Has everyone been following the saga at City Opera? WQXR's Brian Wise offers this recap:
"New York City Opera has declared an impasse in negotiations with the unions representing its orchestra and chorus, with the two sides unable to reach an agreement on wages and benefits. The latest negotiations ended in a deadlock on Wednesday night.
Don Batchelder, City Opera's principal trumpeter and a negotiating committee member with Local 802, said the company is asking for more than 90 percent in pay cuts from its musicians — and wants to turn the orchestra into a freelance troupe. "The management has made it pretty clear that they want to jettison their orchestra and chorus and replace us with freelancers,” said Batchelder. “Their philosophy is, if we need you, we’ll call you. That is really a great disservice to the legacy and to the quality of New York City Opera."
The company says the proposed pay cuts are not nearly as drastic, and in a statement added that the two unions “refused to recognize the Opera’s financial situation and demanded huge guarantees for work that won’t be realized, wage increases, and full-year health care coverage for mere weeks of work.”
The latest impasse comes after a marathon 14-hour negotiating session on Wednesday. It’s unclear what the next steps may be, although Batchelder said union lawyers are considering filing a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over what he said was management’s refusal to talk further. He added that the union has authorized a strike "but we are not yet at that point.”
And this, on top of leaving the David H. Koch NY State Theater, reducing its season down to four productions, and laying off nearly half of its administrative staff. What the hell is George Steel up to? I think I can hear the Fat Lady warming up…
Thoughts?