The Cleveland Orchestra went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday after months of bargaining failed to produce a new contract agreement. The negotiating committee said it is still “far apart” from management on salary issues.
Violinist Elayna Duitman, head of the committee, said their pay lags both inflation and the other “Big Five” orchestras in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Chicago, while upper management is well-compensated. She said Thursday was the first time they received an audit of what healthcare costs could look like, including deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, under management’s contract proposal.
“It was very enlightening and it probably should have been gotten to us about a month ago,” she said. “It’s really down to the wire because, as you know, healthcare is a very complex issue, and it takes time to digest these things.”
The players are also asking for a voice in the audition process. Their most recent contract extension expired earlier this week, but a four-hour Thursday bargaining session led only to an agreement on the scheduling of tours. Duitman said they will return to the negotiating table on Friday, but a concert planned for that night in Michigan is canceled.
On Saturday, instead of playing at Severance, she said orchestra members will perform in small chamber groups at a free show at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights as a thank you for the community.
If an agreement is reached by Sunday night, the orchestra will load its gear on Monday morning for a European tour.
“We really want to go on this tour,” she said. “My family’s supposed to come on the tour. It would be disappointing to me if it didn’t happen, but these issues are so important to our membership … we really have to make sure that we get this right.”
In a statement Thursday night, Orchestra CEO André Gremillet said he was “disappointed” by the strike.
“We clearly communicated that we had more to offer and wanted to keep negotiating,” he wrote. “The union made this decision without having received anything close to our best offer. We’ve only held 11 negotiating sessions thus far compared with an average of 15 sessions over the last two negotiations. This strike is as premature as it is unnecessary.”
The conflict comes amid celebration of Franz Welser-Möst’s 25th and final season as music director. He has stayed out of the conflict and said this month that he had “no idea” what will happen.
Orchestra members have scheduled a press conference for Friday at 9 a.m., with the bargaining session scheduled to begin later in the morning.
