Met Opera extends lockout deadline in musicians' labor dispute
Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar
1 of 2. Union orchestra musicians and chorus members of New York's Metropolitan Opera gather at a rally near Lincoln Center in New York City, August 1, 2014.
The contract negotiations, the most contentious at the Met since a previous lockout in 1980, had been suspended for a week while an independent analyst studied the Met's finances. Its previous labor contracts expired July 31.
The analyst's review is 'nearing its completion,' the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service said in a statement on Monday, adding that the Met had agreed to extend its deadline to Sunday, Aug. 17.
The Met had agreed to postpone the July 31 deadline for 72 hours after a federal mediator joined talks with two of the largest unions, representing the orchestra and the chorus, at the 11th hour. It then extended the lockout deadline for 'approximately one week' that same weekend.
The Met, which is the largest performing arts organization in the country, has said it will lock out its orchestra, chorus, stagehands and other employees if new agreements cannot be reached. A lockout could derail the new opera season, which is set to open next month.
Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, has said its performers must accept a cut to the cost of their package of about 16 percent if the company is to survive waning interest in opera. Some of the unions have argued that Gelb should instead spend less money on expensive new productions.
The Met said in a statement it was 'looking forward' to resuming talks. It reached new agreements with three of its smaller unions earlier in August.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Peter Galloway)
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