The Met Strikes Tentative Deal With Unions
The Metropolitan Opera has reached preliminary agreements with two trade unions representing its orchestra, averting, for now at least, a threatened lock out of those workers. The New York Times reported that the deal was announced shortly after 6 AM on Monday morning after a marathon all night negotiation.
“These were difficult and highly complex negotiations, and I wish to commend the parties for their resolve in addressing multiple and complex issues,” federal Mediator Allison Beck said in a statement. “We are grateful for their commitment to the collective bargaining process and grateful most of all that the Metropolitan Opera, one of the world’s premier cultural institutions, will continue providing outstanding operas for all to enjoy.”
Despite the tentative agreement, the Met must still reach an accord with another major union, Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents stage hands, carpenters and electricians, and which did not participate in the negotiations with the mediator.
The tentative agreement prevents a threatened lockout and pickets that would likely have derailed the Met's season and shuttered the opera.
The Met's season is set to kick off in September with a new production of Mozart’s “Nozze di Figaro.” – Celebrity Access
