ABT contract negotiations

[MoMo]

ABT Dancers are posting on Instagram that they and their Union AGMA have been in negotiations for over five months  on an expired contract. They request ABT Management to bargain a fair contract. Fall Season begins next week. 

[AB'sMom]

I wonder if that’s why there haven’t been promotions yet—no new contracts to sign.

[MoMo]

3 minutes ago, AB'sMom said:

I wonder if that’s why there haven’t been promotions yet—no new contracts to sign.

That is my thought. 

[ABT Fan]

Well, this could explain a lot.

[Papagena]

11 hours ago, AB'sMom said:

I wonder if that’s why there haven’t been promotions yet—no new contracts to sign.

This is why I sort of bristle at all the 'get your house in order ABT / jaffe is slow / I had hopes for certain casting choices and now have lost hope' assumptions because its clear that this is a transitional, important time for the company. This is not an easy process for both dancers and management. 

Take the time needed to do it right, something that will help the company be a better place for artists for years and years (although hopefully the contracts will be in place by performance time as non-contract employment can cause major low morale). I hope they can find a solution everyone is happy with. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Papagena

[choriamb]

Janet Rollé, their former executive director, announced her departure roughly 4-5 months ago.  Regardless of her exact stance on the contract's terms, her departure in the midst of negotiations has probably prolonged the discussion.

[MoMo]

3 minutes ago, choriamb said:

Janet Rollé, their former executive director, announced her departure roughly 4-5 months ago.  Regardless of her exact stance on the contract's terms, her departure in the midst of negotiations has probably prolonged the discussion.

I agree. Poor timing. 

[ABT Fan]

12 minutes ago, choriamb said:

Janet Rollé, their former executive director, announced her departure roughly 4-5 months ago.  Regardless of her exact stance on the contract's terms, her departure in the midst of negotiations has probably prolonged the discussion.

Geez, I forgot about that. Yeah, poor timing.

[Helene]

It's usually not easy to replace a key member of a negotiating team, no matter what side they're on.

[MoMo]

On 10/14/2023 at 11:30 AM, Helene said:

It's usually not easy to replace a key member of a negotiating team, no matter what side they're on.

AGMA ( Union for dancers), sent a letter to ABT management today regarding the dancers working without a contract. It was very stern. 

[ABT Fan]

If anyone wants to read the recent letter from the dancers/stage managers sent to management, see the link in the article here. Sounds quite dire.

https://www.musicalartists.org/agma-releases-letters-sent-to-abt-management-in-2017-and-2023/

[stuben]

Had originally posted this by error on Fall Season thread. Anyway I saw the latest social media stories from many of the dancers about this and feel it’s just terrible how the artists who literally do all the work can’t get what they need to live on (only a select few may not have an issue) with skyrocketing rent, especially in NYC! I wonder if strike is on the horizon like the writers Union and SAG is still on strike! With all the millionaire donors you’d think they’d have a heart!

[fondoffouettes]

20 minutes ago, stuben said:

Had originally posted this by error on Fall Season thread. Anyway I saw the latest social media stories from many of the dancers about this and feel it’s just terrible how the artists who literally do all the work can’t get what they need to live on (only a select few may not have an issue) with skyrocketing rent, especially in NYC! I wonder if strike is on the horizon like the writers Union and SAG is still on strike! With all the millionaire donors you’d think they’d have a heart!

I really feel for the dancers. To have their retirement contribution slashed in half and still not have it restored is awful, especially given their short careers. I have no doubt that many are struggling to make ends meet, as the letter says. And I can't believe some have not received cost-of-living increases. The cost of living in NYC is absolutely insane right now. I wonder what financial resources ABT actually has on hand to fulfill any of these demands. In the more recent letter, there is no mention of the company's financial status, as there was in AGMA's letters regarding NYCB's orchestra members. The general impression I get is that ABT is trying to operate beyond its means and maintain artistic excellence even if they don't have the money to properly support it. 

Edited to add: In the past, ABT has declared its commitment to diversity and established Project Plié. You cannot have true diversity if you don't pay dancers a living wage. It limits a ballet career to those with inherited wealth or outside support from family or a spouse, and in our society, that limits racial diversity. (The 2017 letter describes junior corps members relying on family support.)  

Edited October 24, 2023 by fondoffouettes

[stuben]

8 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I really feel for the dancers. To have their retirement contribution slashed in half and still not have it restored is awful, especially given their short careers. I have no doubt that many are struggling to make ends meet, as the letter says. And I can't believe some have not received cost-of-living increases. The cost of living in NYC is absolutely insane right now. I wonder what financial resources ABT actually has on hand to fulfill any of these demands. In the more recent letter, there is no mention of the company's financial status, as there was in AGMA's letters regarding NYCB's orchestra members. The general impression I get is that ABT is trying to operate beyond its means and maintain artistic excellence even if they don't have the money to properly support it. 

Edited to add: In the past, ABT has declared its commitment to diversity and established the Plie Project. You cannot have true diversity if you don't pay dancers a living wage. It limits a ballet career to those with inherited wealth or outside support from family or a spouse, and in our society, that limits racial diversity. (The 2017 letter describes junior corps members relying on family support.)  

