By Howard Pousner
hpousner@ajc.com

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians have offered to cut their compensation by 11 percent to help balance the organization’s annual budget, but there is a catch: They want the ASO leadership and staff to take an equal cut.

Facing a deadline of midnight Aug. 25 to reach agreement with ASO management on a new collective bargaining agreement, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Committee (ASOPA) met with management representatives on Wednesday. In a statement released Wednesday evening, the players said they submitted a broad-ranging proposal that would be sufficient to cover the orchestra’s projected shortfalls for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

“We have offered to reduce the size of the orchestra, reduce the individual compensation of musicians, reduce the number of work weeks and share health care costs with management,” players association president and cellist Daniel Laufer said in the statement. But the offer hinged on management sharing the reduction equally.

On Thursday, ASO president Stanley Romanstein said not so fast, reiterating that management has already made numerous compensation cuts.

Musician salaries have gone up 23 percent since 2006, a period in which staff salaries declined 1.7 percent, ASO management had previously said.

In its statement, the players association disputed that, asserting that total staff compensation had increased by almost 50 percent since 2006, while total musician compensation had increased by 16 percent.

Romanstein called the musicians figures “curious because our musicians have had two representatives on the ASO finance committee for 15 years. They have seen all of the numbers … so this is not new information to them.

“So to say the staff should participate and the administration should participate is a fine statement,” he continued. “But you have to complete that and say, ‘And we know that they already have.’”

The ASO has operated with annual deficits ranging $5 million to $6 million in recent years, with its accumulated debt mushrooming as a result. Management projects a $20 million accumulated debt by the end of fiscal 2013 and has said it is rapidly reaching its borrowing limit.

The beginning base salary for an ASO musician is $88,400. Typically in the classical music industry, accompanying compensation packages would include 100 percent health coverage, instrument insurance, pension contributions and extended paid vacation.

“As of today we have put close to $3 million of musician cost reductions on the table, which address every aspect of what we do: salary, orchestra size, number of paid weeks, and cost sharing of health insurance,” said Colin Williams, principal trombonist for the 93-member orchestra. “But we cannot be the only solution.”

CEO Romanstein said management was looking carefully at the players’ proposal. “But we simply can not ignore the enormous sacrfices that this staff has already made.”

The next bargaining session has not yet been set.

NOTE: The following is the original version of the story above that was posted Wednesday evening:

Atlanta Symphony musicians ask administration to share in salary cuts

By Howard Pousner
hpousner@ajc.com

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians have offered to cut their compensation by 11 percent to help balance the organization’s annual budget, but there is a catch: They want the ASO staff to take an equal cut.

Facing a deadline of midnight Aug. 25 to reach agreement with ASO management on a new collective bargaining agreement, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Committee (ASOPA) met with management representatives on Wednesday. In a statement released Wednesday evening, the players said they submitted a broad-ranging proposal that would be sufficient to cover the orchestra’s projected shortfalls for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

“We have offered to reduce the size of the orchestra, reduce the individual compensation of musicians, reduce the number of work weeks, and share health care costs with management,” players association president Daniel Laufer said in the statement. “Our comprehensive solution calls for the staff to share the reduction with us in the coming seasons to help stabilize the future of this great orchestra.”

The musicians requested that senior management sacrifice salary to “avoid placing undue burden on junior and part-time staffers. This would save almost $5 million over two years.”

The ASO has operated with annual deficits ranging $5 million to $6 million in recent years, with its accumulated debt mushrooming as a result. Management projects $20 million accumulated debt by the end of fiscal 2013 and has said it is rapidly reaching its borrowing limit.

The musicians’ previous offer was $1 million in concessions. Management, the musicians said, was seeking $3.1 million in cuts and threatened to lock them out.

Orchestra management denied making a lockout threat.

“We haven’t threatened anything,” ASO president Stanley Romanstein said on Tuesday. “Three scenarios could happen: a newly ratified contract, a musician strike, or an expired contract. It is our sincere desire to reach an agreement soon.”

The beginning base salary for an ASO musician is $88,400. Typically in the classical music industry, accompanying compensation packages would include 100 percent health coverage, instrument insurance, pension contributions and extended paid vacation.

Players association spokesperson Colin Williams suggested the way to a deal was to share the burden of cuts. “The significance of shared sacrifice cannot be overstated,” the principal trombonist for the 93-member orchestra said. “This proposal represents a shared contribution to balance the budget.”

As is frequently the case in thorny orchestral negotiations, the two sides offer up figures that do not match.

ASO management has said that musician salaries have gone up 23 percent since 2006, a period in which staff salaries declined 1.7 percent.

In its statement, the players association disputed that: “Since 2006, total staff compensation has increased by almost 50 percent, while total musician compensation has only increased by 16 percent, just keeping up with inflation,” Williams said.

The statement charged that staff compensation had grown from $4 million to $6 million since $2006, not counting nearly $1 million in salaries/benefits for staff at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre,the ASO’s summer home since 2008.

“As of today we have put close to $3 million of musician cost reductions on the table, which address every aspect of what we do: salary, orchestra size, number of paid weeks, and cost sharing of health insurance,” Williams said. “But we cannot be the only solution when staff have not participated in cost reductions.”

On Tuesday, ASO president Romanstein aired some grievances of his own about the negotiations: “Management has been urging active negotiations since March 2, yet the musicians have not appeared to understand what is at stake, despite having two members on the [ASO board] finance committee for over a decade. That’s regrettable, but that’s our reality. …

“We understand what a difficult situation this presents for our musicians,” Romanstein continued. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to find resolution to our differences as quickly as possible and to turn our focus back to the music.”

The AJC will seek management’s response to the musicians’ offer on Thursday.