As mentioned yesterday at the New York Times, the Chicago Teacher’s Strike apparently struck chords in more than just the education sector. Now, Chicago musicians are going on strike as well. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra suddenly refused to play on Saturday at Carnegie Hall, giving just a few hours of notice, protesting low wages and insufficient health insurance.
“Clive Gillinson, Carnegie’s executive and artistic director, said in an interview that the strike had caught him by surprise. He said he would be in daily contact with Chicago’s management before deciding what to do.”
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra aren’t the only ones striking:
“The work stoppage is the most visible event in a season of discontent on the orchestra labor front. Musicians of the Atlanta Symphony have been locked out. Contracts at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra expire on Sunday, and management and musicians are far apart in both cases. The Indianapolis Symphony, where the contract expired on Sept. 3, canceled the first two weeks of its season amid a bitter dispute.
While each circumstance is different, orchestras’ managements are generally trying to reduce salaries or hold the line on raises and cut the costs of benefits, citing a dip in donations and lower yield from endowments because of the recession. They say the survival of the orchestras is on the line.”
“But Chicago teachers and musicians are some of the best paid in the country. Educators make approximately $71,000 per year, the highest average income of teachers in the nation. Similarly, Chicago musicians “make a minimum of $144,820 a year, as well as extra payments and overtime.”
