Houston musicians sign 5-year contract
NewsThe details are sketchy but the length of the deal is unusual, demonstrating real closeness between the two sides at the end of the long silence.
… the Houston Symphony announced a new contract with the American Federation of Musicians, Local 65-699. While such a deal lacks the panache of the announcement of a new music director, it is more than a formality. The contract will keep the symphony’s musicians performing through a new five-year deal, which is the longest in the organization’s history….
Read on here.
I heard the Houston Symphony play Mahler 9, way back in the 80s when I was visiting Houston. Terrific performance. I recall that part way through the concert, a rather tall cowboy got up out of his seat and made himself more comfortable in the isle with his legs stretched out for the rest of the concert. It seemed like very “Texas”.
What a terrible news story. No information at all about money, salaries etc. No discussion of why they even have a new music director and what happened to the old one. Horrible.
It’s not all that uncommon to have just a very general press release, sans details, when musician orchestra contracts are agreed to. The Indianapolis Symphony just issued the same kind of basic release a week or two ago with absolutely no specifics as to musician pay etc. I think the bigger takeaway is that, amidst a pandemic, the parties have struck what they feel is a doable and positive (as opposed to concessionary) agreement, which is no mean feat in these times. Of course, anything can happen including a contract reopener down the line if things get unreasonably difficult economically. Certainly nobody wants to see that happen but it does, on occasion. Hopefully more details will be known soon about Houston and others’ contracts.
Why does the length “demonstrate real closeness between the sides”? I think it’s more like neither side wants to go through the collective bargaining process any sooner than they need to. It’s extremely time consuming and not fun for anyone.