The union representing stagehands, Local 1 I.A.T.S.E., reached a tentative agreement on Wednesday morning with the Metropolitan Opera.

"We're pleased to announce a tentative agreement was reached early this morning. This wasn't easy. However, after a summer spent negotiating, in these final hours we were able to craft an agreement that allows the show to go on and is fair for our members," said Matthew Loeb, International President of IATSE. "The...agreement we reached -- which includes mandatory cost reductions from management and an independent monitor to track budget performance -- offers a way to get the Met on track for success."

Loeb said members will receive details of the agreement for ratification. They will remain at the bargaining table to conclude agreements for the other six I.A.T.S.E. local unions who represent members in costume and wardrobe designs, camera operators, wigs, hair and make-up artists, scenic artists, designers, painters, bill poster designers, parks crew and box office treasurers. Those negotiations take place on Thursday.

Tino Gagliardi, President, Local 802, AFM (orchestra), said in a statement they were pleased to hear the Met Opera had reached an agreement with the stagehands, and very glad the Local One had joined them in insisting on mandatory cost reductions from management and an independent monitor to track budget performance.

"We now have tentative contractual language requiring shared investments in the Met Opera's future by both workers and management, as well as mechanisms to ensure financial oversight and efficient collaboration going forward," said Gagliardi.

The Metropolitan Opera in a statement said, "The new contract with Local One, subject to ratification, will provide the institution with savings comparable to those achieved through the recent agreements with Local 802 (orchestra) and AGAM (chorus and principal singers)."

The new agreements, said the Met, are the culmination of a six-month series of negotiations with contracts for 1,600 full-time and seasonable employees -- members of 16 unions. Just three unions were able to negotiate their contracts by the July 31 deadline.

The prolonged negotiations centered on the Met's general manager Peter Gelb's demand of cuts of over $30 million to work contracts, claiming financial difficulties. The cuts of 17 percent would have represented pay and pension cuts, health benefit contributions and changes to work rules. Unions argued the cuts were draconian and punitive and didn't address what they claim was Gelb's lavish spending and miscalculations on new productions, which they say resulted in the deficit of $2.8 million of the organization's annual operating budget of $326 million. A study by Local 802 AFM claimed Gelb had increased the Met's operating budget by 50 percent. 

Negotiations were so difficult, a federal mediator, Allison Beck, was brought in to help. Beck ordered a report by an independent analyst to review the Met Opera's finances. The Met threated members with a lockout four times before agreements could be reached.

Loeb added, "We've said since bargaining began in May that IA members understand the financial realities facing the Metropolitan Opera. We've always been willing to contribute to a solution that will keep the world's best opera in front of the world's greatest opera fans. We've also have insisted, from day one, that management must confront budget realities and make substantial and quantifiable contributions to a financially sustainable business model."

The details of the tentative four-year agreement have not been released by the union before they are ratified by members. However, a report in The New York Times said the orchestra and chorus unions "agreed to 3.5 percent cut in wages upon ratification, and another 3.5 percent reduction six months later -- either in the form of another wage cut or, if they agree in further negotiations, as a change in benefits. Part of those cuts would be restored with a 3 percent raise in the second half of the fourth year." They said management also agreed to "cut $11.25 million worth of other expenses."

The Met season will open Sept. 22 with a new production of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."