The New York City Opera has locked out its musicians after a long contract dispute. The lockout, which has already forced the company to cancel rehearsals, has the potential to impact the entire season, set to begin in February. The unions say that they have tried to negotiate with the company, and were willing to make sacrifices, but that the company's proposals were not acceptable. The company said that they had to lock out the musicians due to the union's actions.
See "N.Y. opera musician lockout may be 'death knell'", Verena Dobnik, San Francisco Chronicle, January 9, 2012