Philly Pops disputes debt amount owed to its musicians in union lawsuit response

The Philly Pops faces at least two significant hurdles to getting back on stage. At the moment it has no place to perform. And it has landed on the musicians’ union “International Unfair List,” an ignominious status that prohibits musicians from taking work with that organization.

There’s no apparent movement on the venue front. The Pops last week filed a lawsuit against its landlord, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc., and POKC has not filed a response with the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania.

But this week the Pops responded to the lawsuit its musicians filed against the organization for back wages and other obligations, and the response could open the door to resolving the discord with its own players.

In the April 17 court filing, the Pops acknowledges that it owes its musicians money for December broadcasts of its Christmas program. But it is disputing the amount the musicians’ union claims players and others are owed. The Pops says that the payments were held up while it was waiting for a grant from the state, and that the grant has now come through.

“The Pops recently received the grant for the December 10, 2022, event and will apply such grant once amounts due and owing are agreed upon with plaintiff,” lawyers for the Pops wrote in Monday’s filing.

The response also states that it has made partial payment to the musicians, a claim American Federation of Musicians president Ray Hair called “preposterous.”

“There have been no payments made by the Philly Pops in connection with our claim, no payments whatsoever,” he said.

Pops president and CEO Karen Corbin declined to further comment on the lawsuit.

The American Federation of Musicians filed its complaint against the Pops in March, citing breach of contract and seeking back payment of wages, as well as late fees and contributions to pension plans, of at least $313,472.55. While the Pops disputed that amount in Monday’s response, the filing does not counter with a monetary figure of its own.

Hair said he hoped that the response from Pops management signaled progress.

“I would think the lawyers will confer and find a resolution. If they got the grant, we want the money to go in the pockets of the musicians.”

Still, the status of the remainder of the Pops’ 2022-23 season is uncertain. The group was evicted from Verizon Hall in January in a dispute with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. Its February and March programs were not performed, and the April, May, and June concerts have been suspended. The group continues to say all missed programs will be rescheduled as it continues to look for a venue.

It was the Pops’ failure to compensate the musicians for the broadcast work that landed them on the AFM’s Unfair List, which prohibits union members from rendering their services. Whether and when the AFM drops the Pops from the list hinges upon a recommendation to the national AFM from the local union chapter, Local 77.

Local vice president Marjorie Goldberg said it would recommend the Pops’ removal from the Unfair List if issues raised in the lawsuit — as well as some others not covered in the lawsuit — were resolved.

“We welcome them fulfilling their obligations to the contract,” she said.