In Thursday’s (9/27) Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ernie Suggs writes, “After going without pay for a month, the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra accepted a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday, barely averting a postponement of the fall season. The deal will cost players $5.2 million in compensation over two years, change their pay structure, and cut their numbers significantly. In return, ASO President Stanley Romanstein and a handful of other top ASO executives will forfeit 6 percent of their collective salaries. The agreement clears the way for the 2012-2013 season to open on time Oct. 4. But the musicians—who claim that the cuts demanded by ASO management will set the orchestra back decades—made it clear that they are far from satisfied. … Calls to orchestra management were not returned Wednesday evening, and the ASO webpage did not indicate that a deal had been made. … From the outset, it was clear that the negotiations would be painful. Faced with a debt projected to reach $20 million next year, the ASO and its parent organization, the Woodruff Arts Center, were under tremendous pressure to bring down costs. … Negotiations reached a breaking point Aug. 25, when the existing contract expired and the ASO stopped paying salaries or benefits. At that point, the musicians had offered to accept $4 million in cuts instead of $5.2 million, an offer management declined.”
Posted September 27, 2012
