Just in From the Union: MET Orchestra Musicians Release New Report Identifying Additional Savings and More

Just in from the Union: MET Orchestra Musicians Release New Report:

The MET Orchestra Musicians love the Metropolitan Opera and want it to succeed. For 30 years they have had excellent labor relations, and had hoped that respectful exchange would continue.

This past Friday, July 25, the musicians and Local 802 made a detailed presentation in support of the union's comprehensive proposals to the Met, detailing savings of over $30 Million. On Saturday, July 26, the Met responded to that presentation and did not accept any of Local 802's proposals. Local 802 prepared a further response to the Met's comments on the presentation. As it was being offered, the Met representatives indicated that they were not considering the presentation and would only entertain acceptance of the Met's proposals made on February 26th. Met management has not changed any of those proposals.

The following link contains an updated presentation responding to the Met's rebuttals, and proposing a further cost savings, to bring the total savings to $32.2 Million.

CLICK TO READ THE REVISED MUSICIAN'S REPORT. This document (which was presented to management on 2014-07-25) will remain posted online indefinitely, and will be a "living document." It will be constantly updated with any necessary emendations and corrections, which the musicians will fully acknowledge and document.

The Met Musicians report also address the following points:

• Met Musicians Support Innovation: We support new productions, but new productions premiered under Peter Gelb have been widely criticized by the press and have negatively affected box office returns. New productions under Peter Gelb are reviewed negatively over 60% of the time, while the MET Orchestra is reviewed positively over 80% of the time.
• New productions that premiered under Peter Gelb have been poorly received by critics and the public: There is a direct correlation between negative critical reception and box office returns for revivals that were premiered under Peter Gelb. Increased ticket prices and an increased number of these revivals negatively impacted revenue.
• Opera is not "Dying" as Mr. Gelb claims, but is in fact thriving at other opera houses: Other opera companies have recently shown success in ticket sales and fundraising. Their leaders believe in the future of the art form and value a commitment to artistic excellence.
• Reductions in compensation would devastate the MET Orchestra's ability to attract and retain top talent. The MET Orchestra works 30% more than its peers for similar wages. A decline in compensation would make the MET Orchestra a far less attractive destination for the world's best musicians.
• Peter Gelb has exploded the Met's budget on productions that have not shown a good return on investment: Peter Gelb took a balanced budget and increased it by 50%. Three quarters of that increase came from Media, New Productions, and "Other." The Met currently spends an average of over $1 million more on each new production, inflation-adjusted, than it did prior to Peter Gelb's arrival.
• The Excellence of the MET Orchestra is one of the Met's Strongest Assets:The MET Orchestra has achieved extraordinary critical acclaim and garnered numerous awards. Reducing the investment in the orchestra, and the resulting increase in turnover, would have devastating effects on the artistic quality of the Metropolitan Opera.
• The Met needs to address the real problems of artistic and financial Mismanagement: Cutting employee compensation does nothing to address the Met's deeper problem of financial and artistic mismanagement.

The MET Orchestra Musicians' Report is accompanied by a letter from Jessica Phillips Rieske, Acting Principal Clarinetist and Chair of the MET Orchestra Committee, explaining the timbre of negotiations and actions on the parts of Peter Gelb that have made it necessary to clarify facts and make their case in the public arena:

In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, the MET Orchestra Musicians wish to directly address the nature and format of these negotiations. We deeply regret that these contentious negotiations are taking place in such a public arena: for 34 years we have enjoyed labor peace, and all negotiations were conducted behind closed doors with a media blackout that all parties followed.

Peter Gelb made this negotiation different. Our Orchestra Committee received his initial proposals on Wednesday, February 26, 2014. On Thursday, February 27, 2014, the New York Times posted an article highlighting Mr. Gelb's proposals. No union officials knowledgeable of the negotiations commented to the New York Times before the article was published. The media blackout was over before it could ever begin.

We now find ourselves in the position of having to make our case publicly, but we are nevertheless committed to doing it with the utmost accuracy and transparency....We hope that our data-driven approach to find solutions for the Metropolitan Opera will lead to an open opera house, a salvaged season, and a sustainable future for many decades.

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