The union representing Broadway musicians reached a tentative deal on a new contract early on Thursday morning, avoiding a potential strike that had been set to begin later that day and would have threatened many top shows in New York.
In a statement, the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 said it had reached the tentative agreement with the Broadway League – the trade association representing theater owners, producers and operators – around 4.30am on Thursday, preventing a “strike scheduled to begin later today”.
“This three year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway,” said the union’s president, Bob Suttmann.
Details of the tentative agreement are not yet known. The Broadway League did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The union had been preparing to strike if a deal was not reached by Thursday. Last week, Local 802 members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if negotiations stalled, and earlier this week, the union warned that “if we do not have a new contract by Thursday morning, we are prepared to strike immediately.”
Local 802 has been negotiating the new contract with the Broadway League since 31 August, when the previous musicians’ contract expired, according to the union.
NBC News reported that the strike would have affected every Broadway production that uses musicians – except Ragtime, which operates under a different contract with Lincoln Center. AFM Local 802 describes itself as the “largest local union of professional musicians in the world”.
Thursday’s announcement comes less than a week after the Actors Equity Association – the union which represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in live theatre – reached its own tentative agreement with the Broadway League.
Al Vincent Jr, Actors’ Equity’s executive director, said that the deal “saves the Equity-League Health Fund while also making strides in our other priorities including scheduling and physical therapy access”.
