San Francisco Symphony Settles

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According to an article by Janos Gereben in the 11/27/2018 edition of the San Francisco Classical Voice, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and its musicians ratified a new collective bargaining agreement that takes it through the 2011/22 season.

The ink is wet enough that details are pretty thin but one item mentioned in the article worth noting is a new component to offset the cost of housing in San Francisco (emphasis added).

Provisions in the new contract are also made for medical insurance premium sharing, beginning in the second year; transition from a housing loan program to a housing shared equity program; and increases in retirement benefits.

Adaptistration People 021I have some feelers out to find out more, but this appears to be a good example of an orchestra looking for unique solutions to local market forces.

The LA Philharmonic’s two-tier base salary structure that helps incoming musicians from outside the area handle housing cost sticker shock is another example.

Stay tuned…

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

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