In Tuesday’s (6/15) Star Tribune (Minneapolis), Graydon Royce writes, “For the second straight year, musicians at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra will not see pay increases anticipated by their contracts. The organization announced Monday that musicians have agreed to a reduction of 11.3 percent in contracted compensation for the 2010-11 season. Just last September, the union accepted a cut of 12 percent for 2009-10. In addition, senior managers will continue a salary reduction of 10 percent that began in the last quarter of 2008-09. … Revenue in every category is down, she said, including a drop of about 11 percent in contributed income. Musician salaries account for 29 percent of the organization’s expenses. Last September’s reduction cut salary to $65,000, rather than the contracted figure of $73,732. For the next fiscal year, musicians will earn about $67,332, 11.3 percent below the contracted rate of about $76,000. ‘Musicians of the SPCO wanted to do our part to ensure that the organization remains financially healthy,’ bassoonist Carole Mason Smith said in a statement. … The SPCO’s budget is about $11 million this year, down from $13.2 million in fiscal 2009.”
Posted June 16, 2010
