A message from the AGMA/Met Negotiating Committee:
AGMA members working at the Metropolitan Opera, with the support of AGMA staff, have helped deliver a major win, not just for the Met but for the future of opera in New York. After months of lobbying, including direct engagement in Albany earlier this year, $5 million in one-time operating support from the State of New York is being allocated to the Met through collective advocacy and partnership.
In February, with the support of the New York State AFL-CIO, AGMA joined forces with our sibling unions at the Met, working alongside members of the Metropolitan Opera administration to lobby for increased public funding. With the invaluable leadership of State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, this effort sought to address the Met’s disproportionately low COVID-era relief compared to other major cultural institutions.
This news comes just days after AGMA officially began contract negotiations with the Met, where we are calling for long-overdue and meaningful wage increases for all AGMA Artists. After over a decade of stagnant compensation and recurring cuts, members are not just demanding progress—we are building it. This victory in Albany proves that when artists organize and act together, we make real change happen.
We have miles to go before we sleep, but let’s take a moment to celebrate. AGMA members helped bring this $5 million home and stand ready to continue this work not only at the Met, but at AGMA signatory companies around the country as we all continue to face this troubling and unstable funding atmosphere. When we stand together, artists strengthen the performing arts industry. This is the way forward in bargaining at the Met and around the country: collaboration, advocacy, and solidarity.
Together we will.
The AGMA/Met Negotiating Committee