MyAGMA

AGMA Endorses Joseph Biden for President

Published September 29, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

In its 84 years, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) has never endorsed a presidential candidate — but that all changed today. The AGMA Board of Governors voted on Tuesday, September 29 to endorse Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President of the United States. “President Trump has nominated anti-union and anti-worker judges at every level of the federal judiciary, including to the Supreme Court, resulting in judicial opinions that have attacked and undermined the legal status and protections of unions in the United States,” reads a part of the two-page resolution that was presented and approved by the AGMA Board of Governors in support of endorsing Joe Biden as President. This endorsement come... Read More -->

Update on New AGMA Headquarters

Published September 25, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

We are pleased to announce that today, AGMA finalized the purchase of its new headquarters. Our new office, located at 305 7th Avenue, will be state-of-the-art, and capable of hosting bargaining sessions, trainings, and other functions of the union. Once it is safe to come together again, we hope that you, our members, come to view this as a place where you can meet, organize, and celebrate with one another. We would like to recap the financial benefit to our members. First, our monthly and annual operating costs for office space have been greatly reduced, as monthly expenses are now far less than what AGMA was paying in rent at our old location. Second, we plan to sublet a portion of the space to another tenant. This renta... Read More -->

AGMA’s Message to Membership Regarding the Met’s Announcement

Published September 23, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

The following message was sent to AGMA Artists of the Met at 12:30 p.m. EDT on September 23. AGMA is now sharing the message on its website. You are receiving this email because you’ve worked at the Metropolitan Opera in the past two seasons. We are reaching out because of the Met's announcement of the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020-2021 season. The Met's unilateral decision to cancel is another difficult note in an already challenging year. AGMA is disappointed that the Met has peremptorily announced this cancellation, rather than engaging with its Artists or AGMA to find creative paths to create opera this spring. We feel it is necessary in this moment to update you on the status of our ongoing talks with the Met and to p... Read More -->

Information on the New AGMA Headquarters

Published September 18, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

AGMA wishes to share some news with you about AGMA’s new National Headquarters, which will bring multiple benefits to the union and our members. The purchase has not been finalized, but we anticipate that happening at the end of September. We had planned to announce the new office space in our upcoming monthly newsletter once everything was complete. You may see some media coverage today regarding this news. Given some misinformation circulating, we felt it was necessary to hear about the new AGMA National Headquarters directly from your union, a few weeks earlier than planned, even though the purchase has not been finalized. AGMA has had its headquarters at 1430 Broadway, in the heart of the Garment District in Manhattan, for many y... Read More -->

[Video] AGMA Delegate Appreciation Day

Published September 16, 2020   |  By Alicia Cook  |  Post in All Areas

Happy AGMA Delegate Appreciation Day! https://vimeo.com/457877879 AGMA has instituted this new day to show our gratitude to our AGMA Delegates, Committee Members, and other Artist Representatives who, year in and year out, do amazing work. This is especially true right now, during these stressful and uncertain days amid the pandemic. We know the extra hours, emotions, and Zoom meetings our Delegates have logged since March and we would not be able to do any of this important work without them. For those who might not know, throughout AGMA, the term "Delegate" is synonymous with "Steward." They are leaders, communicators, and a resource to their colleagues. An AGMA Delegate is selected by co-workers within a bargaining unit to... Read More -->

AGMA Artists of the Met Perform “Solidarity Forever”

Published September 8, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

AGMA is honored to share this performance of Solidarity Forever (AGMA 2020 Version) featuring AGMA members of  The Metropolitan Opera including Nathaniel Hunt, Ashley Emerson, Sarah Larsen, Christopher Job, and members of the Met Opera Chorus. https://vimeo.com/455874289 The Solidarity Forever score (found below) was written by Met AGMA Committee Chair Ned Hanlon (chorister), the Met’s Jeremy Little (chorister), and AGMA Eastern Counsel Sam Wheeler. They wrote this song earlier in the spring to encourage AGMA members to stay strong and stick together during the pandemic. Special thanks to Met Opera Ballet, Met Opera Supers, Maria D'Amato, Rachel Schmiege, Sara Heaton, Lianne Coble-Dispensa, Scott Dispensa, Brandon Mayberry, ... Read More -->

Labor Day Message from AGMA President

Published September 6, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

The American Guild of Musical Artists is the labor union of the finest singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, choral performance, and concert dance in the United States. Like members of our sister unions, COVID-19 turned our lives upside down, leaving thousands of Artists unemployed. This has taken a devastating toll on AGMA artists, cutting fundamental economic lifelines for those of us who spend our lives in the performing arts. Nearly six months later, we continue to confront an unprecedented loss of work and earnings. We were the first to lose our jobs, and will likely be the last to return to work. And yet, have we given up? No. Have we stopped singing, dancing and creating? No. We are AGMA. We carry on. Doing so isn’t ... Read More -->