Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra Authorize Strike

[alexwill]

This won't be blocked.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/philadelphia-orchestra-musicians-set-to-strike/3628570/

Might be blocked...
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-orchestra-strike-union-kimmel-center-20230820.html

Might be blocked.. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/20/arts/music/philadelphia-musicians-orchestra-strike.html

[LaTrompeta]

Does anybody know what their compensation relative to other tier-1 orchestras is?
_________________
Please join me as well at:
https://trumpetboards.com

[OldSchoolEuph]

Risky gambit given that major orchestras lost much of their funding when charitable contributions became far less deductible a few years ago. Some other cases to consider:

Rock Island Railway
Eastern Airlines
Hostess brands (Twinkies)
Yellow (Trucking)

And almost Vincent Bach corp. - maybe yet (sales are way down from the decades prior)

The wisdom or error of this move depends entirely on the answer to "is there any money there for the taking"?
_________________
Ron Berndt
www.trumpet-history.com

2017 Austin Winds Stage 466
1962 Mt. Vernon Bach 43
1954 Holton 49 Stratodyne
1927 Conn 22B
1957 Holton 27 cornet
1985 Yamaha YEP-621
1975 Yamaha YEP-321 Custom
1965 Besson Baritone
1975 Olds Recording R-20

[Daniel Barenboim]

[jpbartel]

[Shark01]

While the base salary was lower than some, there do seem to be other revenue streams that are given to the musicians, making up for a lot of the difference.

[Maid of the Mist]

Compensation is in the article.

[LaTrompeta]

Deleted
_________________
Please join me as well at:
https://trumpetboards.com

[astadler]

What they make and how many vacation weeks they get relative to someone in a completely different industry is irrelevant. What matters is their compensation and benefits relative to their peers, and that appears to have them at the back of the pack among top tier US orchestras, and historically that’s not where Philadelphia belongs. Wanting to be compensated competitively so they can fill their vacant seats with superbly qualified musicians is something worth fighting for. At the end of the day this is a dispute between workers who provide the actual product and management, and it’s upsetting to see anyone in this thread even skirt around siding with management here.

[LaTrompeta]

Not-constructive comments deleted.
_________________
Please join me as well at:
https://trumpetboards.com

[Jon Kaplan]

[LaTrompeta]

Not-constructive comments deleted.
_________________
Please join me as well at:
https://trumpetboards.com

[JayV]

Orchestras are unique in the sense that they're one of the only workplaces in the US with workers who are simultaneously unique professionals AND old-school union members...working for a nonprofit. It's a very odd dynamic and orchestra musicians are not comparable to truckers, airport ramp workers, or Twinkie factory workers in the sense that they are truly not interchangeable and easily replaceable.

The AFM was consolidated in 1896, around the same time that phonographs were becoming more widely available and a few decades prior to the widespread adoption of radio. There were many more types of live music employment available all across the country. Back then, clarinet players (for example) in dance hall bands or theaters really were more similar to Twinkie factory workers in the sense that many more people were capable of doing the job adequately. The union protected these workers from the biggest problem (not being paid at all, ever) and from unfair hiring and unsafe working conditions.

A very small number of people have the training and experience to be Principal Trumpet of Big Fancy Orchestra...to the point where one would think that rarity in and of itself would be enough leverage for those people to negotiate good compensation and working conditions for themselves, just like other professionals (and to be fair, principals in many orchestras DO negotiate their own contracts in addition to the CBA).

The difference between orchestra musicians and lawyers or consultants or doctors is that the skill set is more dependent on the group as a whole than other professions. What good is a principal trumpet with no orchestra? It's the orchestra as a whole, working together, that makes each of the players' skills meaningful and valuable. It's really more similar to sports, and just like orchestras, the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL are also unionized for some of the same reasons, despite having extraordinarily rare skills and extremely high pay.

Orchestras are non-profits reliant on institutional and individual philanthropy, and public disputes like these are often bad PR. If they were for-profit businesses, it would be much easier to understand these types of disagreements and struggles as "greedy management vs exploited musicians" but it's a lot more complicated than that.

I say this as someone who has been an AFM member for more than 15 years. I ratified a CBA for one of my orchestras literally yesterday. I also owned a business for 9 years and am currently on the board of a nonprofit orchestra.

I wish we lived in a world where classical musicians got paid as much as NBA players but we have a long way to go to get there. An "us vs. them" mentality isn't going to help. Both "sides" need to work together to try to increase the relevance of this music if we want to thrive longterm.

[astadler]

We don't need to live in a world where musicians are compensated like professional athletes to see the parallels. Professional athletes are an excellent analogue for highly skilled, individually talented professionals who can't simply be replaced on a whim, and who are dependent on the group as a whole. And they also have unions, collectively bargain, and have been known to strike. At the end of the day the people who actually provide the most value to an orchestra are the musicians. You can have a musician-run orchestra without the managers up top (funding may be less, but such groups can exist). You can't have an orchestra without the musicians.

It's not about "us" vs. "them," I think any orchestra member would acknowledge that they need the management structure to make sure the orchestra is well funded, but the musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra deserve to be paid comparably to their peers. If these negotiations and the threat of a strike end up making management get more creative and seek other sources of funding so they can meet the demands, that's a good thing. If they already have the money needed, as the articles state the union believes they do, that's also a good thing.

[Adam West]

I have nothing to add to this specific topic, but I do think there is a missed opportunity with many of these orchestras to release more streaming content. Philly has been doing slightly more than others, but it's still pretty shocking that an orchestra that puts on probably 30+ recording-quality concerts per year has so few recordings available on Apple Music, Spotify, etc.

The last recording they released was 9/24/2021 (which was magnificent), nearly 2 years ago, with just one more due later this year. This is a complete failure of management and marketing. Again, I would note they are not alone here. Most of major symphonies are in the same boat. It's embarrassing as an industry. Especially one that is struggling to find new, younger audiences. I don't care if it's more pops concerts, but release something. Stay at least a little relevant.

[alexwill]

Things are looking bad in Philadelphia.
https://operawire.com/philadelphia-orchestra-management-derails-negotiations-ahead-of-contract-expiration/