The Philadelphia Musicians’ Union Local 77 voted 81-8 against the management’s final proposal. The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. said they were “disappointed”. “This proposal is generous, reflective of their world-class status, and addresses the issues they have deemed most important,” POKC spokesperson Ashley Berke said in a statement Sunday. “It places them amongst the highest-paid orchestra musicians in the country, in one of the most affordable big cities in the US, and is compatible with the Orchestra’s financial realities and responsibilities as a non-profit organization.”
Union officials say that the proposed wage increases are not enough to account for inflation and are not on par with peer orchestras. They intend to again ask that a federal mediator reconvene negotiations.
