From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Calling management’s latest proposal “artistically unsustainable,” musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra on Saturday unanimously rejected the offer and said they will continue to negotiate through the weekend.
“We are grateful to members of our board who have worked tirelessly to bring this dreadful lockout to a conclusion. However, this proposal is regressive in nature, leading to a cut in salary of 25 percent,” said Doug Wright, a member of the musicians’ negotiating team.
Board negotiators, in a statement, said they were “very disappointed” in the 60-0 vote by the musicians.
Two days before a Monday deadline that could see the departure of music director Osmo Vänskä, the two sides in the bitter, yearlong dispute appeared far apart.
Wright said the proposal “will not keep our finest players here” and “will not keep the Minnesota Orchestra a great orchestra, period.”...
A separate statement from the board said its negotiators have moved “significantly” over the last 18 months, from a position that would have cut salaries 32 percent to the latest offer, which averaged “an annual reduction of 17.7 percent over the life of the contract.” That figure includes the offsetting impact of a $20,000-per-musician signing bonus that was part of the last offer. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/225644571.html
The orchestra lost the 2012-13 season already and there is not much demand that this season begin.
But to pay a cello or violin player $84,000 a season seems awfully generous, especially since there are not many jobs out there for cello players.
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