For the past four days the SFS Musicians’ Negotiating Committee has been negotiating with the Administration in an earnest effort to reach a deal that would allow the orchestra to leave on its scheduled East Coast tour with concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Talks broke down at 4 am this morning. When it was apparent there would be no agreement by the deadline, the Federal Mediator who has been working with the parties for the last several weeks suggested a 60-day cooling off period. The proposed cooling off period required a media blackout but would have allowed the tour to proceed if approved by the orchestra.
Today the Negotiating Committee met with the orchestra and presented the Federal Mediator’s suggested proposal. After a thorough review of the options, the orchestra voted down the cooling off period. The strike is continuing and we anticipate that the Carnegie tour is now cancelled.
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, and we deeply regret that this dispute has resulted in cancelled concerts for both our local audiences and on the East Coast.
We look forward to performing for our Bay Area audiences soon. Keep checking for further details on upcoming concerts presented by the Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony.
The orchestra board/management decided against the cooling off period that would have allowed the tour to continue. . . .[pause to grind teeth]. . .What else can you all do? Support from Louisville.
From the information above, it should be noted that the orchestra musicians, not the administration, voted down the cooling off period and caused the tour to be canceled. This seems counterproductive at a time when Davies is not selling out, and the tour would raise awareness of the dispute. Furthermore,iIf the SFS is running a deficit, it would seem both the orchestra and the management should tighten their belts until demand picks up…and the musicians might want to review the financial impact this strike has on not ticket sales, but donations, which may be at greater risk.
Yes, I am also disappointed, but based on my understanding of the issue, management has given its members salary increases of more than 30%, and the musicians are being asked to tighten their belts with much, much less. This, along with the fact that management has yet to open its books to demonstrate just exactly what they mean when they say that the symphony is operating at a loss, demonstrates that besides giving the impression that they have something to hide, they are asking something from the musicians that is fundamentally and grossly unfair.
It is true that this strike might impact not just ticket sales, but also donations. One would think that this would be of concern to management as well. The fact that they also are willing to let the strike continue suggests either the extent to which they are prepared to put their interests above those of the musicians, in case of lower revenues or that they are hiding something.
It is not just because I am a musician that I support the musicians in refusing to participate in on more race to the bottom. Professionals need to be paid what they are worth; they are not some sort of shareholders after all. as I once told my management when representing my orchestra, “My job is to put on a black dress and play, and your job is to make this possible. One of us is doing our job!” So there!
Love what Julie has said and I concur. I do appreciate it takes a lot of admin to put on a concert, however, without first class musicians’ abilities to present beautiful music, we loose. Thank you for your talent and compassion!