Agreement Reached with Dallas Theater Center

AFM Local 72-147 reached a tentative three year agreement with Dallas Theater Center in early June covering wages and conditions for musicians employed to perform in the company’s theatrical productions and was finalized in late July.

Negotiations had been underway with the Dallas Theater Center for nearly a year, the previous agreement having expired in September of 2023. The new agreement was reached in time to be in effect for the company’s next planned production of a musical – The Little Mermaid – to open in July.

For musicians performing in the orchestra pit in DTC’s musical productions, the agreement includes increases totaling 10% in wages over the course of the agreement’s three year term. New to the agreement is coverage for musicians who perform in “non-musical” productions, where they have been historically employed as actors. In addition to actor salaries, these musicians will receive additional weekly compensation for their musical services.

Since the late 2000s, Local 72-147 musicians have performed under union contracts establishing the wages, fringe benefits and working conditions for pit musicians in the theatrical musical productions presented by the Dallas Theater Center. With this new agreement, coverage of musical services will be extended to any of the company’s productions which require professional musical performance on an instrument.