Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians on Strike: Here’s Why

This elite orchestra went on strike last night. Here's is what their union is saying:

This strike is not about the musicians' greedy search for ever more money. If it were, we would have gone on strike in 2009, when our salary was reduced by more than 1 percent. We would have gone on strike in 2010, when we absorbed a wage freeze. We would have gone on strike in 2011, when our salary went down by a further 14 percent. We make no apology for wanting to be well compensated when we have devoted countless hours of hard work to achieving a level of musicianship which has placed us at the very top of our profession. To claim otherwise would be disingenuous. But our actions over the past decade clearly demonstrate that we have been willing to continue to play at the very highest level while our salary has greatly declined relative to the pay of other major American orchestras.

The orchestra recently performed in the company of Pope Francis when he visited the U.S. But the orchestra delights in sharing music with underprivileged children in their community. Recently, they toured Mongolia to share in an important cultural exchange with one of the poorest, most remote nations in the world.

Here’s hoping a settlement is reached very soon.