Vancouver Symphony Orchestra announces tentative agreement with IATSE Local 118
The potential four-year plan with stagehands, theatre technicians comes after months of negotiation
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY Orchestra announced today that it has reached a tentative four-year agreement with The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 118. The union represents more than 400 stagehands and theatre technicians who help bring performances to the stage, including riggers, carpenters, sound engineers, lighting technicians, hair and makeup artists, wardrobe and dressing professionals, camera operators, and video techs, among others.
As previously reported by Stir, IATSE Local 118 had issued a 72-hour strike notice on April 11. One of the group’s key concerns was the fact that VSO stagehands had been without a contract since June 30, 2022. The union also claimed at the time that the VSO had “argued that the cost of living adjustment owed to its members at the end of the 2021-2022 collective agreement would count as a rate increase for the 2022-2023 year, ‘which simply isn’t accurate’,” IATSE Local 118 said in a release.
According to an IATSE 118 release, the terms of the agreement will include three percent wage increases in each of the four years, plus a cost-of-living adjustment. While the COLA is limited to 2 percent in years 2 and 3, it is guaranteed to be applied in full at the end of the 2022-2026 collective agreement. In other words, if inflation is zero percent in the next four years (unlikely, with current Consumer Price Index hovering around six percent), stagehands could see a 12 percent increase in their wages across four years, bringing them more in line with other large arts organizations like Ballet BC and the Vancouver Opera, according to the April 19 release.
“More importantly for the IATSE 118 bargaining unit, the union has secured a guarantee that no matter what happens with inflation, the real wages of their workers will not drop in the next four years - no matter what,” according to the IATSE 118 release.
“We’re over-the-moon excited about this deal,” IATSE 118 vice-president Diana Bartosh says in the release. “Our heartfelt thanks goes out to our friends and colleagues at the Vancouver Musicians Association Local 145, CUPE Local 15, IATSE 891, the BC Federation of Labour, and the Vancouver & District Labour Council for their whole-hearted support of our small-but-mighty local. This is what solidarity looks like.”
The finalized Memorandum of Agreement is still being drafted by both parties and will need to be ratified by the IATSE 118 bargaining unit prior to implementation.
The VSO states in a release that the tentative agreement will allow the organization to balance fair pay with financial stability.
“We continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term ripple effects: the need for increased efforts to bring audiences back to arts and culture events, during a time of global economic instability,” the VSO release states. “Even in times of uncertainty, as a non-profit, charitable organization, the VSO must continue to balance the needs of all its stakeholders, while balancing its annual budgets. This agreement with Local 118 will aid the VSO in doing so over the next four years.
“We are thankful to the members of IATSE Local 118 for the time they’ve invested throughout the negotiation process and are glad that we’ve now come to a compromise,” the VSO says. “With this tentative agreement in place, we can continue to bring irresistible musical experiences to our loyal VSO fans. Concerts for this week, and moving forward, will continue as scheduled.”
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