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ATL SYMPHONY MUSICIANS

Atlanta Symphony Musicians Offer $2.8 Million

8/15/2012

13 Comments

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Colin Williams (404) 275-4997 colbone@me.com www.ATLsymphonymusicians.com 
Facebook: ATLSymphonyMusicians 
Twitter: @ATLSymMusicians

Atlanta Symphony Musicians Offer $2.8 Million

to Close Budget Gap Administration Challenged to Match Musicians’ Compensation Cuts

Atlanta, GA, August 15, 2012 7:00 PM

Today the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Committee (ASOPA) met with members of the Atlanta Symphony Management negotiating team to come to terms for a new collective bargaining agreement.

ASOPA offered a comprehensive proposal which includes enough modification in musician compensation to cover the orchestra’s projected shortfall for the 2012-13 season and extended them for a second year as well.

“We have offered to reduce the size of the orchestra, reduce the individual compensation of musicians, reduce the number of work weeks, and share health care costs with management. Our comprehensive solution calls for the staff to share the reduction with us in the coming seasons to help stabilize the future of this great orchestra,” explained cellist and ASOPA President Daniel Laufer.

The musicians propose that total musician compensation and total staff compensation each be reduced by 11%. They specifically ask the senior staff members to share in this reduction from their individual salaries so as to avoid placing undue burden on junior and part-time staffers. This would save almost $5 million over two years.

“The significance of shared sacrifice cannot be overstated,” said Colin Williams, ASOPA spokesperson and principal trombonist. “This proposal represents a shared contribution to balance the budget.”

Recent statements by the management team suggest that growth in musician compensation is the primary reason for the deficit. “Since 2006, total staff compensationhas increased by almost 50%, while total musician compensation has only increased by 16%, just keeping up with inflation. This means that we must all play our part in reigning in costs,” explained Colin Williams.

Between 2006 and 2012, total staff compensation grew from about $4 million to $6 million, a 50% increase. This doesn't even include nearly $1 million in salaries/benefits for Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre staff, or a similar amount spent on salaries/benefits for the abandoned Symphony Center project in 2006 alone. Musician expenses are only 28% of the budget. Especially given the growth in staff compensation, musicians cannot be the sole source of cost reduction.

As part of this 50% increase in management compensation, management and staff received almost $400,000 in bonuses between 2008 and 2012. For example, according to the Woodruff Arts Center’s 2010 IRS Form 990, ASO Executive Vice President for Business Operations and Chief Financial Officer Don Fox was paid almost $300,000, including a $20,000 bonus, while deficits mounted. This represented a $30,000 increase over the previous year.

“Musicians are willing to be part of the solution. As of today we have put close to $3 million of musician cost reductions on the table, which address every aspect of what we do: salary, orchestra size, number of paid weeks, and cost sharing of health insurance. But we cannot be the only solution when staff have not participated in cost reductions and management has not presented any cogent plans to remedy the situation other than diminishing the product,” stressed Williams.

Colin Williams is available for interviews at the phone number and e-mail address above.

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13 Comments
Peter Marshall
8/15/2012 02:25:41 pm

Makes sense to me. Great work, Colin and everybody on the committee! Shared sacrifice must be a part of any solution.

Reply
George Curran
8/15/2012 03:11:56 pm

The ASO musicians have stepped up to demonstrate leadership in making the symphony a stable and vital part of the Atlanta cultural scene. This is a tough time for everyone, and we all have to help to make the orchestra successful. As our management has repeatedly told us, there is no silver bullet to this financial problem: the musicians cannot do it alone.

Reply
Michael O'Neal
8/15/2012 03:45:25 pm

Very well stated. Bravo!

Reply
Nelson
8/15/2012 06:07:03 pm

While I think the musicians are being far too kind, I applaud the true effort to keep things going there. Isn't it amazing that we musicians train from the age of 5 , unlike doctors and lawyers, yet are consistently treated as if we are just in it to entertain people practically for free, in something that requires unbelievably fine skills?

Reply
Jan Robison
8/15/2012 06:08:14 pm

This is an excellent analysis of the financial ills and shared remedies for the ASO. ASO management would be foolish, indeed, to reject this sensible approach to the problem.

Reply
Roderick
8/15/2012 06:34:36 pm

Nelson, while I am incredibly sympathetic to the point you're making, it doesn't help to draw pejorative comparisons to other professions that have little in common with classical music. In other words, the idea that it takes nothing other than three years of law school to make a good lawyer or eight years of medical school to make a good doctor is as wrong as the idea that four years of conservatory education makes a good musician. It's just apples and oranges. And you probably don't want to go there, if only to avoid the equally inapplicable counterargument that seeks to compare compensation among those kinds of unrelated fields by number of hours spent "in the office" or "on call."

Reply
Akeem Marable
8/16/2012 04:14:15 am

I would go there, but thats not point.
Income disparity is always a valid argument regardless of the initial conversation. It addresses the core of $ & cents. The real question is why are doctors/lawyers the
flagship professions when we complain about money.

Reply
Niel DePonte
8/15/2012 09:48:43 pm

Bravo to the ASO musicians! As often is the case, it takes orchestra musician leadership to help managements see the light. I hope you have musicians on the board there. That should be the next step.

Reply
Michael Granados
8/15/2012 11:28:40 pm

A bit of bad reporting in the AJC. You've specifically asked the SENIOR STAFF members to share in this reduction. Not the full staff most of whom are paid a tiny fraction of what executives and musicians make. Kudos to ASOPA for not picking on the overworked and ridiculously underpaid staff.

Reply
Lisa Wienhold
8/16/2012 02:29:52 am

Great job! Very well done. So sorry that the musicians have to be the ones to come up with a solution to a problem that they did not cause.

Reply
Erin
8/16/2012 03:42:51 am

The musicians are being so generous for their art. Good for them to ask for cuts in management. Seems like a well thought out reasoning.
Without the orchestra, there would not be a need for as much management so they should share the burden.

Reply
Jody Mitchem
8/16/2012 03:47:24 am

Other articles say that the staff salaries went down by an overall 1% in the past few years, so I'm confused. Does the 50% you mention in this posting also average in new staff positions? I don't think anyone is getting a 50% raise, or at least I hope not. Michael, thanks for reminding us that some staff are making very little money despite working hard for a great cause.

Reply
Marjorie Timmer
8/16/2012 10:53:08 am

The ASO musicians are making a heroic offer, and the management of the orchestra will be making an unforgiveable mistake if they turn it down. Furthermore, if they pay their CEO another bonus while running a deficit and while these world class musicians are still suffering a pay cut, the entire orchestra should walk out.

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