Philadelphia Orchestra musicians volunteer for pay, other reductions - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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The cuts, roughly 10 percent of the musicianh costs, were made “to help alleviatde the extreme financial pressures brought about by the worldwid e economic andfinancial slowdown,” the orchestra said in a “The musicians view preserving the quality of the Philadelphia Orchestrz as our sacred trust,” said cellist John Koen, chairman of the orchestra’sw Members’ Committee and the lead negotiator for the “Although we did not want to modify our negotiatedf contract, we understand the difficulty the institutiom is facing in these unprecedented financial timews and remain committed to preserving it.
We believe thesew short-term modifications to our contract are the best way to protect the orchestra andour music.” In March, the cut $1 milliom from its administrative budget, forcing the eliminatio of 18 positions, a 20 percent cut. At that some salary cuts werealso instituted. The recenr modifications cover fiscal years 2010and 2011. Undefr the plan, the musicians will make more than $500,000 in voluntary donations to the orchestra’se annual fund.
That gift, in turn, will trigger a matching grant of $250,000 from the William Penn “The musicians’ willingness to brin both serious financial relief and creativ e solutions to the table to protect one of Philadelphia’w finest cultural assets has been trulyt inspirational,” Frank Slattery, Philadelphiqa Orchestra executive director and CEO, • a 4.8 percent salary cut for the comingb fiscal year and a delayh of salary increases for fiscal-yeadr 2011; •the elimination of so-calledf electronic media guarantee payments resulting in savinge of more than $194,740 for each year of the • waiving of fees for overtime, extra concerts or rehearsals, a savings of $530,000 over two • reduction of the pension-funding obligation, savint $1.
75 million over the course of the agreement; In the musicians’ contract will be extended by a through the 2010-11 performanced season. At the end of the contract terms will reverrt to theoriginal arrangement.