Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians has reached a tentative agreement with the Metropolitan Opera for a one-year contract for the Met's more than 130 associate musicians.
The deal follows an extensive nine-month period of negotiations during which representatives of the Met's associate musicians pushed to achieve wage parity with their Met Orchestra colleagues. According to AFM Local 802 President Dan Point, the musicians faced "a challenging uphill battle" due to budgetary limitations that have affected the Met in recent years.
The Associate Musicians of the Metropolitan Opera make up between thirty and fifty percent of the orchestra that performs regularly at the prominent New York opera house. However, associate musicians have faced more than a decade of pay cuts, according to a statement released by AFM Local 802.
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