With warmer weather on the horizon and several feet of snow now melted, Local 802 has some changes and plans that you should hear about.

Last week, we welcomed Gabe Slidders as a new business rep for Off Broadway to our staff. We are excited to work with him to expand the union’s reach and effectiveness in the theatre space. Next week, I hope you will join us in Times Square on Wednesday, March 11, at 10 am for a rally to support the AFM negotiations for the Sound Recording Labor Agreement (SRLA). We are excited to be joined by representatives from major music advocacy groups and other union allies as we advocate for protections against AI. You can RSVP here.

We all know how hard it can be to make time to attend meetings sometimes, so we are bringing the union to your workplace. Pit visits to the Broadway theatres have been ongoing and are mostly concluded now. In the coming weeks and months, I will be visiting many of our freelance orchestras together with Financial Vice President Karen Fisher. (See Karen’s article here, with a report on the first of many visits to come.) This is part of an ongoing effort that is set to become a year-round program of face-to-face conversations with your leaders. If you are playing a gig that you’d like to see your union support, reach out to Robin Donach, and we will do our best to attend!

Many of our bargaining units, including the Met Orchestra and the Met Associates, are still engaged in ongoing negotiations. With the New York City Ballet Orchestra contract set to expire this fall, things will indeed be getting even busier at Lincoln Center. We look forward to working with our negotiating committees to ensure strong contracts in all of these negotiations.

Finally, I would like to end on a positive note! Musicians recently won renewal agreements with Jazz at Lincoln Center and “Encores!” at New York City Center. These agreements achieved solid wage and benefit increases, representing a win for Local 802 and our members.