National Symphony Orchestra players reach deal after brief strike

The musicians of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., reached a deal with management for a new labor contract Friday after a tense, short-lived strike threatened to disrupt the season.

Under the agreement, the players will receive a raise of 4% this season and another 4% increase in the 2025-26 season. They had previously rejected an offer of a 13% raise over four years.

In an escalation after months of labor talks, the musicians walked off the job Friday for the first time since 1978. They picketed in red shirts outside the Kennedy Center, which oversees the ensemble, holding signs that said, “No pay, no play!”

The strike lasted from about 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

After the strike began, the National Symphony Orchestra’s managers said they would cancel the opening gala, a major fundraising event scheduled for Saturday. But they reversed course once the deal was reached, saying the gala would go forward.

Edgardo Malaga Jr., president of the players’ union, Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians, said the players were relieved by the agreement.

“The musicians are very happy,” he said. “We felt we were successful. We’ve got some good gains here that we can be proud of.”

The Kennedy Center said in a statement that the contract would “provide all parties time to come together to settle a longer-term agreement that demonstrates our respect for their artistic contributions and maintains the orchestra’s competitiveness in the field.” The center also said the contract was “fiscally responsible and sustainable.”

Talks over wages, health care costs and other issues began in May but reached an impasse this week, with the musicians announcing Monday that they had voted to authorize a strike.

They went on strike Friday after rejecting an offer from the Kennedy Center for a 13% raise over four years, which would bring the base salary to $180,593, from about $159,000. The musicians wanted a raise of about 25%.

The contract that was agreed to Friday will bring the base salary to $171,879 in 2026. The musicians will also get cheaper access to health care and a more generous paid parental leave policy, the Kennedy Center said.

The players had argued that they should also be compensated for pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic, when dozens of concerts were canceled and the musicians received 65% of their salaries during an 18-month period. The Kennedy Center has said it cannot afford to reverse pandemic-era pay cuts for any of its employees.

Like other classical music ensembles, the National Symphony Orchestra has faced serious financial pressures in recent years. While ticket sales have improved, the ensemble is still working to keep up with the changing habits of its audience.

Costs have risen as well. The Kennedy Center is expecting to report a $12 million operating deficit this fiscal year.

The orchestra’s endowment, valued at about $52 million, is relatively small for an institution of its size, though the ensemble also benefits from the support of the Kennedy Center. The New York Philharmonic has an endowment of about $237 million.

Across the United States, many arts organizations are facing the difficult task of negotiating labor agreements in the aftermath of the pandemic, which exacerbated existing financial woes at many institutions.

Chorus members of the San Francisco Symphony, which has faced financial troubles, went on strike this month, forcing the cancellation of the season’s first performances.

The New York Philharmonic reached an agreement last week that included a 30% raise for its musicians over the next three years, bringing the base salary to $205,000. That will make the Philharmonic’s players some of the highest-paid orchestra musicians in the country.

The National Symphony Orchestra musicians had cited the deal at the New York Philharmonic in making the case for higher wages.

Jennifer Mondie, a violist in the National Symphony Orchestra since 1995 and the chair of the musicians’ bargaining committee, said the orchestra had to work to “attract and retain the best musicians in the world.”

“We had no choice but to take this action,” she said in a statement Friday morning before the deal was reached, “to ensure that the National Symphony keeps pace with our peer orchestras.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.