For the six months ended June 30, 2003, Local 802 enjoyed a gain of $52,209, compared with a loss of $53,376 reported for the comparable period of 2002. (The audited financial statements for the year appear on pages 16-17 of the October 2003 Allegro.)

The year-to-year improvement in profitability of $105,585 is the result of an increase in revenues of $99,209, or 4 percent, while expenses were essentially unchanged between the two periods.

The increase in revenues in 2003 is entirely due to a substantial increase in work dues of just under 9 percent. Work dues on Broadway increased 24 percent in 2003 over the prior year; concert work dues increased 6.5 percent; and work dues from other single and steady engagements increased almost 18 percent. Recording work dues declined 7 percent during the current six month period.

The decline in other income in 2003 is largely due to a lack of advertising revenue from the biennial publication of the membership directory which was last published in 2002.

With respect to expenses, departmental costs, in total, declined slightly year-to-year. Decreases in general office and officers’ expenses were offset by an increase in organizing expenses, which includes the cost of the Broadway strike. In other costs, a decline in spending for our live music campaign was offset by increases in real estate taxes and energy costs for the building, and by an increase in legal costs related to Broadway contract negotiations.

The results for the current six month period are a welcome improvement over the losses incurred throughout 2001 and 2002, and have exceeded our budget planning. Versus budget, the improvement reflects the increase in work dues, as disclosed above, and a decrease in the amount anticipated in the budget for the Broadway strike.

Although the strike is behind us, we cannot rely on revenues to grow as robustly as they did during the first half of this year. In addition, we can expect continued pressure from staff compensation and benefits increases, real estate tax increases, and energy cost increases.

Accordingly, we continue to require ways to augment our revenue base in order to avoid returning to a loss position.