“The labor strife at the Metropolitan Opera took on a new urgency Wednesday when its general manager, Peter Gelb, sent the company’s orchestra, chorus, stagehands and other workers letters warning them to prepare for a lockout if no contract deal is reached by next week,” reports Michael Cooper in Wednesday’s (7/23) New York Times. “In letters to the company’s unionized workers, Mr. Gelb, who is seeking to cut pay and benefits, wrote that ‘if we are not able to reach agreements by July 31 that would enable the Met to operate on an economically sound basis, please plan for the likelihood of a work stoppage beginning Aug. 1.’ … The contracts of 15 of the company’s 16 unions expire on July 31, and several unions bitterly denounced Mr. Gelb’s warning. The Met Orchestra Musicians said in a statement that they were ‘dismayed that Peter Gelb has pursued a cynical strategy calculated to result in a lockout of his artists and craftspeople and imperil the upcoming Met Opera season.’ … Mr. Gelb, who has said that he is open to counterproposals as long as they save money, said in the interview that the unions representing the chorus and orchestra had made ‘no effort, really’ to negotiate recently.” Negotiations with several unions are scheduled to resume shortly.
Posted July 24, 2014
