San Antonio Symphony News and Archive

Sour notes for symphony musicians




from the Editorial Section of the San Antonio Express News 8/30/98

by Teri Hogan



At first glance, the choices facing the members of the San Antonio Symphony seem clear. They can either renegotiate their current collective bargaining agreement with the Symphony Society of San Antonio, or they can accept blame for the reduction or cancelation of the symphony's 60th season.

Take a closer look at those choices, however, and the view becomes murky.

Everyone knows the symphony society is in financial trouble. It said so back in February by declaring a state of financial emergency. Doing so allowed the society to invoke a provision of its existing labor contract to take another look at musician salaries and benefits.

But the call to reopen the contract didn't come in February; it came months later in mid-June. By then, many of the musicians had left San Antonio for summer jobs. Those who remained here for the summer were not comfortable with the prospect of entering negotiations while so many of their fellow musicans were away, so they agreed to negotiate in September when everyone was back in town.

But September wasn't soon enough for the society. In late July it filed a National Labor Relations Board charge against Local 23 of the American Federation of Musicians and against its national organization for failure to sit down immediately at the negotiation table. San Antonio Symphony musicians and other (nonsymphony) musicians are members of Local 23.

Meanwhile, the symphony society put together a list of contract revisions designed to save itself about $617,000 per year -- all at the musicians' expense.

Among those revisions are holding back scheduled pay raises, reducing the musicians' benefits (including medical coverage and pension-fund contributions) and eliminating free parking (almost $700 per musician per season) on rehearsal and performance dates. The full $617,000 "offer" was illustrated in the Sunday, Aug. 9 edition of the Express-News.

Small wonder the players' representatives wanted input from their fellow musicians before negotiations began.

Further, the musicians were being called to the table by the same governing body that last sat down with them to develop the current three-year contract. That contract was ratified by all concerned, and the musicians lived up to their part of the bargain by performing and - even better - performing splendidly.

The society, on the other hand, failed to oblige the musicians. At times last season it gave them partial paychecks, late paychecks or no paychecks at all. It had to scramble at the end of the season to back-pay the musicians what was owed to them.

So, it's reasonable to ask with how much confidence can the musicians reopen their current collective bargaining agreement and expect the symphony society to fulfill even revised-down contract terms?

In the present scenario, the musicians' other choice appears to be a reduced or canceled 1998-99 season. Those, however, would not be musicans' decisions; they would only occur following a vote by the symphony society's board of directors. To suggest otherwise, to shift responsibility for such outcomes to the musicians whose incomes depend on performing here from September to May, is at least ludicrous and intimidating and, at worst, unfair.

Instead of resorting to such tactics, the symphony society should protect its integrity, at least artistically, while seeking solutions to its monetary dilemma. The formation of a group of financially committed corporate leaders, if that is more real than wishful thinking, is an excellent start. With City Council, it should invite ideas before requesting assistance. Among its current board members, it should, with all due respect give support, find the support or get off and let someone who can serve.

It should not expect its musicians to be the compliant victims of their employer's financial state of emergency. Instead, it should give them the sense of security they need to perform in San Antonio with all the enthusiasm and professional excellence that has won them wide acclaim.

With those things done, the symphony's management can then request community support of its plans, plans that penalize neither its musicians nor listening audiences to keep itself in business.

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Teri Hogan is vice president of Local 23, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.


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