San Francisco Symphony and its musicians officially ratified a new 26-month contract a day or two ago. A big sigh of relief here, and also some real perplexity over the musicians' statement, which contains all kinds of inflammatory remarks.
Seriously, folks? You have a strong case that you presented as badly as possible; you keep sniping at management (which has been entirely professional in its public communications); your statement sounds as though you're still on strike and still fighting.
Do you understand the concept of declaring victory and celebrating? Okay, obviously not. And that's from someone who is on your side and who thinks orchestral musicians should be paid much better than even the best-paid are. Next time you're faced with a labor dispute, please hire better PR people and think carefully about who speaks for you publicly.
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Since the contract is retroactive, there's only 20 months left on it. So that's the countdown to the next strike, or so the smell of ozone in the air suggests now.
Sigh....
Besides the sniping (management negotiators were inexperienced, incompetent, they wasted our time...), the musicians actually declared *defeat* - see in the settlement announcement:
Cathryne Payne - " We became concerned over the course of this negotiation that management had lost sight of its mission of artistic excellence. The musicians bring the music to life for our community, but our agreement does *not allow us to keep up with the Bay Area's high cost of living*."
And Dave Gaudry told the Chronicle he is not happy with the contract, but that's the best they could get.
Their behavior is not only ungracious, it also make them look in the eyes of the membership. I hope next time, the musicians get smarter representatives - carrying a big stick, but speaking softly, and not carping after the deed is done.
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