“Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra on Monday approved a labor deal—an unusual 12-month contract that leaves in its wake some unfinished business and the promise of more labor talks soon,” writes Peter Dobrin in Monday’s (10/12) Philadelphia Inquirer. “The contract, which must still be approved by the orchestra board, increases the size of the ensemble, but only by one, to 96 members plus two librarians in 2016-17 rather than the 97 negotiators had sought, to help make up for deep cuts made during the 2011 bankruptcy. At that time the orchestra had 106 members; it now has 10 vacancies.” According to the article, starting on November 30 players will receive a raise of about 3 percent, “to a base salary of $2,472 per week from $2,400.… The new [annual] contract base minimum comes to about $127,750, because it is backdated to Sept. 14 and encompasses some weeks at the old salary…. Most other years, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and its musicians have signed three- or four-year deals. The new contract will likely expire Sept. 11, 2016, though musicians’ attorney Melvin S. Schwarzwald said that date might shift by a few days in the final contract language, which is yet to come.”
Posted October 13, 2015
