A University of Colorado Boulder report shows some employees at Macky Auditorium work in unsafe conditions, including the risk of falling without protection, injury from heavy lifting and exposure to harmful materials.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration notified CU Boulder in 2022 of such issues after a Macky employee reported the hazardous working conditions. The university’s Environmental Health and Safety department followed up on the concerns and conducted an investigation.

“The safety concerns reported to OSHA are valid and efforts must be taken to address the hazards and reduce the risk of accident or injury,” the resulting report read. “(Environmental Health and Safety) is available to help coordinate the efforts required to define solutions for mitigating the identified hazards.”

The CU Boulder report, obtained through a public records request, is a draft dated March 2023. The report has not yet been finalized as the university is actively working on implementing its recommendations to improve employee safety. The concerns outlined in the report include asbestos and lead exposure, fall hazards, heaving lifting and unsafe stage operations.

“The University of Colorado Boulder took swift action to address safety concerns at Macky auditorium once those concerns were brought to its attention, and has already invested approximately $200,000 to help mitigate those concerns,” CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch wrote in an email.

“The university has mitigated lead-based paint, water damage and asbestos, provided temporary solutions to lifting heavy objects from outside into the building, and implemented administrative controls that prevent staff from standing on railing while hauling heavy sandbags above the stage.”

Five concerns cited

Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant St, was built in 1922. It houses CU’s College of Music, Artist Series, Jazz and Choir Department and CU’s Center for the American West. The concert hall seats 2,052 people and provides a space for a variety of cultural and artistic programs for the Boulder community.The Macky employees who face the safety issues are in charge of preparing the auditorium for different events such as band performances, choir concerts and speaking engagements. The work includes manual labor, such as constructing the stage, preparing lights and audio equipment and raising and lowering scenery and curtains.

There were five main safety concerns outlined in the report.

One safety concern centers around a staircase at Macky that employees are required to take while carrying heavy objects. Employees construct and deconstruct the stage based on performance requirements, and the stage is partially constructed out of large and heavy panels stored in the basement.

The largest stage panels are 4-feet by 8-feet and weigh 125 pounds, according to the report. Two employees are responsible for carrying the 125-pound platforms overhead up the stairs onto the loading dock before bringing them to the stage door. The exterior metal stairs can be slippery in wet or snowy conditions. To solve this, the report recommended exploring a mechanical lift.

As part of its report, CU Boulder’s Environmental Health and Safety Department reviewed on-the-job injury data at Macky Auditorium between 2012 and 2022.

The most significant trend, according to the report, was that 17 out of 30 on-the-job injuries were related to lifting or moving heavy or unwieldy objects ranging from scenery to musical instruments. The majority of Macky injuries affected the lower back or upper body, including hands, wrists and shoulders.

The data showed that of the 30 injuries, 12 were an employee’s second or more injury on the job. Twenty-one out of the 30 injuries occurred to employees with entry-level positions. The total cost of worker compensation claims for injuries during those 10 years was $140,525.

The report also identified fall hazards as a safety concern. Various theater operations require employees to work dozens of feet in the air without adequate fall protection.

For example, employees responsible for operating the stage lighting during a performance are required to work on a catwalk 60 feet above the auditorium without protection. The report recommended hiring specialists to design safe working conditions for employees required to work at heights.

Jenn Galvin worked at Macky Auditorium from 2008 to 2020 as a stagehand. In 2010, she was installing lighting in the opera boxes, or the balconies on the sides of the concert hall. Galvin was working on a ladder without any safety gear when a lighting instrument shifted her balance, nearly causing her to fall 25 feet.

Fortunately, her friend and colleague grabbed her belt and she caught her balance. After the incident, she approached her boss about what happened. Throughout the next decade that she worked there, everyone wore harnesses when working in that position.

“I believe they’re getting better,” Galvin said. “The industry as a whole is trying to be more aware and to put safety as more of a priority.”

