Mayor Wishes to Mediate Dispute Between ASO Musicians, Management

Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed has offered to sit down with both sides of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra labor dispute and help them hammer out a deal that would allow the orchestra’s musicians to get back to work as soon as Nov. 8.

According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, Reed believes the two sides of the dispute have been more open with him than they have been with each other. Reed hopes that by serving as an arbiter, he can help the two sides communicate openly with one another and reach a deal as soon as possible.

A 2012 collective bargaining agreement between management and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players’ Association expired at midnight on Sept. 6. The crux of the new bargaining agreement is the need to balance the quality and prestige of the orchestra with the need to reduce a multi-million dollar budget deficit which management claims is due to an old, unsustainable operating model.

ASO management has proposed a new four-year contract which will see musicians earn a 4.5 percent raise and be given 22 percent of any future revenue surpluses, but pay much more for their health insurance. Musicians’ portions of their health care costs would increase from 7.5 to 17 percent, while families of musicians would see an increase from 2.5 to 23 percent.

The players’ association has produced a counter-proposal for a five year contract which would grant musicians a 15 percent pay increase. The proposal offers to offset health care costs by requiring musicians to pay $20 a week for their coverage, regardless of how much or how little they have. This weekly rate would not change through the life of the contract.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has been forced to cancel the beginning of its upcoming concert season due to the ongoing labor dispute.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra President and CEO Stanley Romanstein, Ph.D. resigned on Sept. 29, stating that his ”continued leadership of the ASO would be an impediment to our reaching a new labor agreement with the ASO’s musicians.”