San Francisco Opera faces its biggest labor dispute in decades
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The San Francisco Opera's orchestra strike wiped out opening weekend and now the labor standoff threatens to stretch deeper into the company's new season.
Why it matters: The labor dispute is exposing a bigger fight over how one of San Francisco's marquee cultural institutions can balance its financial pressures with the cost of paying musicians in one of the country's most expensive cities.
Driving the news: Orchestra musicians went on strike Saturday, forcing the Opera to cancel the opening-night performance of Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra." Sunday's free Opera in the Park concert was also canceled.
- Thursday's performance of "Simon Boccanegra" could be next if the two sides don't reach a deal, the San Francisco Standard reports.
State of play: The musicians' contract expired July 31. The fight centers on compensation and the amount of work they're being guaranteed.
- Musicians say management initially proposed a 26% pay cut and later offered a five-year wage freeze that they argue would amount to roughly a 20% inflation-adjusted cut, per the Standard.
- Opera leadership says its latest proposal would keep musicians' annual compensation level while restructuring guaranteed hours that it says no longer reflect the company's current performance schedule.
The big picture: The strike is the Opera's most significant labor disruption in decades. The last time a labor dispute forced the cancellation of opening weekend was in 1990, per the Standard.
Follow the money: The Opera says it faces a roughly $15 million annual structural deficit and is drawing heavily from its endowment to cover the gap, per the New York Times.
- Musicians counter that ticket sales, donations and other indicators have been improving, while pointing to rising executive compensation as evidence that they shouldn't bear the brunt of cuts, per the Standard.
The intrigue: Music director Eun Sun Kim told musicians she would resign in solidarity if they went on strike, two orchestra members told the Chronicle.
- The Opera confirmed Kim expressed solidarity but hasn't announced a change in her status.
What's next: Both sides say they're willing to keep negotiating. For now, Thursday's curtain remains the next deadline.