Street Smarts: A Deal Gets Done In Philly

An all-night bargaining session between the musicians and management of the Philadelphia Orchestra has led to a tentative 3-year agreement, thanks to another intervention from Philadelphia Mayor John Street. The musicians will take a wage freeze in the first year, but by the third year, they will have the highest minimum salary of any orchestra in the US. The musicians’ pensions will also be moved from an in-house plan to the national plan administered by the players’ union, and there will be a temporary reduction in the number of full-time musicians. Mayor Street’s involvement in the talks was applauded by both sides, and it was evident that a deal would not have been possible without his mediation.