In Thursday’s (2/10) Detroit Free Press, Mark Stryker reports, “The musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra have turned down management’s latest contract offer, setting up a showdown that could lead to the cancellation of the rest of the 2010-11 season by the end of the week. Though the musicians said management’s latest proposal represented progress and that the parties had moved closer to a deal, the two sides remain at odds over how to spend $2 million earmarked for community outreach work and how much of that money would be funneled into guaranteed base salaries—versus extra pay for optional work. Two other hot-button issues—management’s intent to withdraw from the American Federation of Musicians’ pension plan and rules governing tenure and dismissal—have been resolved, said cellist Haden McKay, a member of the musicians’ negotiating team. … While management has not characterized the current contract proposal as a final offer, it had asked the musicians for a formal response by Friday. McKay confirmed that the orchestra had rejected the proposal but added that there had not been a formal up-or-down vote of all the musicians. He said the musicians had made an informal counterproposal in the interest of finding common ground.”
Posted February 10, 2011
