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 -->

"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 -->

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 -->

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 -->

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 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 -->

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 -->

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 -->

AGMA received notification today that the Metropolitan Opera has locked out the stagehands of Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. AGMA stands in solidarity with Local One. We encourage AGMA Artists to remain unified with their Local One colleagues as well.  COVID-19 is the most challenging period for the Arts in living memory, but it should not be an excuse for the Met to permanently undermine the contracts of its unionized workers. The Met's workers are the Met; there is no Met without a workforce that can support themselves and their families. We hope that the Met focuses on getting all of its unionized workers back to work, and coming to an agreement with all of its unions, including Local One... Read More -->

There are two weeks left to vote in AGMA’s Constitutional Referendum. We hope that you will make your voice heard on this important Referendum. On the ballot, which you should have received from Global Election Services via the email address helpdesk@voteges.com, you will have a choice to vote for either the “Board of Governors Revision” to the AGMA Constitution, the “Petition Amendments,” or neither. Additionally, you will be asked to vote on the Petitioners’ proposal to increase dues by raising and then eliminating the dues cap, along with a temporary reduction in the initiation fee. The choice is yours to make. In many ways, this vote is a choice between two different visions for our Union. The Board of Governors R... Read More -->