AGMA’s new three-year agreement with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre was approved by AGMA members and ratified by AGMA’s Board of Governors on June 1, 2026.
This new agreement delivers meaningful wage increases, stronger health and wellness protections, expanded career transition support, and important improvements to scheduling and working conditions. It also eliminates the New Dancer rank, creating a stronger pathway into the company with significantly higher starting pay, increases the guaranteed size of the company, and establishes new protections around the use of artificial intelligence and dancers’ likenesses.
Thank you to the negotiating committee and congratulations to all PBT Artists!
CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS
Economics
- Wage increases:
- Year 1: approximately 3.1% to 6.6%, depending on rank
- Year 2: approximately 3.1% to 6.3%, depending on rank
- Year 3: approximately 3.6% to 6.5%, depending on rank
- Seniority pay increases:
- Year 1: $10/week
- Year 2: $11/week
- Year 3: $12/week
- Annual transportation subsidy doubled
- New $35 fee for designated social media segment work
Structural Improvements
- Elimination of the New Dancer rank beginning in Year 1
- Dancers promoted from Apprentice II to Corps will receive approximately 32% higher pay
- Guaranteed company size increased from 28 to 30 Artists
- Expanded career transition benefits for long-serving dancers
- Career transition support now begins earlier and provides substantially greater financial assistance
Health, Wellness, and Safety
- Dancers guaranteed 100% wage replacement during Workers’ Compensation and Short-Term Disability absences, including pregnancy-related absences
- New protections surrounding discussions of health, weight, and physical appearance
- New annual process giving dancers a voice in facility improvements, equipment purchases, maintenance concerns, and other investments affecting dancer health and longevity
- Dancer share of massage therapy costs reduced from 50% to 25%
Scheduling and Rehearsal Improvements
- Attendance at designated class is now explicitly voluntary
- Protections against retaliation related to attendance or participation in designated class
- Best efforts to hold designated class onstage during performance weeks
- New protections and compensation for rehearsal leadership and choreography teaching assignments
Reengagement and Employment Protections
- Earlier notification regarding summer employment opportunities
- Earlier reengagement and contract timelines
- More structured artistic evaluations
- Dancers must be informed during evaluations if they are at risk of non-reengagement
- Additional flexibility and extension rights when considering contract offers
- Greater ability to plan auditions, housing, and future employment
Costumes, Shoes, and Working Conditions
- Modernized pointe shoe ordering and inventory procedures
- Improved access to rehearsal supplies and employer-provided undergarments
- Stronger costume cleaning and hygiene protections
- New safeguards against being required to wear wet costumes from prior use
- Improved notification procedures when dancers are required to cover for injured or ill colleagues
Media, AI, and Data Protections
- New artificial intelligence protections preventing the use of AI that impacts employment or manipulates dancers’ likenesses without bargaining with AGMA
- Dancers now have a role in approving photography and video content featuring small groups of artists
- New limits on recording designated class
- New data breach notification and protection requirements