Philadelphia musicians vote for strike
OrchestrasLast night in Saratoga Springs, musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra voted by a 95% majority to authorize a strike in the event of a breakdown in pay talkes.
Violinist William Polk, a member of the Union’s negotiating committee, said: ‘I am extraordinarily proud of my Philadelphia Orchestra musician colleagues for standing together. I came to this world-class city because of its world-class orchestra. Historically, Philadelphia’s musicians were some of the most generously compensated and supported in the nation, in light of the Orchestra’s sterling reputation. This is our business model, to attract and retain the best of the best. But over time, I have watched us veer onto an artistically unsustainable path. Our salaries and our retirement benefits have been decimated, while vacancies have long gone unfilled. Authorizing a strike is an important next step to show the Orchestra’s management, and our great city, that the Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians stand together. We will not allow this miraculous ensemble to be downgraded into something merely ordinary.’
Music directo Yannisk Nezet-Seguin has already signalled that he sides with the union.
Unlike 2011, I believe the CEO and the board are on the same page. There will be give and take and hopefully the majority of demands will be met. Attendance is down since Covid and reducing the number of concerts and increasing ticket prices won’t help.
How did Boston do it so quickly?
I hope you’re right. 2011’s disastrous faux bankruptcy settlement is still felt 12 years later.
But alas he isn’t, because the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, 1903-2022, now rests in peace, its $266 million endowment, incl. $50 million added with hoopla in 2019, folded into a mostly for-profit entity whose Board has bigger concerns than classical music.
Will Yannick take a few bathrobe selfies from a terrace in Lucerne while sipping a Nespresso and holding a Swiss flag in support of Philly?
Base salary is $152, 256.
https://internationalmusician.org/philadelphia-orchestra-begins-new-four-year-contract/
These people are enormously well-compensated compared to most musicians nowadays.
https://www.honest-broker.com/p/8-pieces-of-advice-for-struggling
At the time of this settlement, Chicago, San Francisco and LA Phil’s basic salary was north of 180k. How about including all the facts in your comment?
So they are even more overpaid on the West coast, eh?
No, it does not at all, because “including all the facts” is important and it would mean taking into consideration that the cost of living in those two west coast cities is much higher than in Philly.
The first sentence above should include “mean that” after “it does not”.
and no state income tax in Texas
Adding back 15 positions lost in 2011 would cost at least 2.3 million alone. They need to find deep-pocketed chair endowers. Probably scarcer than hen’s teeth nowadays.
If that’s the case, management has really done a poor job.
Are you saying they’re not worth it? They’re also better than most musicians, make less than any of the other Big 5 and their pay hasn’t kept up with inflation. You need to pay competitively to keep top talent, it’s very simple math. Boston will be making over $200k in a few years, how can Philly compete?
After an inflation of almost 20% since 2030, 152k is not a good salary for such accomplished musicians. Plus it’s a lot of work.
And orchestral musicians tend to hate their jobs. http://web.esm.rochester.edu/poly/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Interview_Hackman_Judy.pdf
Silvestre.
You’re joking. London musicians don’t earn anything approaching that amount – and IS musicians are complaining? Even the LSO is under 80k. And that’s one of the top five in the world. Beggars belief.
LSO tops around 40k a year. And they should be complaining, they are an orchestra with no rights. They don’t employ their musicians, but rather keep them attached to freelance contracts, meaning at any point if management deems it necessary they can be replaced without explanation. They have no pension via their employment, pay self-employment taxes (which are punishingly high in the UK), and are forced into conditions where they are over-worked, under-rehearsed, and obligated to take on the maximum number of services willingly to make a living. Meanwhile, the dingus at the podium makes their entire salary in one evening, then jets off first class to the next location.
UK musicians deserve more dignity, and should definitely speak up for themselves. It’s a waste of such a high caliber of musicians, who from personal interactions I know are all dead tired and (for the most part) utterly depressed and contemplate leaving the profession.
I think you’ll find the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics pay very well, but otherwise it’s deplorable if musicians aren’t well remunerated – especially the world class variety.
I’m thinking that even Andre Rieu’s orchestra could earn more for less regular gigs, but I could be wrong – unless you divide the hours actually worked into the salary and arrive at an ‘hourly rate’. I could be Baching up the wrong tree!!
But Rieu’s musicians are entertaining.
