Metropolitan Opera Union Negotiations: USA Responds to Times Editorial

United Scenic Artists has issued a statement responding to a recent New York Times editorial about the labor negotiations at the Metropolitan Opera.

The Met is currently in negotiations with 15 unions; citing dropping box office receipts, Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, has asked for across-the-board salary cuts.

The Times editorial, which supports Gelb (and which can be accessed at the URL listed below left) says in part:

"The Met cannot continue on its present course. The opera's annual budget was $327 million last year, about $200 million of which goes for payments and benefits to union employees. Those employees, who often work long hours, include some of the most talented people in their professions. Their pay reflects that expertise, with average earnings for the chorus and orchestra running about $200,000 a year. Mr. Gelb estimates that full-time chorus members earn $200,000 in salary and $100,000 in benefits, including nine weeks off with full pay. For the average full-time orchestra member, it's $200,000 in pay and $85,000 in benefits, including 16 weeks off with pay.

"Mr. Gelb has said that 'even if I was the worst manager in the world, if two-thirds of the cost structure is going to the unions, clearly that's an area that has to be cut.' He is asking the unions for an average of 16 percent in cuts to benefits and changes in outdated work rules that rack up exorbitant costs in overtime, especially for rehearsals."

The statement from USA, which takes issue with the Times' conclusions, says:

"While the New York Times claims to have an even-handed discussion about the economic issues facing the Metropolitan Opera, in fact its coverage is very one-sided against the employees.

"Rather than doing real research, the editorial staff relies on so-called 'facts' stated by the Met's general manager Peter Gelb, and accepts them as the Gospel.

"Yet, Mr. Gelb consistently uses outlier numbers to showcase the alleged runaway costs of employees. What he should be doing is looking in the mirror to see why expenses are on the rise.

"If the editors would take a few minutes and read their own news pages, they would find the following:

"'In Mr. Gelb's first three years the operating budget increased by $60 million, largely because of ambitious new productions and media efforts like the Met's high-definition transmissions of live performances into movie theaters.'"

"So the real issue isn't worker compensation; the real issue is a management team with big dreams and a credit card that has no limits.

"We agree with the opening of the editorial: To save the Met Opera, managing director Peter Gelb and our unions 'will have to sit, talk, and compromise.'

"Our members are more than ready to do our part. We understand that the audience, cost structure, and commercial environment in which the Met operates has changed.

"It is a challenge, however, to negotiate with a general manager who has vastly increased spending but whose grand opera experiment has not only failed to increase attendance, but has failed in the process to retain the audience committed to live operas.

"Mr. Gelb has also helped himself to a 26% pay raise in 2013, before taking his well touted 10% cut, a tactic he used before negotiations in 2009 as well. Engaging in this shell game while demanding severe 16% reductions in pay and benefits for electricians, carpenters, make-up artists, costumers, ticket sellers, and other workers is the furthest thing from good faith bargaining.

"Mr. Gelb's statement that 'two-thirds of the cost structure is going to the unions' is inaccurate. No portion of the Met Opera budget goes to our union or to any other labor organization. Sadly, Mr. Gelb seems to forget that he pays people and not unions.

"The Met pays the artists and workers who perform, stage, and support what all agree are the finest opera performances in the world. We can also agree, we believe, on a contract that can keep these world-class productions thrilling opera patrons for many years to come."

In other news, the Metropolitan Opera was vandalized yesterday; an unknown intruder or intruders spray-painted some of the company's administrative offices, as were works of art on display. It is unclear if the event is related to the negotiations or the ongoing controversy of the Met's decision to stage John Adams' opera The Death of Klinghoffer, which deals with a terrorist incident involving Palestinians. The full story can be read at the URL listed below right.

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