NEGOTIATIONS ROUNDUP

Irish Repertory Theatre. A two-year agreement was negotiated with the nonprofit Irish Repertory Theatre (Ciaran O’Reilly, producing director), which is the first long term agreement the theatre has signed with Local 802. Its current show is “After the Ball.” The minimum weekly wage scale, for both rehearsals and performances, is $432 for a seven-performance week (standard for nonprofit productions), and the rehearsal week is 36 hours. Orchestra rehearsals are compensated at $20 per hour with a two-hour minimum. If a production goes into a ninth week of performance, there will be a bump in salary of 25 percent. Premiums are standard and are as follows: conductor, 25 percent; associate conductor, 15 percent; designated contractor (required for six musicians or more), 15 percent; doubling, 12.5 percent for the first double and 6.25 percent for each additional; librarian, 12.5 percent. Dress rehearsals will be paid at the performance rate. Any rehearsal before or after a performance will be compensated at $25 for one hour. There is also an in-costume premium of $20 per week, which is new to our contracts with the Irish Repertory Theatre. Vacation is paid at 6 percent and begins in the ninth week of a production. Health benefits are $8.29 per call and capped at $58 per week. Pension is paid at 9 percent. Music preparation is at 80 percent of the general price list. This agreement contains a ban on the virtual orchestra machine.

New York Revels. The New York Revels overwhelmingly ratified a new contract as the company prepared for its winter concert series at Symphony Space. The term of the agreement is Oct. 1, 2004 through Sept. 30, 2007. Prior to this agreement, the New York Revels has lagged one year behind on cartage, performance pay and health contributions. This has been rectified in the new contract. By the third year of this contract, New York Revels will pay full scale in all areas. This new contract also includes electronic filing language and a ban on the virtual orchestra machine.

Marstam Music. Local 802 has reached a new two-year agreement with Marstam Music Inc. (Marvin Stamm). The agreement covers musicians primarily engaged in workshops and clinics. It provides a minimum scale wage for such workshops equal to the four-hour Saturday night club date scale. Pension is paid at the rate of 15 percent and Plan A health benefits are guaranteed for regular employees. For musicians employed on an occasional basis, health benefits are paid at the rate of $25 per engagement.

GRIEVANCE CORNER

St. Joseph’s Seminary. Local 802 and St. Joseph’s Seminary settled an arbitration over the Seminary’s nonpayment of wages and benefits for the commercial release of a recording of a 1997 concert. The settlement required the payment of $7,000 to the 20 musicians who performed in the concert.