Knowing what inflation numbers are going to be a full decade in the future (“since 2030”) should probably earn you billions on the stock market.
Go ahead and hold auditions for $152k a year 18 hr/wk musician jobs. You will have thousands of qualified applicants!
Oh yay, another thread where non-American readers show they have no sense of what professional class Americans get paid.
Starting salary for doctor/lawyer/tech can be as high as double this. Apologies that our economy just keeps on growing like it does.
I’m not sure you do either.
$150k+ salary still puts you in the top 5% of personal income in the United States among all professions. Doctor/law/tech are among the most high paying and the vast majority of professional Americans would be very happy to make $100k/yr.
Doctors should certainly make a lot more than musicians. Which profession is more important to us? We can, however, do with fewer lawyers a tech people working on the next social media platform.
Fake news. Said groups do not make north of 300k as starting salaries.
The average salary for MIT graduates – they are the second highest paid group of graduates in the country – make 116k per year, before taxes.
Orchestral SOLIDARITY forever!!!
It sure seems like this could become a long fight.
The local paper has been reporting that the orchestra struggled to fill even 70 percent of the hall before COVID.
Attendance has gotten so bad that they’ve cut subscription concerts and even lowered prices.
So with revenue down so much, I don’t see management agreeing to much in the way of pay increases. And they’re very likely keeping positions unfilled to keep operating costs down.
It’s also worth noting that also before COVID, the orchestra’s fundraising was also behind its peers.
Don’t worry. Yannick has it under control……more selfie promotions on social media and an exciting new Florence Price symphony cycle. Everything is going to be fine.
And the leading corporations in Philadelphia don’t support the Orchestra nearly to the extent that those in cross-state Pittsburgh do for the PSO. I’ve been amazed for years that they are able to undertake European tours almost annually.
What happens when nobody cares or even notices they’re on strike? Clearly, the Philly musicians haven’t been keeping up with the recent strikes in Hollywood, or the economic plight of the average American. Good luck trying to convince anyone that $150K just doesn’t cut it for a job that requires maybe 20 to 25 hours a week (Don’t try to tell me otherwise either. I’ve been a professional musician for over 20 years now, and I’m fully aware of 1) how little effort you actually expend on your craft, and 2) how little you really care for or respect your audiences).
I think we all just figured out how much commitment YOU apply to your craft… probably why you aren’t in the Philly Orchestra.
So that triggered ya’, huh? Hit a nerve, did I?
Hey Curvey Honk Glove, remind us all which orchestra you play in again? Don’t let your negativity contaminate this discussion.
Top 5 orchestra means top 5 income, end of story. This orchestra is under compensated in salary, benefits and other derails that nobody else on this chat sees any value in. Cold hearted bunch you all are sitting here on your high horses typing away. $150k is a good salary in the USA by average but we all know how far our dollar goes these days. And honestly thats not a pertinent data point – if you are at the top of your industry, you deserve to be well paid. End of story.
Philly may be cheaper than Chicago by 13% but then explain to me why Chicago Symphony’s base is 26% higher? Math doesn’t add up. In the end it is what a city and the board decides how much value culture plays in society.
You people can talk about supply and demand, ticket sales and necessity all you want but these musicians are worth every penny. Art is what gives humanity a special place in this world, always had and always will. If we don’t value our own heritage then nothing had any meaning. I don’t care what doctors or lawyers or any other industry makes. This is what it costs to have one of the best orchestras in the world in your city – if you feel that’s not valuable then trust me, the musicians will go elsewhere and leave this city in cultural rot.
If you disagree then feel free to not participate in this thread, thank you.
Hey Irish – 99% of the US population could care less about symphony orchestras. Most are made up of a bunch of winey babies..
I think it is closer to 99.8 percent…
Thank goodness donors and audiences in Cleveland continue to support our great orchestra, which means so much to our whole region. I very much hope that people in the great city of Philadelphia will see their way to doing as much for their world-renowned ensemble.
I guess Philly doesn’t love YNS as much as the publicity campaign for “Philly Loves YNS” week hoped. And YNS’s compensation for this part-time work in Philadelphia was $1.6 million in 2019. His salary today is likely higher, as his contract renewal earlier this year added the title “Artistic Director” in addition to Music Director. Given his major commitment as Music Director of the Met, and minor commitments to Montreal and Rotterdam, as well as his major commitment to his personal promotion on social media, it appears that YNS is taking Philadelphia for an expensive ride to nowhere.
