A union contract has been reached by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but the Minneapolis stalemate continues unabated, getting close the the point of no return as far as Music Director Osmo Vänskä's continued association with the orchestra is concerned. He has repeatedly said that without a contract settlement for the orchestra he would not remain in his position.
The good news from L.A. is ratification of a four-year contract between the Philharmonic and Musicians Local 47. Orchestra President Deborah Borda hailed the accord, joined by the union's Vince Trombetta:
We are extremely pleased that the bargaining teams for the Union and the Association have reached agreement on a new contract for the talented musicians of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and that our members enthusiastically ratified the contract. Both sides want the same thing: to employ musicians of the highest caliber and protect their wages, benefits, and safety conditions and have the best orchestra in the world. The union is encouraged that the parties were able to join together and overcome the obstacles present in today’s difficult bargaining and economic environment.
The contract provides for annual increases to the musicians’ minimum weekly scale wages, which, in the final year of the contract, will be $2,968, restructured healthcare plan offerings, and additional compensation elements, including a housing allowance and new contributions to retirement plans.
(San Francisco Symphony musicians, after an 18-day strike, agreed to a 26-month contract, with current minimum weekly compensation of $2,725, increasing to $2,850 by the end of the contract.)
In Minneapolis, the $52 million Orchestra Hall remodeling project is complete, but there is no orchestra to play in it, as the 18-month-long lockout and impasse continues. Instead, the musicians are giving concerts in another hall, but the future of the Minnesota Orchestra looks bleak.