Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) — Musicians decided to strike at Cleveland Orchestra after rejecting a 5 percent pay cut.
Local 4 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents Northeast Ohio, announced the decision at midnight New York time. The musicians won’t appear at concerts and master classes, scheduled to start today at Indiana University, in Bloomington, or perform at a concert series in Miami, beginning on Jan. 22, the union said in an e-mailed statement.
In 2008, the U.K.’s Gramophone magazine ranked Cleveland as the world’s seventh-best orchestra. The strike occurs after the New York Philharmonic reported a record $4.6 million operating deficit last season and as donations and endowments decline for classical music.
“We may be considered to be among the best in the world musically, but we are a far cry from being compensated that way or treated that way,” Jeffrey Rathbun, an oboist and chairman of the musicians’ negotiating committee, said in the statement.
Median musician pay in Cleveland in 2009 was $140,200, the orchestra said, which would drop to $134,100 in the first year of a new contract. Benefits include 10 weeks of paid vacation.
Musicians’ pay was unchanged or declined over the past two contracts, said Howard Landau, a spokesman for the musicians.
“Taking another cut this time around is the last straw, from their point of view, putting them in the position of not being able to attract or retain the best talent,” he said in an e-mail.
101 Musicians
The orchestra said in an e-mailed statement that full pay would be restored in the second year of the contract and increase 2.5 percent in the third. The orchestra’s board said that it’s disappointed by the strike, which affects 101 musicians.
“While we recognize the musicians’ incredible artistry, the board is fully committed to ongoing cost control,” Dennis LaBarre, president of the board, said in the statement today.
Franz Welser-Most was paid $1.3 million in 2007-08, his sixth season as music director, according to the orchestra’s tax return posted on Guidestar.org. In January 2009, he volunteered to take a 20 percent pay cut, according to the orchestra’s annual report. Senior staff also took a pay cut, the annual report said.
The orchestra’s endowment fell by $27 million, or 22 percent, to $97.2 million in the year ended in June 2009. Foundations and endowments with assets under $1 billion had a median loss of 19.2 percent in that period, according to Wilshire Associates. Donations by corporations and foundations also declined to the orchestra.
Union and management are scheduled to begin mediated bargaining today. Negotiations broke down on Jan. 6. The musicians have been without a contract since September.
Article courtesy of: bloomberg.com
