Working for over 17 months towards negotiations, AZOOMA has secured a long-term
commitment through the 2011-2012 season. It is a three-year agreement
with a side letter that includes two additional years of "right of first refusal."
The agreement includes a wage-freeze for two years and a very modest wage increase in the third year in
the face of the opera's financial struggles.
AZOOMA agreed to no pay
increase for two years, and to subsidize Arizona Opera in the face of rising
gasoline prices during their
long drives to and from Flagstaff, Tucson and Phoenix.
These are huge concessions.
- No pay increase for two years.
- A modest pay increase in the third year.
- A
two-year freeze of our mileage reimbursement rate of thirty cents
per mile - far below the IRS rate of 48.5 cents per mile.
Recent news reports cite that gas prices may be as high as $3.75 (maybe even $4.00) per
gallon by the summer of 2008.
The AZOOMA Negotiation committee began work for this agreement in
October 2006.
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Phoenix, as one of the top five cities in the United States, as well as
Tucson can and should aspire to having an international-caliber opera
company, equal to the opera companies in New York, San Francisco, Los
Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.
performing opera at the highest
caliber.
