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Musicians file another federal complaint against Springfield Symphony Orchestra

 Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.
Daderot
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Creative Commons
Springfield Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.

In a complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board on Jan. 27 the classical musicians who play for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra allege the SSO refused to continue bargaining in June 2022.

That's not the case, said SSO Interim Executive Director Paul Lambert.

"Simply put, it was a point where the SSO had issued what they felt was their last best offer and could not go any further at that point, and an impasse was declared," Lambert said.

But the musicians said in an email, the SSO stopped bargaining on the "false premise" there was no more room to negotiate.

The union musicians have been without a new contract since August 2020.

The players said in an email they want a three-year agreement to play a minimum of 10 concerts per year. They also want the SSO Board to hire a permanent executive director and a permanent music director.

With the 2022-23 SSO season underway, about 70 musicians each have their own agreement to play and be paid for a specified number of concerts.

A hearing on the NLRB complaint is scheduled in Boston on May 9.

Funding Disclosure: The Springfield Symphony Orchestra is a sponsor of New England Public Media.

Jill Kaufman has been a reporter and host at NEPM since 2005. Before that she spent 10 years at WBUR in Boston, producing The Connection with Christopher Lydon, and reporting and hosting. Jill was also a host of NHPR's daily talk show The Exchange and an editor at PRX's The World.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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