News

Entering Week 2: Met AGMA Negotiating Committee Update

Published February 15, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

Dear AGMA Artists: We hope this message finds you all safe, healthy, and well. Last Monday we kicked off negotiations with the Met and delivered our proposals to management. Presentations were given by ALL 35 members of the Committee and each group and its function was introduced. The presentations were poised, professional, but at the same time, heartfelt and emotional. Hearing from each committee member was an experience like no other. We have all been through so much this past year and it culminated in these touching presentations. On the second day of bargaining, the Met delivered their proposals to us. We have many questions and concerns and are waiting on more clarification before we can even consider responding. However, ou... Read More -->

Arts, Entertainment, and Media Unions Announce Legislative Push to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Published February 11, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

Feb. 11, 2021 - Today, the arts, entertainment, and media unions affiliated with the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) announced their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policy agenda during a digital press conference with union leaders, staff, and members. The DEI policy agenda details the legislative action the unions will urge members of Congress to support to help make their industries more representative.  “Diversity is a strength,” said DPE President Jennifer Dorning. “Creative professionals and their unions know this, and continue to prioritize making their industries more accessible to underrepresented people. Advocating for policy changes at the national level is a natural continu... Read More -->

Message from the Met AGMA Negotiating Committee on Upcoming Negotiations

Published February 8, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

Today we begin negotiations with the Met. Late last month, we reached an agreement with the Met to sit down for eight weeks to try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This marks the beginning of what will likely be a difficult and challenging negotiation. The Met has been very public about its financial situation and the cuts it is seeking from all of its unions. We want to be equally clear: we cannot and will not allow cuts in compensation that threaten the livelihoods of our fellow Artists or the artistic integrity of the Company. We are clear-eyed that the Met has significant financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and we are willing to work with the Met to help it survive this difficult ti... Read More -->

Letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris from AGMA President: the Arts Need Funding Now

Published January 21, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

"It has never been just about 'dinner and a show.' It is 'the United States Economy and a show,' as the Performing Arts in the U.S. intersects with and amplifies virtually every other facet of our economy." Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris: Congratulations on this historic moment in both of your lives, as well as our country’s. As Production Stage Manager of the Metropolitan Opera and President of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the labor union of professional singers, dancers, and stage staff in opera, choral performance, and concert dance, it brought me more joy than I can explain to see how you incorporated the Performing Arts throughout the Presidential Inauguration. Listening to the messages ... Read More -->

January 27: AGMA State of the Union

Published January 13, 2021   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

AGMA members are invited to attend a special AGMA State of the Union webinar on Wednesday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. EST. The webinar will begin with a review of the many challenges and achievements of an extraordinarily difficult 2020, and then shift its focus to the new year. Speakers include AGMA President Ray Menard, National Executive Director Len Egert, and the head of the AGMA/SDC Medical Panel, Dr. Mark Cunningham-Hill. There will be time for questions at the end. Registration is required. Members will receive a link to the webinar once their AGMA membership status has been verified. A recording of the webinar will be posted behind the MyAGMA portal for those who cannot attend live.  ... Read More -->

Holiday Message from AGMA

Published December 22, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

AGMA will close starting on Wednesday, December 23, and will reopen on Monday, January 4, 2021. We are very excited to return and shift our momentum into the new year. On Wednesday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. EST, AGMA will host a State of the Union webinar during which we will review the many obstacles and achievements of 2020 and look ahead to the future. Please mark your calendars, we will send a registration link in January. In 2021, AGMA will continue to make progress on our goals and continue to tackle the challenges facing AGMA as a labor union in the 21st Century. AGMA has fought for Artists for more than 80 years and will do so for as long as opera, dance, and choral work are performed in America. 2020 was a year none o... Read More -->

AGMA Statement in Support of European Union Artists

Published   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

The German Artists’ initiative Aufstehen für die Kunst ("Standing up for Arts") proposal states: “Our main concern is that artistic freedom, in accordance with its constitutional status, has to be taken into account and that it is similarly treated with other equally protected areas, especially religious services. Of course, the Artists support a hard lockdown for everyone. A hard lockdown only for the Arts, while church services, demonstrations, and even the retail trade can continue largely undisturbed, as was the case during the Lockdown "light" in November, we firmly reject.” The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) stands in support of European Union artists seeking to return to opera, dance, and choral perf... Read More -->

AGMA Holiday Hours Announced

Published December 21, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

AGMA will close on Wednesday, December 23, and will reopen Monday, January 4, 2021. We are very excited to shift our momentum into the new year. In 2021, AGMA will continue to make progress on our goals and continue to tackle the challenges facing AGMA as a labor union in the 21st Century. AGMA has fought for Artists for more than 80 years and will do so for as long as opera, dance, and choral work are performed in America. More to come in our End of Year message later this week! ... Read More -->

AGMA Members Overwhelmingly Approve Board of Governors Revision in Referendum

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

Dear AGMA Artists: The results of AGMA’s Constitutional Referendum are in and AGMA is very pleased to announce that the Board of Governors Revision of the Constitution has been overwhelmingly approved by you, the AGMA membership. The vote was 1,380 for the Board of Governors Revision, 512 for the Petition Amendments, and 75 for neither. Additionally, the Petitioners’ proposal to increase dues by raising and then eliminating the dues cap, along with a temporary reduction in the initiation fee, was rejected 1,316 to 636. With 1,981 total votes cast (some members did not vote on both questions), AGMA saw a record-breaking percentage of our membership take part in this referendum. Your voices were heard, and we celebrate this excitin... Read More -->

The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds Stands United with IATSE Local One in Metropolitan Opera Lockout

Published December 9, 2020   |  By Musical Artists  |  Post in All Areas

December 9, 2020 – In response to the lockout by the Metropolitan Opera against Local One stagehands, members of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG) issued the following statement. As an affiliate of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local One stagehands do not stand alone in the lockout by the Metropolitan Opera. All of the affiliates – many of whom are facing the same draconian, long term wage and condition cuts from the Met Opera management – stand united with our sisters, brothers, and kin in Local One. While workers are furloughed and waiting for live performances to safely return, the Metropolitan Opera has conditioned limited ... Read More -->