SF Symphony musicians go on strike

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in 2010. Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony in 2010. Photo: Bill Swerbenski Photo: Bill Swerbenski Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close SF Symphony musicians go on strike 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony went on strike Wednesday, just a week before a planned tour of the East Coast that would have seen the orchestra perform in Carnegie Hall and other venues.

The musicians, who are represented by Local 6 of the American Federation of Musicians, have been playing without a contract since Feb. 15.

The key issues in the strike are financial, said violist David Gaudry of the players' negotiating committee.

"This is about the money," he said. "Their stated goal in the new contract is for it to cost less than the last one. But at the same time, we find that there have been raises for Executive Director Brent Assink and several other members of top management."

""Our musicians are the center of our organization and are among the most talented in the world. We are working with the union representing the musicians and a federal mediator to develop a fair agreement that recognizes the musicians' stature as one of the top orchestras in the country, but one that does not compromise the future artistic quality or financial stability of the institution," Assink said in a statement last week.

The musicians voted to authorize a strike on Mar. 6. Both sides met Tuesday with a federal mediator, but no agreement was reached.

Because of the work stoppage, the concert scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday has been canceled and will not be rescheduled. Patrons may obtain up-to-the-minute information on concerts, ticket exchanges and customer service by calling the Symphony Box Office at (415) 864-6000 and on the Orchestra's website at www.sfsymphony.org/press.

The last time Symphony musicians went on strike was in 1997, in a bitter nine-week stoppage.