Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the December 2024 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In December, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 24 private sector and 10 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 2,429 and 3,797 workers respectively.
Among those settlements was a contract for about 100 workers employed by the Edmonton Opera Association.
These workers are represented by Local 210 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, otherwise known as IATSE.
The Edmonton Opera Society is, of course, a professional opera company based in Edmonton.
The workers include all theatrical workers, including all those involved in fit-up, rehearsal, performance, and take-out work, as well as all pre-production and post-production work related to all productions and events produced by the Edmonton Opera Society.
The previous contract for the workers expired in June 2022. The new contract was settled in October 2024, about 4 months later.
According to the bargaining update, these workers will receive wage increases in every year of their new 3-year contract.
| 2024–2025 | 25¢ |
| 2025–2026 | 25¢ |
| 2026–2027 | 25¢ |
This is less than what these workers received in their last collective agreements, which gave them 50¢ increases per year.
By the end of the contract, wages will range from $29.25 per hour to $34.25 per hour, depending on the position, for workers on the production crew and $20.00 an hour to $36.75 an hour for the fabrication crew.
On a percentage basis, this works out between 2.24% and 2.63% for the production crew and between 2.09% and 3.19% for the fabrication crew.
Remember, this isn’t per year; this is over the life of the entire contract. This will be far below the rate of inflation between 2024 and 2027.
Inflation in Alberta between December 2023 and December 2024, for example, was 2.48%. That’s for just one year.
One more thing about wages: those making $20 an hour on the fabrication crew are all interns, who will actually see no increases at all during this contract. In fact, they were making $20 an hour in each year of the previous contract, too, so that means 6 years with no raises.
