hit during the pandemic, but now the union president says they’re back and better than ever. The new development only means more growth in his industry.
Michael Skibicki is now an Uber driver. However, by trade he's a stagehand who worked on the Las Vegas Strip for over 14 years.
When the world shut down in 2020, and the Las Vegas Strip went dark and stagehands across the nation all lost their jobs. Even when things slowly started to reopen here in the valley, Skibicki still couldn’t find employment.
Phil Jaynes, the president of the local chapter of IATSE 720, or the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees says even before the pandemic, the local union was having a hard time with recruitment.
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But when the year 2020 came, they were hopeful until they shutdown.
He says they did lose skilled workers, but locally the union has been doing heavy recruitment and has even gone to high schools to speak about the industry to help with enrollment.
Nationwide, the industry Jaynes says has not fully recovered from the pandemic.
In fact, he says nationally there is a shortage of stagehands and many are now opting to either travel out of state for work or some have even made their way to the valley for employment. But he says in Vegas — we are covered!
