Double Times
Musicians Ratify New 3-Year Agreement
Musicians of the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra have ratified a new 3-year collective bargaining agreement. Highlights of the new agreement include:
- increase in wages of 4%/5%/5% (immediate increase to $136.22 per service for section performance, rising to $150.19 in year 3)
- Increase in pension contributions of 1/2% per year (9% in year 1, rising to 10% in year 3)
- Increases in the size of the core orchestra by adding 2-first violin, 2-second violin, 1-viola, 1-cello, and 1-assistant/utility horn position, and tenuring those who have been consistently filling those positions
- Changes to the audition language to facilitate holding auditions in the spring
The first collective bargaining agreement with Palm Beach Opera was signed in 1999. Musicians elected a committee and began exploring union representation in 1998. Some of their initial concerns were:
- Preparing for the future as PBO began to grow
- Showing that the Orchestra was an integral part of the Opera company
- Concern over what would happen in Anton Guadagno, who was a strong supporter of the orchestra, were to leave PBO
- Rumors that PBO wanted to use the Florida Philharmonic for some of its performances
- That the higher pay for chorus members indicated that the PBO could afford to pay orchestra members more
- Being compensated for recordings, such as when their concert with Placido Domingo was recorded and sold
- Having the Opera hold legitimate auditions
Musicians were worried that PBO would argue that they were really employees of a subcontractor and not the Opera, but in 1999, after recognition cards were collected from an overwhelming majority of the orchestra, PBO voluntarily recognized Local 655 as the official bargaining agent for the musicians. And the musicians and the Opera have not looked back since. View my friend's website for information about the ELD mandate
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