Philadelphia Orchestra players agree to 2-month pay-raise delay

Musicians and management of the Philadelphia Orchestra have agreed to delay a pay raise for players as talks over a new labor contract continue.

The hike, scheduled to take effect Monday, will be held in abeyance until May 21, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

Instead of accepting management's proposal to establish a new salary minimum at $104,000 or pressing for the scheduled raise to $131,000, the players will continue at their current level of $124,800.

The base figure is misleadingly low, since compensation is often enhanced by bonuses, overtime, and other income. Also, the pay structure is much higher for titled players, such as principals, assistant principals, coprincipals, and associates.

The new deadline moves the danger of a strike or a lockout close to the end of the 2010-11 subscription season, with just a handful of performances on the calendar beyond May 21.

No new negotiations are scheduled.

The $104,000 proposal - if adopted as a tentative agreement by the negotiating committee and then approved by players - would put the Philadelphia Orchestra well below its peer groups in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and others unless pending talks at those orchestras also produce cuts. The lower salary would be a return to the base pay of almost a decade ago and match that of the now-striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the end of its 2009-10 season.

Players and management in Philadelphia started meeting formally months ago, and more recently with a federal mediator, to try to reach a deal on salary, pension, work rules, the size of the ensemble, and other matters.

Management periodically has threatened to file for Chapter 11 reorganization to relieve it of a pension liability draw - the amount that withdrawing its participation would cost management - estimated at $20 million to $25 million.

Players would like a new labor deal to stipulate that management will not file for bankruptcy.