There had been much chatter about the San Francisco Symphony’s season-opening concerts being in jeopardy as contract talks with the SF Symphony Chorus got bogged down in advance of Sept. 19–21 performances of that choral-orchestral spectacular, Verdi’s Requiem.
Still, when word came of the SFS Chorus’s strike early Thursday evening, just a couple hours before the first concert, it was a shock to just about everybody, including the more than 5,000 ticketholders for the three performances, hundreds of employees in and around Davies Symphony Hall, and restaurant owners and workers in the area expecting busy nights and good income.
Even the news of the SFS Chorus voting to authorize a strike on the afternoon of Sept. 16 — a different act than officially calling it — didn’t prepare most onlookers for Thursday’s developments.
The exception to the surprise: the SFS Chorus’s 32 union members, represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), and their colleagues, some 120 volunteer singers. They had an idea of what was coming.
The strike was called after two months of talks following the expiration of the SFS Chorus’s contract on July 31. According to AGMA, management started negotiations by demanding an 80 percent cut to the union singers’ $21,621 annual salary over a five-year agreement. The SFS Chorus’s 2024–2025 season was to consist of 26 performances and 56 rehearsals, a total of 82 services. Management planned to reduce the union singers’ involvement substantially to achieve the salary cut.
A statement from AGMA explains that in recent talks, management suggested “a 65 percent cut over three years. Then, they proposed a complete pay freeze for 2024–2025 followed by a drastic 10 percent pay cut in 2025–2026.”
AGMA’s counteroffer seems unusual in these days of rising living costs. “In a good faith effort to find common ground, AGMA countered with a 9 percent reduction for this year, followed by a return to the 2023–2024 rate — what the [SFS] Chorus is already working under with the expired agreement,” the statement continues.
“But management balked, claiming they couldn’t guarantee paying the same rate in the second year, despite it being management’s own proposal in reverse. Now, they’re offering a one-year freeze for 2024–2025 with zero commitments for the future.”
Management’s perspective is represented in a note from SF Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey, sent on Thursday evening and addressed to the members of the SFS Chorus:
“Following bargaining sessions on Sept. 19, the union members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus rejected a proposal from the San Francisco Symphony Administration for a one-year freeze on all contract terms, maintaining current wage levels for the AGMA chorus members. Rather than continuing to rehearse and perform while bargaining, AGMA informed the administration of their decision to strike this week’s performances of the Verdi Requiem.
“As a result, we unfortunately have no choice but to cancel this weekend’s concerts. We are in the process of notifying ticketholders and other external partners. Please note that despite the work stoppage, we want to assure you that the building will remain open and fully accessible to you as usual.
“We deeply value the [SFS] Chorus and we look forward to returning to the bargaining table to continue negotiating in good faith.”
A picket line, made up of choristers and various supporters — including some orchestral musicians from the SF Symphony — formed at 6 p.m. on Thursday outside of Davies. Protestors were chanting, “SF Symphony, you’re no good. Pay your singers like you should.”
On the same day that the SF Symphony failed to reach an agreement with the SFS Chorus over relatively small dollar amounts, the New York Philharmonic granted its musicians a huge settlement, with a new contract providing for a raise of 30 percent over the next three years, bringing the players’ base salary to $205,000.
“It’s transformative,” says NY Phil associate principal trombone Colin Williams in a quote to The New York Times. “It speaks to the commitment from the Philharmonic’s leadership to making sure this place is really a destination orchestra.”
Recent comings and goings at the SF Symphony indicate the current dynamic at Davies is something different from a “destination orchestra.”
What was it like in the days and even hours before the Sept. 19 concert, as uncertainty surrounded the preparations for Verdi’s Requiem?
Bass and veteran SFS Chorus member Chung-Wai Soong, one of the 32 union singers, says, “Massively mixed emotions and gut-wrenching. To show up and do our job time and again, knowing how insultingly [underappreciated] we are.”
Soprano and AGMA member Cara Gabrielson, who’s been with the SFS Chorus for five years, says, “They [SFS management] said we were ‘unwilling’ to perform. But we went to the dress rehearsal [on Thursday] at 9:30 a.m., most of us in concert black. We fully hoped to perform.”
She continues, “We’ve made so many other concessions,” including waiving the requirement to have one AGMA singer for every six volunteer members. Moving away from this requirement has saved management money “but makes our job harder.”
She adds, “Singers are historically taken advantage of payment-wise in the arts. It’s disappointing that SFS management is participating in that practice instead of being a champion for the artists they feature and depend upon.”
Soprano and AGMA member Cheryl Cain, who’s sung with the SFS Chorus for 18 years, says that management “hasn’t offered a reasonable contract in over five years.” The choristers say they are paid roughly one-third of what substitute musicians in the orchestra earn per hour. “Singers are musicians,” Cain says. “Most of us have master’s degrees. We have the highest level of musical training, just as much as the members of the orchestra.”
“We won the orchestra its first Grammy and seven subsequent ones,” says Elliott Encarnación, an AGMA governor and tenor with the SFS Chorus for 11 years, referring to the orchestra’s 1993 Grammy Award for its recording of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and later albums. “We are a world-class ensemble, and we are not being valued.”
Soprano and AGMA member Morgan Balfour, who’s been with the SFS Chorus for five years, adds a personal note. “Is there hope? I have to say yes. I mean, this is my profession, Otherwise I’d have to move home to Australia.”
On social media, there are heated comments about what’s happening at the SF Symphony. San Francisco entertainment writer Michael Strickland opines about the cancellation, “This particular management seems to be utterly clueless as to optics, human relations, the arts, you name it, so it’s not surprising. The entire board needs to resign or nothing’s going to get better.”
AGMA President Ned Hanlon says, “Nothing has significantly changed in the Symphony’s financial position from previous years besides the attitude of management toward its core artistic labor. I cannot recall the last time AGMA went on strike, but management has repeatedly failed to show how targeting the Symphony’s internationally acclaimed Choristers will solve their alleged financial issues. We urge management to immediately return to the bargaining table and work toward a real solution that honors the work of these dedicated artists and gets everyone back to creating beautiful music.”
Musicians Union Local 6, which represents the orchestra’s players, who are in the midst of their own negotiations with management over a contract currently set to expire on Nov. 19, tells SF Classical Voice:
“The San Francisco Symphony musicians are fortunate to play alongside a chorus recognized as one of the very best in the country, and we fully support their efforts to secure a fair contract for their members.
“The San Francisco Symphony is a world-class organization because of the talented artists who bring its music to life. Ensuring that they have a fair contract is critical to the Symphony’s ability to recruit and retain top talent and to remain a vital part of San Francisco’s artistic and cultural identity.”
Rebecca Wishnia contributed reporting to this article.
