San Francisco Symphony Musicians Ratify One-Year Contract

In Sunday’s (10/1) San Francisco Chronicle, Joshua Kosman writes, “The musicians and management of the San Francisco Symphony ratified a two-year contract on Sunday, Oct. 1, bringing a halt … to the labor struggle that has occasionally bubbled into view for the orchestra’s patrons. The new contract extends through November 2024, according to violist David Gaudry, the longtime head of the players’ committee. The musicians have been working without a contract since November 2022, when the previous agreement expired. The new deal is retroactive. ‘This has been a particularly difficult negotiation given the challenging financial pressures on the organization,’ Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey said … ‘I am deeply grateful to both the staff and musicians who have been involved in the negotiations and have navigated the process with utmost professionalism and commitment …’ Gaudry said the new contract mandates a minimum weekly salary of $3,313 ($172,276 annually), rising by the end of the term to $3,450 ($179,400). That represents a pay increase compared to the current minimum of $3,277 ($170,404), but falls short of where orchestra compensation would have been if not for the disruption caused by the COVID-19 shutdown.”