Completely agree and how can management expect these artists to perform and be at the top of their game when they won’t budge to help them? It would definitely be interesting to see what management wages are compared to the artists. Either way it’s just ridiculous to have to even talk about this! Pay these artists already!

[California]

1 hour ago, stuben said:

It would definitely be interesting to see what management wages are compared to the artists. 

You can look up compensation of top individuals on this ProPublica site, although 2021 is the most recent year:

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/131882106

[miliosr]

18 hours ago, stuben said:

It would definitely be interesting to see what management wages are compared to the artists.

Courtesy of publicly available information on Guide Star . . . 

ABT's most recently filed Form 990 was for calendar year 2021. For that year, the nine highest paid employees were all on the management side of the ledger. (Highest was Kevin McKenzie at $463,576 and lowest was Cynthia Harvey [then-JKO School head] at $169,698.) Even dancers like Gillian Murphy and Herman Cornejo - both of whom have had very long tenures in the organization - don't appear on ABT's list of highest paid employees.

For comparison, the situation at the New York City Ballet is no better. Of the 11 highest paid individuals listed on its most recent form 990, none are dancers. (However, Justin Peck does appear on the list.)

 

[AB'sMom]

So many people in what are essentially finance and fundraising positions getting paid a decent wage despite clearly not being good enough at their jobs to bring in enough funding to pay the dancers a living wage. 

[abatt]

4 hours ago, miliosr said:

Courtesy of publicly available information on Guide Star . . . 

ABT's most recently filed Form 990 was for calendar year 2021. For that year, the nine highest paid employees were all on the management side of the ledger. (Highest was Kevin McKenzie at $463,576 and lowest was Cynthia Harvey [then-JKO School head] at $169,698.) Even dancers like Gillian Murphy and Herman Cornejo - both of whom have had very long tenures in the organization - don't appear on ABT's list of highest paid employees.

For comparison, the situation at the New York City Ballet is no better. Of the 11 highest paid individuals listed on its most recent form 990, none are dancers. (However, Justin Peck does appear on the list.)

 

The dancers work, including rehearsal weeks and performance weeks, for only a fraction of the year.  Being a ballet dancer at ABT is not a 52 week per year job, and salaries reflect that reality.  That's why many of them appear during off time at other gigs.   I think overall, NYCB dancers have more weeks of work than ABT dancers.  

Edited October 25, 2023 by abatt

[miliosr]

6 hours ago, abatt said:

The dancers work, including rehearsal weeks and performance weeks, for only a fraction of the year.  Being a ballet dancer at ABT is not a 52 week per year job, and salaries reflect that reality.  That's why many of them appear during off time at other gigs.   I think overall, NYCB dancers have more weeks of work than ABT dancers.  

I took a look back at ABT's Form 990 for calendar year 2013 (freely available on the Internet). Of the eight listed positions with the highest base compensation (nine actual people), two were dancers - Julie Kent (28 years w/ ABT as of 2013) and Paloma Herrera (22 years w/ ABT as of 2013). Gillian Murphy (25 years w/ ABT as of 2021) and Herman Cornejo (21 years w/ ABT in 2021) would be roughly comparable to Kent and Herrera in terms of tenure.

Perhaps fewer working weeks are acting as a drag on Murphy and Cornejo's base compensation although I'm much more inclined to believe that COVID-era cuts to the dancers' compensation are to blame. Regardless, comparing the administrative salaries from 2013 to those in 2021 is telling. Base compensation for the administrative side has drifted ever upward while the compensation on the top dancers' side has remained stagnant or even declined (based on what I would expect to see from the Kent/Herrera example in 2013).

Edited October 25, 2023 by miliosr

[ABT Fan]

Has the contract situation been resolved? I've not seen anything posted anywhere, if it has or hasn't, and am not sure where to find news of it.

[California]

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Has the contract situation been resolved? I've not seen anything posted anywhere, if it has or hasn't, and am not sure where to find news of it.

I have assumed that when there's news of a contract, it will be plastered all over their social media accounts. But with everybody in China, I'm also assuming nothing will be final until they get back. And I would guess China would not welcome a high-profile celebration of a union contract while they were in China. Ditto for the announcement of the Met 2024 season.

[bingham]

3 hours ago, California said:

I have assumed that when there's news of a contract, it will be plastered all over their social media accounts. But with everybody in China, I'm also assuming nothing will be final until they get back. And I would guess China would not welcome a high-profile celebration of a union contract while they were in China. Ditto for the announcement of the Met 2024 season.

And promotions if any..🙏🏻

[California]

ABT official announced that China tour is done. So perhaps we'll get news of the Met season soon.

PS. Very glad to see that Bell did the scheduled Giselle with Teuscher in China. His only performance there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Czdgcm5LQvR/

[ABT Fan]

I can’t believe there’s still no word on the contract negotiations. I’ve seen no posts from any of the dancers either promoting their cause or otherwise. Could it have been quietly (and not publicly) resolved? But, if it was, there are STILL no promotions?? 

[Barbara]

I’ve been wondering the same thing. Very curious.