The Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Symphonic Choir perform Beethoven's Missa Solemnis under imagery by artist Refik Anadol, April 7, 2022, in Verizon Hall. Photo by Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Saturday’s (8/12) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin reports, “The singers of the Philadelphia Orchestra have unionized. After members of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir signed union authorization cards indicating their desire for the American Guild of Musical Artists to bargain on their behalf, a ‘card check’ on Thursday determined that a majority answered in the affirmative, and now the singers will be represented by the union…. ‘Unionizing was really just about us being part of that larger picture with the Philadelphia Orchestra and all the other brother and sister unions that work in that house,’ said alto Megan McFadden, referring to the Kimmel Center. ‘When we’re on stage now, we’ve always been equal musicians, but now we’ll also be a bargaining unit, along with everyone else.’ With this step, they join the New York Philharmonic Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus as AGMA members. Next, the Philadelphia singers hope to begin negotiations with orchestra management for their first contract. A Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. spokesperson declined to comment, except to say that POKC was looking forward to working with AGMA.”
