Following weeks of difficult negotiations, musicians with the Boston Symphony Orchestra voted unanimously on August 22nd to authorize the first strike in the orchestra’s history.
The vote, which comes just before their current contract expires at 11:59 p.m. on August 23rd, does not immediately call for a strike. Rather, it offers union members leverage at the negotiating table, clearing the way for a work stoppage if the parties cannot agree on a collective bargaining agreement.
The negotiations have been complicated by deep divisions following the abrupt dismissal of music director Andris Nelsons.
Management has “failed to agree to a collective bargaining agreement that would begin to restore the trust that they have destroyed and offer a fair contract to the musicians who are the heart and soul of the BSO,” the Boston Symphony Players Committee said in a statement. “At present, BSO management has not agreed to the union’s proposal to bring in a professional mediator.”
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