Wednesday’s (12/16) Fort Wayne Daily News (Indiana) reports, “The Fort Wayne Philharmonic and its musicians jointly announced the settlement of a new four-year agreement between The Phil and members of Local 58 of the American Federation of Musicians following six months of negotiations. The new collective bargaining agreement retroactively went into effect on September 8, 2009 and will be in effect until August 16, 2013, replacing the previous two year contract that expired on August 16, 2009. The successful settlement of the contract, which was ratified by both the musicians and the Board of Directors, is a significant capstone for the orchestra which is exercising fiscal responsibility and artistic innovation to balance its budget for the first time in 3 years. Fort Wayne Philharmonic President and CEO J.L. Nave III [pictured] characterized the discussions as ‘highly collaborative and open.’ … Under the new contract, the minimum weekly scale will remain unchanged for the first two years, followed by a 2 percent increase in each of the last two years of the agreement. The number of weeks in the winter season will decrease by two from 38 to 36. The number of summer season weeks will increase one week per year to four weeks in the final year of the agreement.”
Posted December 16, 2009
