“About six months ahead of expiration of the current labor contract between the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and its players, the two sides have reached an agreement,” writes Peter Dobrin in Tuesday’s (3/12) Philadelphia Inquirer. “The new, early contract agreement … calls for the orchestra’s complement … to increase by two positions … to 99 players and two librarians…. The number of players was cut to 95 and two librarians with the [Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2011] bankruptcy, and full complement according to the contract would be 105 musicians and two librarians. Base salaries will increase over the term of the contract by 2 percent in the first year, 2.5 percent in the second, 2.5 percent in the third, and 3 percent in the last year…. The pact also includes additional income for players if the organization achieves certain surplus benchmarks…. Work rule changes [include] an article that increases by four the number of weeks in which the orchestra can have two double-rehearsal days … to accommodate [Nézet-Séguin’s] conducting schedule at the Metropolitan Opera. There were no changes in pension or healthcare…. The Philadelphia Orchestra’s new contract runs from Sept. 16, 2019, through Sept. 10, 2023.”
Posted March 13, 2019
In photo: Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Photo by Jessica Griffin
