SEATTLE SYMPHONY AND SEATTLE SYMPHONY & OPERA PLAYERS’ ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCE FOUR-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH INNOVATIVE CHANGE IN PENSION PLAN

GROUNDBREAKING PENSION AGREEMENT PROVIDES INCREASING, LIFELONG RETIREMENT BENEFITS AT A STABLE AND PREDICTABLE EXPENSE FOR THE ORGANIZATION; SEATTLE SYMPHONY IS THE FIRST ORCHESTRA TO ADOPT THIS TYPE OF PLAN FOR ITS MUSICIANS

AGREEMENT INCREASES MUSICIANS’ SALARIES BY 12% OVER FOUR YEARS

SEATTLE, WA – Seattle Symphony Board Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly and Seattle Symphony & Opera Players' Organization Chair and Assistant Principal Trumpet Alexander White announce a four-year contract extension including wage increases, a groundbreaking new pension plan and provisions that will help contain cost increases in health insurance. The agreement was reached five months prior to the expiration of the current contract.

“I was so inspired by the way our organization moved through the recent collective bargaining process. Our unity of purpose and shared values were evident in all aspects from start to finish,” reflected Chihuly. “This agreement in its collaborative approach is incredibly meaningful to me in my ninth and final year as Board Chair. From the outset of these negotiations, we wanted to think differently about our pension, and this agreement is yet another positive outcome of an aligning of values and a profound shift in culture which we have worked diligently to achieve. On behalf of the board, I thank our musicians for inspiring us on stage, in the community and in the board room.”

“This contract extension is not just about the next four years; it lays the groundwork for our long-term future,” remarked White. “Being the first in the industry to embrace this new type of pension plan is yet another indication of how we do business boldly. Along with the pension changes, these salary increases continue to define the Seattle Symphony as a place where musicians want to come and spend their professional lives — and know they are taken care of in retirement. The Seattle Symphony is a place where musicians, staff and board work together to jointly build our future.”

“The journey towards this extension agreement was a mutual effort in which everyone embraced each other’s interests,” added Seattle Symphony Vice President & General Manager Jennifer Adair. “The culture of transparency and trust built in recent years helped create the unity around our ambition and vision for the Seattle Symphony’s future, and was foundational in helping us to achieve this innovative result.”

The previous contract extension expires August 31, 2018, and the new extension will be in effect from today through August 31, 2022. Seattle Symphony musicians are employed for 47 weeks each year by the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. The current base salary is $98,100. The musicians’ base salary will increase by 3.9% in year 1, 2.5% in year 2, 2.4% in year 3, and 2.6% in year 4, reaching a final base salary of $109,745. The agreement also includes provisions to help contain cost increases on the health care plans.

This unique pension plan agreement came about when the parties agreed to explore alternatives to the pension plan design to reduce financial risk for the employer and increase benefits for musicians. The pension plan remains a defined benefit plan but with a new funding model using a relatively new plan, the Milliman Sustainable Income Plan (SIP). The SIP has predictable and consistent employer costs while providing the musicians with the potential for increased benefits over time, even in retirement. The Seattle Symphony is the first orchestra to adopt the SIP on behalf of its musicians.

The Seattle Symphony will present its audited financial results from the 2016–2017 season at the Annual Meeting later today in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby in Benaroya Hall. The Seattle Symphony has balanced its budget for the past four out of five years, and last season ended with increases in both ticket sales and fundraising, resulting in a surplus of $753,000 on a budget of $29.7 million. The combined operating budget for Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall is $33.3 million.

The Seattle Symphony would like to thank the musicians’ negotiating committee. In addition to the chair, Alexander White, additional members of the committee were: Timothy Hale (Viola), Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby (Flute/Piccolo), David Gordon (Principal Trumpet), Jeffrey Barker (Associate Principal Flute), Eric Jacobs (Clarinet/Bass Clarinet), and Jonathan Karschney (Assistant Principal Horn). Also at the negotiating table on behalf of the employer were Vice President & General Manager Jennifer Adair and Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Maureen Campbell Melville.

Piccolo Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby’s position is endowed by Robert and Clodagh Ash.
Principal Trumpet David Gordon’s position is endowed by The Boeing Company.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY & OPERA PLAYERS' ORGANIZATION (SSOPO)

The Seattle Symphony & Opera Players' Organization (SSOPO) is the labor organization representing the musicians who perform for the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. The bargaining unit is comprised exclusively of the members of the Seattle Symphony, including the music librarian. The self-governing organization is a chapter of the International Guild of Symphony, Opera and Ballet Musicians (IGSOBM). The IGSOBM was formed in Seattle as an independent union in 1985. The Guild won its first National Labor Relations Board-supervised elections in 1988, becoming the union representing the musician employees of the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY

The Seattle Symphony is one of America's leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the finest modern concert halls in the world — the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall — in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received three Grammy Awards, 23 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media.

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