Daily News & Commentary — July 24

In art news, labor relations at the Metropolitan Opera continue to deteriorate, according to the New York Times.  On Wednesday, the Met informed its workers that they would be locked out if a contract wasn’t reached by the end of the next week.  Contracts with 15 of the 16 unions at the Met expire on July 31.  Management has been pushing for reduced pay and benefits, while representatives of the union argue that management has not negotiated in good faith.  We’ve covered the Met’s labor disputes before, including here and here.

Detroit moved forward with its bankruptcy plan this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.  The Journal reports that retirees who hold city pensions approved a cut to their benefits, contingent on funders making available $816 million to strengthen the pension accounts.  According to the Detroit News, some other classes of creditors rejected the bankruptcy plan, and will need to resolve their dispute in court.  Our explainer on Detroit’s bankruptcy plan is available here.

In California, the California Nurses Association is preparing for difficult contract negotiations with Kaiser Health, the largest hospital system in the state, according to NPR.  The four-year contract expires soon, and the union expects the hospital system to request cuts in wages in benefits.