The Brooklyn Philharmonic has reached a tentative contract agreement with
Local 802, the New York musicians' union. The three-year contract calls for a
wage freeze in the first year and increases in the second and third year. The
Philharmonic will maintain hospitalization coverage for the musicians, a major
issue in several weeks of sometimes contentious negotiation.
According to Philharmonic executive director Catherine Cahill, the union agreed to be "flexible" concerning work guarantees, another sticking point. A statement included in Local 802's online newsletter, however, said that the agreement retains "longstanding provisions on work guarantees." A spokesperson for the union declined to comment on the discrepancy between the two accounts.
The issue of work guarantees — the requirement that the orchestra pay its musicians when a concert is canceled — led to a public disagreement in the midst of contract negotiations. In February, the orchestra, facing a budget deficit of $700,000 in the wake of the 11 September attacks and the subsequent economic slowdown, replaced orchestral concerts on 15 and 16 February with a solo piano recital. The union complained to the press that the move amounted to a "lockout"; Cahill contested that characterization, saying that the orchestra had simply run out of cash.
Both Cahill and the union expressed satisfaction with the tentative
agreement. In the statement, Local 802 president Bill Moriarty said, "Certainly
our members, who have seen work decline since Sept. 11, need the benefits and
employment opportunities offered by this new agreement. We also understand the
problems facing cultural institutions of this kind and have tried to accommodate
that concern." Cahill said she was gratified that the union recognized how
"severely injured" the orchestra's finances are. "We're quite pleased that we've
come to a tentative agreement," she said. "It had been our goal throughout this
process to restore the orchestra to the concert stage."
