Colorado Springs Philharmonic

Colorado Springs Finally Has A Deal

Monday, October 11th, 2021 by Drew McManus

All it took was more than a year and some of the pandemic-era labor dispute PR for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s executive leadership to end up pretty much right where could have landed a few short months into their dispute. If you aren’t already familiar with the details, things became ugly following the employer’s decision to cancel the union agreement. Since then, the musicians offered sizeable financial and work rules concessions, just like …

Colorado Springs Discord Continues

Sunday, August 29th, 2021Thursday, June 10th, 2021 by Drew McManus

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra (CSPO) labor dispute continues with little change from where they were months ago. What this means is while other orchestras are tooling back up for performance activity and moving ahead, the CSPO continues to shrink in their rearview mirror. While both sides in the dispute remain in arbitration, there is no progress to report. What has changed is an increase in local attention where KKTV recently …

Colorado Springs Philharmonic Finds Itself On The AFM’s Unfair List

Monday, March 15th, 2021 by Drew McManus

On 3/11/21 the musicians of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic (CSPhil) issued a press statement announcing the orchestra has been placed on the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) International Unfair List. This decision is the latest waypoint following the employer’s decision to use force majeure to cancel the union contract. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this went over like a lead balloon and since then, tensions have systematically increased. Musicians have volunteered to waive an …

More Details On The Colorado Spring Philharmonic Orchestra’s Path Forward

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020 by Drew McManus

On Monday, 12/7/2020, we learned the Federally mediated bargaining between the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra (CSPO) and its musicians had broken down. At the time, the musicians issued a press statement that indicating they expect to pursue independent arbitration to address the illegal cancellation of their CBA. I reached out to the CSPO bass trombonist and Chair of the Players Committee, Jeremy Van Hoy, to learn more. “We have two grievances that …

Mediation Fails To Resolve Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s Labor Dispute

Monday, December 7th, 2020Monday, December 7th, 2020 by Drew McManus

After multiple weeks of Federally mediated bargaining, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic musicians released a press statement on 12/6/2020 to announce those efforts have failed to resolve the ongoing labor dispute. The dispute was triggered in October 2020 when the employer decided to terminate an existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and replace it with non-union work contracts. According to the musicians, they used mediation to offer sizable concessions to help the organization …