The ASO musicians union says no further talks are scheduled.
Negotiations between the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the union that represents its musicians have broken down after talking points for an agreement were rejected by the Woodruff Arts Center’s executive board, the ASO Players Association said Tuesday in a press release. The Woodruff Arts Center is the ASO’s parent organization.
Christina Smith, the ASO’s principal flutist and a member of the negotiating committee, said in a telephone interview that the musicians and the orchestra had reached common ground on a plan for $4 million in concessions by the musicians over the next two years, along with an equal amount of salary and staff cuts among the ASO’s administrative staff of about 75.
“We were very close. We had basically reached an agreement,” Smith said. “I think the ASO board was delighted and a little surprised at the amount of concessions we offered.”
The union’s press release said ASO President and Chief Executive Officer Stanley Romanstein had informed it in an email that the Woodruff’s senior leaders had rejected the “alternative solution” crafted through the negotiations. The email says the Woodruff is standing firm that the musicians must make $2.6 million in salary concessions in each of the next two years in order to help balance the ASO’s budget.
The orchestra has accumulated an estimated $19.8 million in debt since 2003. Romanstein says it ran a $4.5 million deficit in fiscal year 2012 that is expected to grow in 2013.
In a statement released late Tuesday, Romanstein said the ASO and Woodruff boards are united. “The musicians’ press release erroneously seeks to drive a wedge between the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Board and the Woodruff Arts Center (WAC) Governing Board,” Romanstein said. “This is a mistake, both in fact and in strategy.”
He said the boards agree that the musicians must accept the last offer from management, which would mean an average salary cut of about $20,000 each for the musicians. “The ASO and WAC Boards do appreciate the strides the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Association (ASOPA) has made from their original position, but the boards have been united in saying that it is not enough.”
ArtsATL is also seeking comment from the Woodruff Arts Center leadership.
According to the union, the musicians were locked out August 26 when their access cards to Symphony Hall and its parking decks were deactivated. On August 31, the musicians’ health benefits were canceled.
“We are firm in our resolve,” Smith said. “We want to preserve the artistry of this great orchestra. The cuts they’re demanding would cut into the core product. It would be much more difficult to attract top players here, and to retain the ones we already have.”
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COMMENTS
I am in total agreement with Guest. The ‘leadership’ is the problem. The musicians are the scapegoat here. What’s going on is transparent in the public eye and some changes need to be made. There is nothing wrong with the orchestra members. Let’s hope they get the right people behind them in the future. In the meantime, they have offered an unbelievable amount of concessions. It is up to the Woodruff Arts Center, Romanstein and the rest of the overpaid governing board to make this right.
It is fascinating how both the Woodruff and ASO Managements can attempt to run one of this country’s major artistic treasures with no understanding of the needs of an arts organization. The responsibility for raising the funds to run an arts organization belongs to the board of the organization, and to those members of the administration hired specifically to raise funds and operate the organization in a fiscally responsible manner. It is NOT the responsibility of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s dedicated and hard-working musicians to rescue their entire organization’s operations from their own salaries and benefits. The fact that the ASO players have already made so many sacrifices in an attempt to rescue two inept administrations–the Woodruff Arts Center and the ASO Administration–goes far above and beyond the call of duty. One wonders why these two administrations are still in place. Shame on them for their ongoing attempts to destroy one of this nation’s great and esteemed treasures!
The overarching issue here is leadership. More directly, the lack thereof. Mr. Romanstein has been in office long enough to have not let things get to this point. Question: how much money has he raised during his tenure to bridge the gap?
No new new hall; no additional musicians and now; no season!
Why was this guy hired again?