The musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are now in the seventh week of their strike. This strike is the result of unacceptable demands made by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, including minimal salary increases and that the musicians agree to close their defined-benefit pension plan and replace it with a defined-contribution system (e.g., 401k or 403b accounts).

The International Conference of Symnphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) issued a CALL TO ACTION on April 8, 2019, and immediately musicians of the San Francisco Symphony responded generously with a lead donation of $15,000 for their colleagues in the CSO. In the past two weeks, the $200,000 mark has been swiftly reached by the generous donations of ICSOM’s member orchestras and unions, including a $1,000 contribution by AFM Local 47.

This recent CALL TO ACTION also reaches another important milestone, as now over $2 million has been raised and issued to orchestras in ICSOM CALLS TO ACTION since its inception in 2007.

“It has been deeply gratifying to see the speedy response of our member orchestras to our colleagues in peril at the CSO,” said Meredith Snow, ICSOM Chairperson and member of AFM Local 47. “Our musicians clearly understand that what happens in Chicago affects us all and have thus responded generously with this collective action.”

In a statement, ICSOM shared: “It is essential that the musicians of ICSOM respond whenever and wherever our members are in need. It is through our united network of orchestras that we can effectively articulate to our managements that a move against one of us is a move against all of us. The unity and generosity of all ICSOM musicians, along with our brothers and sisters in the Regional Orchestra Players Association (ROPA), the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM), the Recording Musicians Association (RMA) and the Theater Musicians Association (TMA), and throughout the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), have been an inspiration to our members and a cautionary tale to our managements. The support of our ICSOM orchestras in these Calls to Action has been extraordinary and makes a tangible difference in the lives of our fellow musicians.”

The Musicians of the CSO deserve a fair and competitive contract with the compensation and retirement benefits that are commensurate with being one of the nation’s best orchestras
and one that will ensure its excellence and sustainability well into the future. 

Click here to sign the petition: We Support Musicians of the CSO!