On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, AGMA sent the following memo to its signatory companies:
Dear AGMA Signatory Company,
As we near the end of July, AGMA is reaching out again to our companies regarding potential reopening and related safety issues. AGMA remains dedicated to working with you to address the daunting challenges that reopening safely will entail. We must commit to working collaboratively and transparently to address the safety and economic security of your artists and companies.
From the onset of the pandemic, AGMA’s foremost concern has been the safety and health of our performing artists and the well-being of the companies through which they share their exquisite talents. Our May memo to companies regarding reopening stated explicitly that we must have conversations about appropriate safety protocols at your company before any in-person work or use of your facilities by AGMA artists can occur, regardless of whether AGMA artists are on or off contract. We restate our pledge to work with you to identify foreseeable health risks and options to mitigate them. As a reminder, we have retained an esteemed panel of medical experts to guide our analysis and discussions of workplace safety and reopening. In order to work effectively with you to reduce risk AGMA must be made aware of every aspect of any return to work event, project, or otherwise. We are ready and willing to work closely with you to ensure that any future in-person work plan is reviewed in a timely manner.
Just as we worked together to find solutions at the beginning of this crisis, we will work with you to navigate this next wave of complex decisions. We are confident that we will emerge from this unprecedented and dark time, but we must do so deliberately, intelligently, and with utmost focus on our members’ health and safety.
Sincerely,
Leonard Egert
AGMA National Executive Director