Negotiation Update 2016

Adaptistration People 079

Most professional orchestra collective bargaining agreements expire during the summer months and since the economic downturn, it is increasingly common to see groups continue negotiating past the current agreement’s expiration date. A decade ago, that used be cause for alarm but in today’s environment, it is practically standard operating procedure assuming groups don’t manage to wrap things up months in advance. Last season witnessed nearly a dozen middle to large budget …

Read more

An Updated Look At Top-Tier Musician Compensation 2016

Currently, two of the top eight orchestras with the highest base musician annual salary are negotiating new collective bargaining agreements: National Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. Interestingly enough, both of these ensembles are in positions where the outcome of those negotiations will likely have a larger impact on their future competitiveness than some of the upcoming negotiations for their peers. In order to visualize these distinctions, here’s a chart illustrating the current …

Read more

Tensions Build In Philadelphia Orchestra Negotiations

Adaptistration People 149

One item we missed last week was an article about growing tensions in the Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) collective bargaining negotiations. Written by Peter Dobrin and published in the 9/8/2016 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the article provides a glimpse of what’s happening at that orchestra’s bargaining table. The article has a few items of note worth pointing out: The Kaiser Report is an expensive dust collector. The contract about to …

Read more

Fort Worth Symphony Musicians Strike

Adaptistration People 179

The musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) initiated a work stoppage by calling a strike at 1:30pm ET on Thursday, 9/8/2016. According to the official press release from the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local which represents the musicians, AFM Local 72-147, the strike was called following that morning’s rehearsal. An article by Michael Granberry in the 9/8/2016 edition of the Dallas Morning news reports that the strike was …

Read more

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Musicians Reject Tentative Agreement

Adaptistration People 010

In the wake of negotiation clouds from the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (FWSO) is contributing to the storm front thanks to being poised for a work stoppage following a recent vote by musicians to reject their employer’s latest offer. What makes this situation unusual is the musicians voted down the concessionary offer even after the four-year agreement was recommended by their Local Union. Typically, the musicians’ negotiation committee …

Read more