This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 26, 2012 - The St. Louis Symphony’s new labor agreement is the product of trust forged in response to adversity, according to Symphony president and CEO Fred Bronstein.
The four-year pact, negotiated more than a year early and effective through August 2017, sets the stage for five years of stability.
Symphony management and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 2-197, reached agreement on Monday during a series of cordial negotiations, according to Symphony president and CEO Fred Bronstein.
“Our ability to arrive at this agreement has a lot to do with the relationship we built and established between the management team and the orchestra,” Bronstein said.
That relationship was preceded by several years of turmoil. The Symphony’s dire financial situation prompted the Taylor family of Enterprise Rent-A-Car to offer a $40 million matching grant challenge in 2000. That challenge was met by 2004 but in 2005, acrimonious contract talks ended with a two-month musician work stoppage.
Since then, both sides have worked hard to achieve harmony, according to Bronstein, with the Symphony issuing in an new era of transparency.
“We needed to repair that relationship. Everything the board sees, our orchestra sees; there are no secrets,” Bronstein said.
The resulting trust played out in myriad ways during recent negotiations, according to Bronstein.
“The first thing the negotiating committee did was to show them the long-range financial plan we have -- and they’d seen this before -- so people understand where the opportunities are, where the challenges are. And that helped to really pave the way for what I think is a balanced settlement,” Bronstein said.
Timothy Myers, chair of the musicians’ negotiating committee agreed.
"Management has made extra effort during every season to talk about the status of ticket sales and fundraising, and they shared the revenues and expenses goals," Myers said. "We have muscian members on the board who serve on the executive committee and the finance committee. That's where the action is and they're part of it."
‘Wonderful accomplishment’ from national perspective
Local contract negotiations took place against a backdrop of numerous orchestras across the nation struggling to survive. In April 2011, members of the Detroit symphony went on strike for six months before agreeing to substantial concessions. Last month, the Philadelphia orchestra submitted a reorganization plan after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.
The Honolulu and New Mexico orchestras are in the process of re-forming after filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 in recent years. The Syracuse orchestra attempted several comebacks after filing for bankruptcy but has now folded.
These situations make St. Louis’ accord seem even more significant, according to Judith Kurnick, a vice president with the League of American Orchestras.
“It's a wonderful accomplishment; it’s definitely a model for the field,” Kurnick said.
The kind of trust that made the local agreement possible was also evident in the Pittsburgh’s symphony’s early negotiations, even though they resulted in concessions on the part of musicians. But trust is a goal, not a trend regarding most orchestras around the country, according to Kurnick.
The financial problems plaguing orchestras did not start with the 2008 recession, Kurnick said. But the recession was the proverbial straw breaking the backs of orchestras already suffering from the same dwindling attendance that has impacted sports teams and the movie industry.
Concessions or little-to-no salary increases are the new normal in all arenas, Kurnick said. In the symphony world, both musicians and management are tightening their belts.
“Everybody has to find ways to work together to create a healthy institution, and those institutions don’t look the way they did even 10 years ago,” Kurnick said.
While Kurnick calls St. Louis’ contract a beacon for other orchestras, Bronstein is quick to point out that what works in St. Louis may not work elsewhere.
“Every orchestra in every city is different; there are common issues but the solutions are local,” Bronstein said. “For us in St. Louis, the important part, in light of our history as recently as 2005, is labor stability in the context of financial responsibility.”
Preserving civic asset, reassuring donors
The St. Louis contract will add 3.6 percent in musician expenses through the contract period. Highlights of the agreement include:
- Yearly increases in minimum scale beginning in 2013 from $81,892 to $86,053 in 2017 (average 1.25 percent each year)
- A 1.5 percent pension hike over the four-year term
- Provisions for additional concerts
“The new agreement moves the orchestra forward and not backward,” Bronstein said. “I think we got it right.”
Myers, who called the salary increases "modest," said the vote in favor of the contract was strong, though he would not give actual numbers. He commended the six-week-long negotiation process and the resulting pact, not just for the musicians but for the community.
"Those who see the value of the symphony -- whether or not they are music lovers themselves -- want to support a cause that is succeeding," Myers said. "The work stoppage of a few years ago was a prety big hiccup in trust for donors and I think they want to see progress in all regards. I think it's important that we demonsrtrated we could get this done."
The donor piece is critical, Bronstein agreed.
“If you can give your supporters a sense of stability and let them know what needs to happen in the coming years to meet your obligations -- and they’re reasonable obligations -- that gives real confidence to people who support the organization,” Bronstein said.
Nancy Fowler Beacon arts reporter
