In Saturday’s (9/12) Indianapolis Business Journal, Kathleen McLaughlin reports, “Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra musicians and librarians unanimously rejected a new contract offer, suggesting they might not easily accept the same deep pay cuts seen at major orchestras around the country. The musicians’ union, Local 3 of the American Federation of Musicians, issued a brief statement Friday night, saying players and librarians had rejected management’s final offer by a vote of 76 to zero. The 87-member orchestra has several vacancies, and other players were not in town for the vote. The union also represents two librarians. … The last three-year contract, which expired Sept. 6, reflected a 2 percent or 3 percent increase in base pay, [musicians’ bargaining committee chairman Mike] Borschel said. The final six months of the contract called for annualized base pay of $80,080. Several major orchestras, including Minnesota, Philadelphia and Atlanta, have accepted or volunteered pay cuts in the past year.” The article mentions that orchestra management has previously made trims in administrative staff, cutting “eight employees, or 10 percent of non-musician employees, to save $600,000 from the $29.5 million budget. The ISO ended its 2008 fiscal year in the red and later saw its endowment drop to about $80 million. It has not yet reported the results of its most recent fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31.”
Posted September 15, 2009
