Met Opera Unions Agree to Federal Mediator

The unions of the Metropolitan Opera have agreed to a federal mediator to help with negotiations as the lockout deadline approached.

It was announced that Allison Beck will serve as mediator. We BWW has reported, The Met is on the verge of a lockout. General Manager, Peter Gelb, has said he is seeking labor-cost savings of 16% to 17%. The unions have resisted, and talks have been unproductive. Mr. Gelb has threatened to lock out employees on Friday if no agreements are reached when contracts for 15 unions at the Met expire at midnight Thursday.

Allison Beck has served as Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) since March, 2010. Her duties include assisting with the management of the Agency and supervising FMCS national and international programs.

During Ms. Beck's tenure, she has conducted extensive outreach to the labor-management community, worked on special projects involving labor relations and collective bargaining (e.g. health care, public education, federal sector cooperative efforts), and has been involved in a number of high profile mediations. She has revamped the delivery of FMCS conflict resolution services to government under the Administrative Dispute Resolution and Negotiated Rulemaking Acts. Ms. Beck has also overseen the growth of the Agency's international labor relations and conflict resolution training services, working with the US Departments of State and Labor to help emerging market economies achieve workplace stability and, thus, greater opportunities for investment and growth.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy Director, Ms. Beck had an extensive career in the field of labor law and labor-management relations. For 20 years, she served as General Counsel of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO (IAM), where she supervised the legal affairs of a large, international union, became well-versed in all aspects of labor and employment law, and litigated cases in federal court and before government labor agencies. She also assisted the IAM with legal issues relating to union administration and governance and helped develop bargaining strategies with major IAM employers.

Ms. Beck began her legal career as an appellate court attorney in the Enforcement Division of the National Labor Relations Board. While attending law school at night, she served as a legislative aide on employment issues to the late Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) and the US Senate Labor Committee. Over the course of her career, she has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations and has been a frequent speaker at labor-management, bar association, and other conferences.

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