SAN FRANCISCO—A strike by musicians of the San Francisco Symphony over wage increases and health benefits that started last week has resulted in the cancellation of the Symphony’s East Coast tour.
Despite days of negotiations between Symphony management and the musicians union the parties have been unable to reach a compromise.
Since the beginning of the strike on Wednesday four concerts have been cancelled at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.
The Symphony’s East coast tour from March 20–23 would have included performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The musicians union voted Monday against a proposal by a federal mediator to have a 60-day “cooling off” period to allow the tour to go ahead.
“We are deeply disappointed that the musicians have continued to reject proposals for a new agreement and that the musicians will not proceed with our planned East Coast tour,” said Brent Assink, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony in a press release.
The administration says that the Symphony has incurred a deficit and therefore cannot increase salaries or pay for additional benefits.
Management says it offered in its latest proposal, which was rejected by the musicians, an increase in pay to an annual minimum wage of $145,979, with annual increases of one percent and two percent over a two year period. Benefits included a full coverage health care plan with no monthly contributions for the musicians.
“We have negotiated in good faith since September, have shared volumes of financial information, and have offered many different proposals that we had hoped would lead to a new agreement by this time,” said Assink.
The musicians, without contract since November, say that they are being disadvantaged compared to their peers in Los Angeles and Chicago.
David Gaudry, chair of the Musicians’ Negotiating Committee, said last week that “the Los Angeles Philharmonic is an orchestra that pays its base minimum salary around 7,500 dollars higher per year than what’s paid here in San Francisco.”
The Musicians’ Negotiating Committee says that if $10 million were used for increases in wages, pensions, seniority, and an increase of funds allocated to the instrument loan program, that would meet their requirements.
“We feel we have done everything we could to work with the Administration to reach a deal that would have allowed the tour to proceed. ... We are committed to achieving a fair contract that reflects the important role the Musicians play in the continuing success of the organization,” the musicians stated on their website.