OSHA has recognized safety concerns for theater employees and has regulations in place to protect theater workers. It has an agreement with the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to provide information and training to help protect the health and safety of workers in the industry.

Galvin said people are getting smarter about safety.

“There’s more wearing of harnesses, more wearing of respirators and more wearing of hard hats compared to when I started,” she said.

Nearly a dozen former and current Macky employees declined to speak on the record about their experiences or didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Another safety concern the report identified was Macky’s rail haul operation. Macky employees use a rope and pulley system to raise and lower scenery and equipment from a catwalk above the stage.

The report said the system requires workers to stand on the railing of the 20-foot-high catwalk, without fall protection, to lift heavy loads with sandbag counterweights. Some of the lifts exceed 400 pounds and require seven people to work simultaneously on the narrow catwalk to coordinate the lift.

The report said this process puts employees in an “extremely unsafe situation,” risking falls and lifting injuries. It recommended hiring a structural engineer and theatrical rigging consultant to identify solutions to determine the best way to conduct this work safely.

Asbestos and lead paint exposure were also listed as safety concerns in the report. To access various rigging points above the stage, the report said, Macky employees must walk and crawl on asbestos-containing material that has become damaged from various renovations and day-to-day activities. The recommendation was to restrict the area and have access to the rigging points from above instead.

Additionally, some walls in the auditorium had water damage that may have exposed hidden layers of lead paint. The report recommended it should be stabilized by a certified contractor.

Safety improvements continue

Beginning in December of 2022, CU Boulder began mitigating the safety concerns. It hired a contractor to stabilize lead-based paint and water-damaged building materials, conducted asbestos air sampling in attic space and sampling of building materials and hired a contractor to clean damaged asbestos plaster.

The university also provided hand carts as a temporary solution to bring heavy stage pieces up the outside stairs and worked with Macky on ways to prevent staff from standing on the railing during the rail haul.

In August of 2023, the university spent $75,000 for a third-party structural engineering review of fall protection concerns. CU Boulder spent an additional $80,000 in February for a structural engineering design based on the review’s recommendations.

“CU Boulder has secured additional funding sources to commence the project that will implement safer working conditions for employees working from heights, which we plan to initiate in the new year,” Mueksch wrote.

“At more than 100 years old, Macky Auditorium is one of CU Boulder’s most historic buildings and is a contributing building to the Norlin Quadrangle Historic District which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The university’s challenge is to make modifications to the building that address all safety concerns without compromising the historic integrity of the auditorium, which our current plans will address.”

CU Boulder is requesting nearly $32 million from the state over three years to address issues at Macky including safety, accessibility and deferred maintenance. The university will submit the request for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The total cost of the project, which would completely renovate Macky, is nearly $80 million. The university is proposing it cover 60% of the cost and is asking the state to fund the remaining 40%. The project will not impact student tuition and will not utilize revenue from student fees.

“A large portion of the building renovation cost addresses deferred maintenance and replacement of building systems as well as the abatement of hazardous materials and life-safety upgrades,” according to CU Boulder’s funding request to the state. “Allowances are included to address potential unknown structural deficiencies and abatement of hidden hazardous materials.”

If approved by the state, the project could be completed in 2029.

“Employee safety is a top priority for the university, and we are grateful to the employees who work in Macky Auditorium who have voiced their concerns and continue to work with the university to develop thoughtful and practical solutions that ensures their safety,” Mueksch wrote.

What Macky needs, Galvin said, is funding. It’s a challenging place to work because of the lack of modern technology.

“The folks who are willing to stay and work in there believe in the art that happens there and are doing the best to make sure their folks are safe,” she said. “They really are.”

Galvin said the auditorium was always meant to be a gateway between the university and the community, bringing beautiful art to Boulder.

“I think what Macky really needs is a major donor to replace honestly some of the 18th-century technology that they’re dealing with,” Galvin said, later adding, “I just wish that the community also loved the place and could put some funding into it because it’s not just a university problem. It was always set up to be a bridge.”