BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra met with members of the Orchestra and the Musicians Association of Metropolitan Baltimore on Monday to continue their discussion on a proposed agreement to avert a strike and open their 2019-20 concert season this weekend.
“We urge our musicians to accept the offer of our Board and management in which we worked to address concerns about compensation and benefits, and the size of the Orchestra, while helping us to move forward together.” BSO President and CEO Peter Kjome said. “We are grateful that members of our community have pledged generous support to help the organization and our musicians.”
Board and management of the Symphony made a revised proposal for a one-year agreement, with no strike and no lockout, effective through August 31, 2020, to the musicians at a bargaining session on Monday.
The musicians responded, issuing a statement of their own and called the offer a "take it or leave it" situation.
"The Baltimore Symphony Musicians negotiated in good faith throughout the summer," they said in their response. "We organized prominent donors to assist in this process."
They continued, stating they "stand ready and willing to get back to the negotiating table to achieve an agreement that will enable us to continue to attract and retain the highest quality musicians to perform for our audiences."
