The San Francisco Symphony's (SFS) Board of Governors and the Orchestra's Musicians have officially approved a new two-year collective bargaining agreement, which covers the period from November 27, 2022, to November 18, 2024, and is retroactive.

As part of this agreement, full-time musicians will receive a retroactive lump sum payment. They will also have a new weekly base minimum salary of $3,313, equivalent to $172,276 annually. This minimum salary will increase to $3,450 (or $179,400 annually) in the 2023/24 contract year. Additionally, the musicians will benefit from competitive vacation, sick leave, pension, and healthcare benefits.

The musicians, who are represented by Musicians Union Local 6 of the American Federation of Musicians, had been working without a contract for nearly a year while negotiations were ongoing. One of their primary demands was to restore their salaries to the levels they had before the COVID-19 pandemic.

SFS CEO Matthew Spivey expressed satisfaction with the agreement, acknowledging the challenging financial circumstances faced by the organization during negotiations. He praised both the staff and musicians for their professionalism and commitment throughout the process, emphasizing their shared dedication to continue bringing music to their audiences.

Despite the agreement, it appears that the settlement did not fully compensate the musicians for the pay cuts they experienced during the pandemic-related closures. Before this new contract, SFS musicians were earning an annual salary of $170,404.

In a statement on Facebook, the Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony expressed their concerns about the pay reductions they experienced in 2020 and the administration's failure to fully restore their salaries. They characterized the short-term agreement as a period for introspection, during which the organization's leadership will need to decide whether to maintain the orchestra's top-tier status or move it to a regional orchestra status. The musicians emphasized their dedication to rebuilding the orchestra with high-caliber musicians and called for support from donors, audiences, and trustees to ensure the orchestra's competitiveness in future negotiations.

The negotiation committee for the SFS included members like David Gaudry, Jonathan Vinocour, Jessie Fellows, Katie Kadarauch, Jerome Simas, and Wyatt Underhill, while the SFS administration was represented by Matthew Spivey, Rebecca Blum, Sandy Curry, Elizabeth Shribman, and attorney David Durham.