Break Down in Motor City

Contract negotiations between the musicians and management of the Detroit Symphony have apparently hit a wall. At issue is a proposed musician salary reduction of 28% as well as a stipulation to13 unpaid weeks during the orchestra's 52 week concert season. As usual, it's all in the numbers. The orchestra's current budget allots $16 million in musician salaries annually though management now insist they can only afford to spend a total of $33 million in salaries over the next three years. The musicians, whose contracts with the orchestra expire 31 August, currently enjoy a base starting salary of $105,000 per annum though management's proposed 28% cut would reduce that to just over $75,000. The musicians's counter offer of a 22% cut has reportedly been rejected. I don't think 105k is in any way excessive for an ensemble that often ranks just below the orchestras of New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco...

You'll recall I wrote earlier this year about the DSO's music director Leonard Slatkin who reportedly agreed to donate four weeks of conducting engagements in an attempt to help the orchestra recover from the $4 million budget deficit it experienced the previous season. Read more on the current budget fight as reported by the Detroit News here. Hopefully the DSO's management and musicians can do a deal before time runs out! Stay tuned.