There are so many things to consider here. Yes, the orchestra is an artistic treasure that is absolutely worth preserving – but Philadelphia as a city is struggling. Go check out what’s happening on Kensington Ave. A lot of the old money that valued music in the Ormandy era is gone. The days of the orchestra making dozens of recordings that brought in money are over. And when they do make recordings they often are not that competitive: that recent Rachmaninoff symphonies 2 & 3 set for example. Their Digital Stage concept is woefully behind what the Berlin Philharmonic offers. The players have got to get realistic about the financial situation in Philadelphia and the whole country. And living in Philadelphia is nowhere as costly as living in London, Los Angeles or New York.
There are terrible parts of every big city in the US and it has nothing to do with orchestral economics.
The players ARE realistic, they’ve crunched the numbers and have proposed what is feasible from management (now recently merged with the massive arts center in Philly) and would keep them able to recruit great musicians in the future. Do you people realize that engineers just out of college make more than the greatest orchestra players? If y’all really cared for classical music you’d support the musicians who make it for you. Arguing “well x orchestra makes pennies and they sound great so stop complaining!” is total right wing race to the bottom rhetoric.
“RiGhT WiNg rAcE tO tHe BotToM…” God you’re insufferable. Are you seriously proposing that orchestral musicians are as integral to society as engineers? Delusional. And I say that as someone who’s dedicated his life to classical music. There has to be a point where realism enters the picture. It’s time for you to grow up and face reality head-on.
As a purely socio-economic experiment, management ought to give the union exactly what they ask for, then let’s all sit back and watch how long the orchestra survives.
Orchestras really should be structured as a partnership, where every musician is an equity owner, when the orchestra is profitable, every musician gets a little more, but…. when the orchestra is in debt, every musician must dig in their personal savings account to make up for losses.
Then we’ll see how the attitude of musicians will change.
I agree with how orchestras (and business in general) should be run, on basic principle. However, you’re missing the point of a union. The whole point is to bargain. If they make extreme demands, it’s so that a compromise can be negotiated. That’s how these negotiations work. Nobody expects every union demand to be met.
This is the London self governing model – the orchestra musicians own the orchestra, like a cooperative, so it’s in their interests to always play well and strive for excellence. LPO,LSO,RPO,Philharmonia. Or be in a salaried job, go home, doesn’t matter attitude!
If classical music had ever been required to turn a profit, all the music you love from the past three or four centuries wouldn’t exist. It has always been subsidized.
Good for them! It’s time all musicians stood up to overpaid MAGA-voting management (with their posh offices and champagne donor lunches) and demand. a fair deal. Not just Philly, but nearly everywhere musicians play.
This comment by D’armes is ridiculous. “MAGA voting management” Right. For example, How much do you want to bet that Peter Gelb or Deborah Borda are Trump supporters. Are you so infected with TDS that you have to bring MAGA into a musicians labor dispute. Orchestra Administrators may indeed by overpaid but how does that relate to US domestic politics. Get a hold of reality!
I can’t comment on Gelb or Borda in particular, but I think you will find in general that the management of arts organizations and their donor enablers are chardonnay sipping, union busting Republicans, whilst the rank and file musicians are on the whole more progressive.
What an idiotic statement.
Philadelphia has a history of poor musician-management relations going back to the Ormandy era. There is a book, ‘Bach, Beethoven and Bureaucracy’, by Edward Arian, still in print, that describes much of this, centered on a strike in the 1960’s.
It should also be noted that the cost of living in Philadelphia, the poorest major city in the United States, is substantially lower than the cities with which this orchestra’s salary is being compared.
Arguing that you should be hugely rewarded for all those years studying to become America’s greatest oboist is unhelpful if not enough people want to hear you play the oboe.
The same argument applies to people who have mastered the art of making the finest gas mantles on the planet.
It is instructive to go to You Tube and look at some of the HIP baroque ensembles out there. All the youthful enthusiasm is on the stage, and all the white hairs are in the audience.
Andrew, one day if you are lucky, you will have white hair. And you probably won’t enjoy people assuming that because you are older, you are less competent than your younger colleagues or don’t care as much as they do.
