Negotiations – Page 26 – Adaptistration

Heading Toward A Dark Place In Hartford

Monday, July 6th, 2015 by Drew McManus

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO) appears to be the latest candidate for a particularly ugly labor dispute. Over the past month, several news outlets have been reporting on a deteriorating situation that appears to be headed toward one of two options: an imposed collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or a work stoppage. The 7/1/2015 edition of broadwayworld.com published an article that reports the HSO board recently approved a strategic plan and annual …

Minnesota Musicians Ratify Substitute Pay Disparity Through 2020

Friday, June 19th, 2015 by Drew McManus

On 5/19/2015, the Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra (MOMA) ratified a 3.5 year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with their employer, the Minnesota Orchestra Association (MOA). The new agreement begins 2/1/2017 and expires on 8/31/2020; at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, the base musician annual salary with electronic music guarantee (EMG) will by $110,604 and the number of salaried musicians will increase to 94 (although the CBA continues to define the …

Well Worth Your Time

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015 by Drew McManus

If you haven’t taken the time to read James B. Stewart’s missive in the 3/23/2015 edition of The New Yorker about the Metropolitan Opera’s recent labor dispute and related political rapids, then you’re missing out. Yes, it is nearly 9000 words, but you’ll be glad you allocated the time. Even if you’re already quite familiar with The Met’s recent rumble, the article goes a long way toward filling in some of …

Time To Rebuild The Negotiation Process Timeline

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015 by Drew McManus

One of the footnotes in yesterday’s article pointed to a reference post from 2004 that chronicled the historic timeline of orchestra musician self-representation. It provides a decade by decade overview beginning with the 1950s through the most recent decade at the time the article was written, the 2000s. Nonetheless, thanks to the not-so-subtle prodding from a long time reader who sent a cryptic text saying “What, are we stuck in The Matrix …

Reader Request: How Do Negotiations Work?

Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 by Drew McManus

I’ve been combing through the 2015 reader surveys and one response to the question “Which topics you would like to see covered?” caught my attention; specifically, the reader wanted to know about how the bargaining process actually worked. The reader indicated a level of frustration with traditional media coverage in that it doesn’t describe what actually happens during negotiations. Fortunately, the negotiation process was one of the very first topics covered …