Colorado Springs Philharmonic

Colorado Springs Philharmonic Employer Rejects Musician Offer To Waive An Entire Season Of Salary

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It appears mediation in the Colorado Springs Philharmonic labor dispute is running into difficulties. The musicians released a public statement on 11/5/2020 to inform supporters that their recent offer to waive an entire season’s salary made was rejected. Most recently, working with a federal mediator, we offered to accept the total loss of our guaranteed salaries for the entire period of the pandemic and for six months beyond the end of the pandemic. …

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While Still Painful, Short-Term Concessionary Agreements Are The Best Option For Most Orchestras

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The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra recently announced a 30 percent cut in musician wages for the rest of 2020 and the 11/2/2020 edition of the San Francisco Chronical published an article by Joshua Kosman that provides important content. This is not a new deal, rather, a reopener, which is when both parties agree to amend terms in an existing agreement. The agreement’s full term is through November 2022. Given that the …

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Labor Tensions Continue To Rise In Colorado Springs As Orchestra Goes Dark

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At the beginning of last month, labor relations at the Colorado Springs Philharmonic (CSPhil) were on the brink of all out war. After publishing feedback from employer and musician representatives, the orchestra’s president and CEO, Nathan Newbrough, wrote to say he thought things were moving in a positive direction. While that’s a good sign, follow-up messages asking for details and whether the board has discussed the potential for offering work to …

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What’s Worse: Launching One Nuke Or All Of Them?

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Last Friday, we took a look at the labor dispute unfolding at the Colorado Springs Philharmonic (CSPhil). In a nutshell, the CSPhil board decided that after declaring impasse during their recent master agreement reopener talks, they would cancel the union agreement entirely. The only other orchestra to do this was the Louisville Orchestra in 2011. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a good bit of unusual back-story in this situation which begins with the …

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Colorado Springs Philharmonic Decided To Follow The Path of Louisville, c. 2011

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In 2011, the Louisville Orchestra had the dubious distinction of becoming the first professional US orchestra to attempt to cancel the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and replace those employees with replacement musicians. It didn’t end well. The orchestra’s executive leadership took a beating in the court of public opinion and the dismissed musicians and their union colleagues across the country managed to hold firm. Along with their supporters, they managed to …

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