UPDATED 4/15/11 While last-minute talks between management and musicians are underway, the Philadelphia Orchestra edges closer to filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I find it inconceivable that one of the great orchestras of the world might soon go under – clearly there are some hard questions that must be asked about how the organization has
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UPDATE: Looks like the clock has ticked to 11:59 p.m. tonight. Read the latest here. Remember the Doomsday Clock? It was established by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago in 1947. It reflects the proximity of the world to nuclear annihilation – midnight – by the use of an analog
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It appears that a long stretch of tense contract negotiations have come to a close without a work stoppage in Seattle. The Seattle Symphony and Opera players and management reached a tentative agreement Wednesday after several nearly around the clock negotiating sessions. The players have agreed to each pony up just over $2000 to help
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Just observing a few trends from the latest rounds of labor negotiations for US orchestras: Unpaid furloughs seem to be the way of dealing with labor costs, rather than lowering the pay rate (either per week or per service). Managements are trying to trim costs in their own offices as well as in the ranks
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The Minnesota Orchestra and Houston Symphony have just concluded negotiations with their musicians that have resulted in substantial cuts in wages, either via pay cuts, unpaid furloughs, or both. In Minnesota [from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune]: Musicians at the Minnesota Orchestra have agreed to concessions in the face of financial pressures on the organization. The deal
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Photo: Mario Venzago Apparently Mario Venzago, music director of the Indianapolis Symphony, was offered a 50% pay cut for 09-10, and the 10-11 season would have been un-salaried, instead paying per-concert fees. It’s no wonder that he turned down this ‘offer’. More info here.
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There have been several articles in the local press about the current Oregon Symphony financial situation: High/low times for the Oregon Symphony [David Stabler/Oregonian] The Oregon Symphony cuts back [David Stabler/Oregonian/video] Arts groups in a fiscal thicket [Bob Hicks/ArtScatter.com] Since we’re about to enter into negotiations between musicians and management, it’s not really time for
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Here’s an email I received this morning from OSO president Elaine Calder, in response to my request for an elaboration on the talking points from her interview with David Stabler which he subsequently used as the basis for his video update on the Oregonian website.
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The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Columbus Symphony musicians and management met at the negotiating table today for the first time since proposed cuts of musicians and weeks of the season (by 22 musicians and 12 weeks, respectively) were first presented to the musicians on January 17, 2008 (a presentation that the musicians, for better
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The mayor and city council of Jacksonville have issued a resolution urging both sides to submit to binding arbitration – read more here.
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The Jacksonville Symphony has locked out their musicians as a result of a negotiating impasse. You can take a look at the musicians’ website here. I feel for the musicians – they’re one of the lower paid orchestras in ICSOM, and they’ve been having difficulties for the past several years, at least. Whatever and whoever
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