The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
In Wednesday’s (9/18) Minnesota Star Tribune, Jenna Ross writes, “The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and its musicians have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement. Under the deal, the musicians will receive an annual minimum salary increase of 3.5% over the next three years, the SPCO said … ‘This agreement represents a meaningful increase in compensation for our musicians, who are so deserving, while also being financially responsible and sustainable,’ SPCO Managing Director and President Jon Limbacher said…. Orchestra members, represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 30-73, each received a ratification bonus of $12,500. The agreement also includes raises in fees for musicians who perform solos and in stipends for those who serve on the SPCO’s artistic vision committee. ‘Combined, these increases result in a 6.2% increase in total guaranteed compensation over the next three years,’ the SPCO said … However, the musicians said in a statement that the contract has ‘a nominal increase’ in base salary, an average of 1.2% annually over three years. And they reiterated their concerns about the orchestra’s management…. The musicians voted for this contract to avoid a work stoppage, musicians’ spokesman Blois Olson said on Wednesday. ‘Their goal was to have their compensation be put into their base salary, not in a signing bonus.’ ”
