For the six-month period ended June 30, 2018, Local 802 realized a loss of $247,340. The audited financial statements for the six-month period appear in the printed issue of Allegro on page 41.

Most items on the Statement of Activities remain relatively consistent from year to year, with the biggest fluctuations generally occurring in the investment accounts. Local 802 recorded an unrealized loss of $162,402, which was a sizable decrease when comparing the unrealized gain of $110,333 in 2017. The union did have a considerable gain of $134,627 on realized sale of investments, which is a $107,531 increase when compared to 2017. The difference between a realized and unrealized gain or loss on investment is when an investment is sold, it is realized, which is different from an unrealized gain or loss, which reflects the change in market value of a security before it is sold.

Personnel expenses decreased by $84,209 from 2017 to 2018. This was a result of not replacing some personnel who retired or vacated their position. The union had an increase in legal fees of $85,646 which is 43 percent higher than last year. This is a result of the Metropolitan Opera negotiations and is to be expected during years when large negotiations take place. However, as a result of tight budgeting, Local 802 was able to offset the increase in legal expenses with the decrease in personnel costs keeping expenses relatively constant when comparing 2017 to 2018.

The sizeable unrealized loss on investments, combined with the slight decrease in work dues, are the two major reasons for the loss for the first half of 2018. Local 802 hopes to recover in the second half of 2018; however, increased legal expenses in the second half of 2018 may result in a loss for us in 2018.

Cathy Camiolo is Local 802’s controller.