Colorado Springs Philharmonic

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 …

Read moreColorado Springs Philharmonic Finds Itself On The AFM’s Unfair List

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 …

Read moreMore Details On The Colorado Spring Philharmonic Orchestra’s Path Forward

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 …

Read moreMediation Fails To Resolve Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s Labor Dispute