Philadelphia Orchestra management ‘disappointed’ musicians’ union rejected latest contract proposal

The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. said it was “disappointed” that its musicians had rejected its latest contract proposal Saturday night.

“This proposal is generous, reflective of their world-class status, and addresses the issues they have deemed most important,” POKC spokesperson Ashley Berke said in a statement Sunday. “It places them amongst the highest-paid orchestra musicians in the country, in one of the most affordable big cities in the US, and is compatible with the Orchestra’s financial realities and responsibilities as a non-profit organization.”

The Philadelphia Musicians’ Union Local 77 voted 81-8 against the proposal. It was the second time the union had shot down a proposal during this round of bargaining.

Union officials say that the proposed wage increases are not enough to account for inflation and are not on par with peer orchestras. They intend to again ask that a federal mediator reconvene negotiations.

“We remain hopeful for a positive start to the season that includes a strong and fair contract that puts our wages on par with our peers and at pace with the rate of inflation, so we can continue to produce the finest sound and remain the best orchestra in the world,” David Fay, double bassist and chair of the orchestra’s members’ committee, said in a statement Sunday.

POKC said its offer “represents an additional investment of $11.9 million in the musicians during the three years of the agreement.”

The offer, the result of months of negotiations, brings average compensation to $212,000 in two years’ time, orchestra management said, adding that it increases wages by 13.5% over three years.

The $212,000 figure is an “artificial inflation” of compensation, union spokesperson Melissa McCleery said Sunday, as it factors in rates that principals negotiate for themselves on top of base salary. In year two, the minimum salary proposed would be $167,000, according to the offer document, shared with The Inquirer.

The next orchestra performance is Tuesday in Verizon Hall with Audra McDonald. There has been no official announcement from the union that musicians would not perform that day.

Musicians performed at the orchestra’s opening night gala last Thursday despite the ongoing labor dispute.

The very next day, the union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that orchestra management has been negotiating in bad faith. POKC called the complaint “meritless.”

The current contract expired Sept. 10; the union voted in August to authorize a strike in the event of a contract stalemate.