The Metropolitan Opera has agreed to postpone the threatened lockout of union workers at the request of a federal mediator, according to The New York Times.
Contract negotiations between 15 unions and the Met were supposed to end before contracts expired today, Friday, August 1, or else the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb would enact a lockout. After tense deliberations and the introduction of a federal mediator in the 11th hour, the Met has provided a 72-hour reprieve to reach agreements.
While unions for the orchestra and chorus are still in negotiation with the Met, Local 32BJ, representing ushers, security guards, cleaning staff, and ticket takers, and the unions for call center workers and building engineers reached agreements with the Met, and would have gone to work Friday regardless of any lockouts.
To read the full article, visit The New York Times.