Musicians now will be under contract for the rest of the season, through June 2016.
It's well into the Hartford Symphony Orchestra's new season, and HSO musicians still don't have a new contract. The musicians are asking management for "shared sacrifice" to reach an agreement.
Back in January, the Bushnell, which manages the HSO, offered the musicians a new contract that drastically cut back on the number of performances and rehearsals for the upcoming season, resulting in a 40 percent salary cut for the core members of the symphony.
The proposed contract also called for musicians to be available for day time rehearsals, a measure that would force players with day jobs to quit the symphony altogether. The American Federation of Musicians local 400, which represents the musicians, rejected that offer. The Bushnell countered with a 30 percent pay cut, which was also rejected by the musicians.
And now, months into the new season, both sides are still far apart on a resolution to the contract, and the impasse is taking its toll on the morale of the HSO musicians.
"By and large, musicians are just disgusted," said Michael Pollard, a violinist with the HSO and a member of the contract negotiating committee. "There's no trust; there's no faith in management; the orchestra is very unhappy with this alliance with the Bushnell."
The union has filed several complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the Bushnell of refusing to bargain in good faith.
The NLRB ruled in favor of the AFM on one of those complaints: that the Bushnell violated the terms of the previous contract by not handing out individual contracts to HSO musicians by May 1.
The Bushnell has settled that complaint, and musicians now will be under contract for the rest of the season, which runs through June 2016.
"They're going to have to issue us contracts, individual musician contracts," said Pollard. "As of now, they are obligated to the terms of the expired contract."
Last week, the American Federation of Musicians renewed calls for the Bushnell to reach an agreement with HSO musicians. The "shared sacrifice" agreement asks for cost cutting measures not only for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, but for Bushnell management and staff as well.
The Bushnell has previously rejected similar proposals by the union.
