“The Pacific Symphony’s musicians have agreed to do without a raise for a second straight season, but a new contract announced Thursday calls for their pay to rise a combined 5% during the two years after the current season,” writes Mike Boehm in Friday’s (10/11) Los Angeles Times. “The musicians had worked without a contract during the 2012-13 season that ended Aug. 31, and for the first concert of the 2013-14 season, agreeing to be paid under the old terms while continuing to perform…. After going without increases this season and for the previous one, which is retroactively included in the four-year deal, Pacific Symphony musicians will get a 2% bump for the 2014-15 season that begins next September, and two 1.5% increases during the 2015-16 season.… ‘While the talks were, at times, very challenging, I appreciated the collegial tone with which the negotiations were undertaken,’ Pacific Symphony President John Forstye said in a written announcement.… [Bass trombonist Robert] Sanders said,… ‘This was not an easy negotiation, but when one looks around the country these days, things could have been much more difficult.’ He declined to specify what the vote was among the musicians, but said the new contract ‘was solidly approved.’ ”
Posted October 15, 2013