I’m in my late seventies, have white hair, and can see where the growth area is in classical music performance. Have theorbo, will travel …
I love the Philadelphia Orchestra and based on recent hearings they still rank among the top in the world. But Philadelphia is a poor city riddled with crime and the big donors of an earlier age are all gone. Most of the new billionaires follow the Bill Gates model and don’t give a dime to culture. Exacerbating the problem is a extremely woke season. How many times can that symphony rehash the symphonies of Price and Still? I agree they have been neglected and needed a reassessment but Yannick has taken this to the other extreme. If he thinks this music is going to bring new audiences, he is on a fools errand.
Woke programming is a major reason for the problems of the orchestra. I don’t live in Philadelphia, but used to come to some 3-4 concerts every year. This past season I only attended one: the Blomstedt event. next season I do not plan to go.
And, as someone else mentioned in the past, the list of guest conductors is ridiculous.
This great orchestra merits better.
Dear Don Ciccio,
You mean guest conductors like Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, David Robertson, Rafael Payare, Gil Shaham, Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, Tugan Sokhiev, Xian Zhang, Christoph Eschenbach, and Nathalie Stutzmann are all turkeys? Pray tell.
Sokhiev is the only respectable name on your list
Stutzmann was very impressive this season at the Met in “Don Giovanni,” no opera for amateurs. (I didn’t hear “Flute.”) And Payare was terrific the one time I heard him in Berlin.
Eschenbach is still “functional”?
Damn, when you put it like that-Philly really has been knocked down
Most of them are, yes.
Compare that with Klaus Tennstedt, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Kirill Kondrashin, or Riccardo Muti who were guest conducting in the 1980 – 1981 season in Philly. Or with Ernest Ansermet, Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, and William Steinberg during the 1956 – 1957 season.
Yes, they are turkeys.
… And there are a whole pile of better/more interesting conductors that the Philadelphia Orchestra could book here in 23-24.
You seem to be an expert on turkeys!
No, I am not a turkey expert, but I know one when I see (or in this case hear) one.
And I believe that an orchestra of the level of the Philadelphia Orchestra should have conductors at that same level, as it had in the past.
Most of these are pretty underwhelming … five of them I wouldn’t even go across town to see in concert, let alone travel in from somewhere else.
Those symphonies are neglected for a reason and need no reassessment. They’re monuments to mediocrity.
Overpaid. Once again, Unions will bring great pain and reduced work. Only the super-rich will be able to attend.
The skill, mental toughness and dedication it takes to win a job and play week after week at that level should be worth a lot more, but it’s simple supply and demand economics. There’s an extraordinarily large pool of super talented and accomplished players for an extraordinarily tiny number of jobs. And there’s an extraordinarily small pool of people interested in attending any classical music concert.
-$152k is a great salary for Philadelphia and the region, it’s the cost of living equivalent of $250k in SF/Bay Area.
– Not being able to attract top talent with a base salary of $152k? When there are hundreds of excellent applicants for every open position; 80? 100? invited just for blind prelims, all outstanding players, most of whom will never even win a job in a decent regional orchestra where they’d be per service and lucky to gross $10k per year? These aren’t engineering, healthcare, tech, etc. jobs where if they are unhappy with their pay they have agency to find something better.
– Philly is a mess post-Covid. Protest all you want and say it’s just Kensington but it’s not. Crime is up everywhere, in Center City stores are leaving, vacancies are high, office workers are still only back 50% or so. Wawa is closing down or experimenting with shelf-less store models in Center City locations because of theft. ATVs run lawless up/down Broad Street and the Parkway, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. This was not the case at all in 2019, Philly was at its peak and felt busy and safe, especially downtown.
– I’ve been personally really turned off by YNS’s ultra-woke programming. Sounds like I’m not alone. The only concerts I went to last year were to see the incredible Hadelich on violin and Sokhiev – who I’m fascinated by – conduct.
They didn’t “vote for strike”. They voted to authorize their negotiating committee to call a strike in the event that they cannot reach an agreement when the contract expires, which is standard procedure in symphonic negotiations. Otherwise, they are negotiating with no leverage.
This is a non story, as unsurprising as all the anti union commentary it provoked here.
We are now paying so much for conductors that there is no money left for the orchestra. Are these people really so essential to bring in the crowds? If so, why not hire Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift and have done with it?