Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra – Page 3

Is There A Tiny Ray Of Hope Developing In Pittsburgh?

Friday, October 21st, 2016 by Drew McManus

The 10/20/2016 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published an article by Elizabeth Bloom which takes a Forward 1 Somersault Straight right into the heart of issues we examined earlier this week via the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) work stoppage. Bloom’s article provides additional examples illustrating what is perhaps best described as counterproductive entrenchment such as musician claims that the employer refuses to release economic data for the most recent fiscal year. …

Pittsburgh Symphony Cancels More Concerts. Disagreements Over Disagreements Abound.

Tuesday, October 18th, 2016 by Drew McManus

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) recently announced another round of event cancellations through November 18, 2016. Although cancellations are par for the course during a work stoppage, what makes this round of cancellations unusual is they appear to be driven more by brinkmanship than an inability to reach an agreement. Failing to reach an agreement assumes both sides are negotiating but as of now, describing parties as actively bargaining wouldn’t come …

How To Look Like The Smartest Person In The Room When Talking About This Season’s Labor Disputes

Monday, October 3rd, 2016 by Drew McManus

The weekend saw some extraordinary events as the musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and Philadelphia Orchestra Association (POA) went on strike. Since that news broke on Friday, 9/30/2016 there are no shortages of presumptions floating around so in order to provide a clear frame of reference, let’s examine some of the key points and misnomers. IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of Sunday, 10/2/2016, the Philadelphia Orchestra is no longer on strike. …

Negotiation Update 2016

Thursday, November 1st, 2018Tuesday, September 20th, 2016 by Drew McManus

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 …

It Was Nice While It Lasted

Wednesday, August 31st, 2016 by Drew McManus

We’ve enjoyed an unusually long stretch of time where there wasn’t a labor dispute brewing but that seems to becoming rapidly to an end and the culprit this time around is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO). With a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that expires Sunday, 9/4/2016 the group has yet to reach a new deal. The PSO’s soon to expire agreement was a three-year term covering the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 …