In today’s AGMAzine Spotlight, Eric Ferring, AGMA’s Assistant Regional Director, myth-busts Labor Reform. Exposing how the purposeful mischaracterization of Labor Reform can shift blame onto artists while ignoring deeper structural challenges facing the performing arts, he argues that unions are not obstacles to sustainability but essential partners in building fair, stable, and thriving institutions.
Read Eric’s feature on page 34 of the Winter 2025 issue of AGMAzine.
The Myth of “Labor Reform”: Why Unions Are the Future of Opera
By Eric Ferring, AGMA’s Assistant Regional Director
I became an AGMA member in 2015, when I was a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. At the time, I thought of joining a union as a formality—signing my first professional contract, taking my first step into the career I had dreamed of since I was a child. What I didn’t realize then was how profoundly that choice would shape not only my work as an artist but my sense of solidarity, responsibility, and power within and for this industry.
I became more involved in my union as a delegate for young artists and soon after joined the Midwest Area Committee. Later, I was elected to the AGMA Board of Governors as the Chicago/Midwest Soloist Representative, a position I held for four years before becoming our union’s first-ever Soloists Vice President. Today, I serve on AGMA’s professional staff. That arc, from singer on stage to fierce union advocate at the bargaining table, has revealed the unshakable truth that when artists and institutions genuinely collaborate, when creativity guides not only what happens in rehearsal but also how we solve problems, anything is possible.
We have proof. At the Metropolitan Opera, a cross-union joint lobbying effort helped secure $5 million in critical state funding, strengthening one of the world’s great cultural institutions. At the San Francisco Symphony, the chorus took the bold step of striking—and the result was a transformative gift that endowed the chorus for generations to come. These victories remind us that solidarity is not merely defensive; it is generative. It creates possibilities that would never have emerged in isolation.
That is why I bristle at both recent and past calls for “labor reform” in opera. The phrase sounds modern and pragmatic, but in truth, it is nothing more than an anti-union refrain—an attempt to recast austerity as innovation. It suggests that the path forward lies in cutting the very people who make opera what it is.
What “Labor Reform” Really Means
“Labor reform” is labor regression. When critics call for labor reform, they are almost always talking about union contracts, which means cutting artist pay, reducing benefits, and demanding more “flexibility.” They are essentially calling workers “too expensive.”
This lazy framing reduces complex structural issues to an easy scapegoat. Opera faces real challenges like ticket pricing, shrinking audiences, rising administrative and production costs, outdated business models, and declining federal, state, and city support. These challenges require thoughtful, creative solutions. But they are harder to fix than targeting the most visible expense—the people on stage and behind the curtain.
When You Weaken the Artists, the Art Suffers
Labor reform is not a path to sustainability but is a slow erosion of the very foundation of workplaces. Diminished compensation drives away talent, dampens morale, and narrows the pipeline of future artists. Young singers, dancers, actors, and production staff look at an industry where “reform” means instability and sacrifice, and many simply (and understandably) walk away.
Unions exist to prevent this erosion. Unions like AGMA ensure that artists can make a living, that working conditions are safe, that the art form is accessible to people from all backgrounds—not only those who can afford to subsidize their own careers. When unions are strong, industries like the performing arts are not weaker. They are richer, more diverse, more sustainable.
As a member, I sat in negotiations where solidarity preserved healthcare and retirement benefits that made entire careers possible. As staff, I’ve watched members stand together to improve rehearsal conditions and hiring practices to protect artistic integrity. Every time, the outcome is not only fairer for artists, but healthier for the institution itself.
What Actual Reform Looks Like
If we want the performing arts to thrive from coast to coast, real reform must look beyond the “quick fix” of cutting labor:
- If tough choices are necessary, artists must be part of the conversation. True partnership demands transparency and collaboration, not unilateral cuts.
- Open the books. Let everyone understand where money is coming from and where it is going. Too often, artists are asked to sacrifice without ever seeing the real cost drivers.
- Opera companies must embrace new ways of reaching audiences. This could mean streaming, educational partnerships, digital content, and creative collaborations. Other industries already understand this.
- Opera is a public good, worthy of public investment. The most successful reforms in recent years have come from joint advocacy and imaginative fundraising, not from cutting salaries.
- The strongest institutions are those that value their artists not as expenses but as their most essential assets and thought partners. Too often, the narrative casts artists as liabilities to be managed rather than partners in growth. But from my view—across roles as performer, union leader, executive director of an arts non-profit, and union staff member—artists remain the most untapped resource in our field.
Give Us a Seat at the Table
Let’s be honest, Artists are the reason donors give. Whether it is the $10 supporter who loves the annual chorus outreach concert or the million-dollar donor who underwrites a new production or young artist program, their generosity flows toward the art itself and the people who bring it to life. Nobody gives because of a development officer alone (no offense). They give because of the electrifying soprano who made them weep, the stage manager who ensured a flawless performance, the chorus whose sound lifted (and perhaps shook!) the hall.
That is why bringing artists closer to those who support our work is essential. When artists are empowered to advocate publicly, to connect directly with audiences and patrons, to speak with authenticity about the value (and struggles!) of their craft, the results can be transformative. These encounters remind supporters that they are not funding an abstraction called “the opera;” they are investing in human beings.
Expanding the circle of supporters will be key to our joint future. But it will only be possible if we stop treating artists as a budget line item to be trimmed and start recognizing them as the very heart of fundraising, advocacy, and public engagement. The real “reform” our field needs is not to cut down artists, but to elevate us: to trust us, empower us, and bring us forward as the leaders we already are.
A National Push for Change
The theme of this issue, AGMA Coast to Coast: A National Push for Change, is not abstract. What happens at the Metropolitan Opera does not stay in New York. What happens at the San Francisco Opera does not stay in San Francisco. It echoes outward.
Union activism matters in moments of crisis, of course, but also in daily, often quiet acts of solidarity. From New York to Chicago, from San Francisco and LA to Santa Fe and Houston, our collective voice ensures that opera remains not just viable, but vital.
Unionism as Imagination
My experience has taught me that unionism is less about shielding what exists and more about imagining what could be. The same creative energy that animates a performance can animate negotiations, organizing drives, and lobbying campaigns. We do not have to shrink from difficulty. We can rise to it, together.
So, when I hear calls for “labor reform” that clearly translate to “artist sacrifice,” I think back to my first contract in 2015. I remember the thrill of standing on stage, but also the security of knowing I was not standing there alone.
If we want opera to survive and flourish, the answer is not to weaken unions. The answer is for institutions to view unions as partners. We are, after all, in this together.