Our Contract with Arizona Opera

AZOOMA, the Arizona Opera and American Federation of Musicians Local 586 engage in contract negotiations every 3  years.

This is called collective bargaining. This one-minute video on does an excellent job of explaining the process.

With the musicians, the union and management, the bargaining determines working conditions and wages, among other important things.

• Recent news and updates

• More on collective bargaining

June 2010 – contract expired

AZOOMA has a long-term commitment through the 2011-2012 season with Arizona Opera. It is a three-year agreement with a side letter that includes two additional years of “right of first refusal.”  The AZOOMA Negotiating Committee worked for about 17 months in order to reach this settlement.

The 3-year agreement from 2007 included a wage-freeze for two years and a very modest wage increase in the third year in the face of the opera’s financial difficulties.

The 3-year agreement expired in June 2010, and regular negotiations under the terms of the 2-year side letter are currently in session. In the meantime, the conditions of the expired contract remain in full effect.