Philadelphia Orchestra singers unionize

The singers of the Philadelphia Orchestra have unionized.

After members of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir signed union authorization cards indicating their desire for the American Guild of Musical Artists to bargain on their behalf, a “card check” on Thursday determined that a majority answered in the affirmative, and now the singers will be represented by the union.

The union organizing effort — the latest show of labor muscle at area cultural institutions in the last few years — took about 20 months, organizers said.

“Unionizing was really just about us being part of that larger picture with the Philadelphia Orchestra and all the other brother and sister unions that work in that house,” said alto Megan McFadden, referring to the Kimmel Center. “When we’re on stage now, we’ve always been equal musicians, but now we’ll also be a bargaining unit, along with everyone else.”

With this step, they join the New York Philharmonic Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus as AGMA members. Next, the Philadelphia singers hope to begin negotiations with orchestra management for their first contract.

A Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. spokesperson declined to comment, except to say that POKC was looking forward to working with AGMA.

The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir — which does not perform concerts on its own beyond appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra — has about 200 singers on its roster, though about 40 to 90 are generally called upon at a time to perform on specific concerts.

Singers of the choir, which formed in 2016, have long complained about low pay for rehearsals and performances.

Its members will now elect officers and continue to talk internally about their wishes for pay and working conditions, and will also “reach out to management to hopefully start off on the right foot and a timetable for when to start the process,” said AGMA organizer Griff Braun.

A formal election was not scheduled because management and the incipient unit settled on the card check and management voluntarily recognized the union as the singers’ bargaining representative — a step that soprano Jorie Moss says she appreciates.

“I think it shows that they share our spirit of collaboration. They recognize what we bring to the table, so to speak, and we’re really excited to continue talking to them about how to keep this relationship going,” she said.

The unionization of the orchestra’s singers is different from some other organizing efforts in a significant way. It creates a bargaining unit within an institution that has the ability to engage other groups. The Philadelphia Orchestra has typically worked with a number of choirs each year, including Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia, Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Crossing choir.

In the 2023-24 season, about six programs require a chorus — including Handel’s Messiah and Brahms’ A German Requiem — and each is currently listed on the orchestra schedule without naming a particular vocal group.

“We are still working on the hiring of choirs for next season,” the POKC spokesperson said.

Members of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir said they were asked to hold the dates for six programs, though they said the orchestra has made no firm commitment to those dates.

The question of whether the choir will negotiate for exclusivity is an open question, said Braun. “That’ll have to play out in the bargaining process,” he said.

“I’ve gotten the impression from management that they want to work with these artists and shape that group, and I hope that they really mean that.”