It was close to midnight on Saturday, March 29, and the major dealers in the Houston Symphony contract negotiations were once again at a virtual standstill. Crowded into donated conference rooms at The Woodlands Convention Center, downing pot after pot of coffee, neither management nor musicians would budge. As if to remind everyone what hung in the balance, a chart tacked to one wall listed the names of 15 symphony players who had either already left or were debating departure.
It seemed as though the nearly three-week strike — the first in the history of the 90-year-old organization — was not going to end.
Negotiations had been hostile almost from the start, shortly after the players’ contract expired in early October 2002. Management, the Houston Symphony Society, which had been criticized for often slipping into the red, faced a $3 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. Musicians faced proposed pay cuts that would place an already underpaid symphony below the national average. And both groups faced a poor economy that didn’t provide much hope for the future.
“We were at a total impasse,” recalls developer Ed Wulfe, who was brought in by Mayor Lee Brown to shepherd the final round of talks. “I think there was an underlying tone that both sides cared deeply, but both sides were totally frustrated.”
Longtime Houston mediator Alvin Zimmerman, who’d answered the last-minute call for help from his friend Wulfe, stepped in and demanded that everyone go home and get some sleep. Zimmerman’s orders — and what symphony spokesperson David Kirk calls “master mediating” — must have worked. By late Sunday night a contract was on the table, and both sides were agreeing to it.
The proposal spanned 42 months, an increase over the original 18-month contract offered by the society. It would keep the orchestra at 97 seats but would allow for five vacancies. Instead of cutting salaries by $10,000 annually as had once been proposed, minimum weekly pay would remain around $1,425 for the first three years, although musicians would have to take as many as three weeks of unpaid furlough yearly. The society did agree to increase salaries to $1,540 weekly by the fourth year of the contract, upping the minimum annual salary to $78,540.
On the morning of April Fools’ Day, the musicians cast ballots to ratify the contract. Fortunately for both sides, it wasn’t a joke.
When Kirk and the musicians’ negotiating committee arrived at the convention center for what would end up being more than 36 hours of intense negotiations, they were a bit skeptical that Wulfe — better known for his knowledge of real estate than concertos — would be able to seal the deal.
“When we first convened I thought, ‘Would Albert and Ed even be able to tell the difference between an oboe and a clarinet?’ ” says Kirk. “[But] they had an incredible grasp of the issues. [Wulfe] has a lot of personal investments in his own dealings, but he has a lot of civic investments, too.”
Wulfe says it’s natural for him to care about the symphony — a respected arts community improves quality of life, which makes Houston more attractive to investors and corporations. He figured he could handle it.
“Based on what I’d heard and seen in the real estate business, I was used to trying to climb mountains,” he says.
But Wulfe admits even he was surprised at the complexities of drawing up a symphony contract, and at the animosity between the two sides. His call to Zimmerman reflected the uncertainties.
“He said, ‘Maybe you ought to bring a toothbrush,’ ” Zimmerman recalls with a laugh. “My good friend Ed conned me into a deal.”
However, Kirk says Zimmerman was instrumental in getting the groups to see the opposing points of view. He played the devil’s advocate as he made his way between rooms holding the rival camps.
Most hotly debated was the issue of departing musicians — Kirk says it was crucial to get the society to understand the importance of keeping key players. The bitter stalemate had driven off several principal players. Several more were (and still are) contemplating leaving, creating a dilemma that remains despite the new contract.
The casualties cut deep into the orchestra’s ranks.
Longtime principal bassoonist Benjamin Kamins resigned to teach at Rice University, and six other players are on unpaid leave. Associate principal violist Thomas Elliott plans to freelance in San Francisco, violinist David Brubaker joined the Minnesota Orchestra, and cellist Fred Edelen signed with the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The Los Angeles Philharmonic gains associate principal trumpeter James Wilt, and percussionist Christopher Deviney joins the Philadelphia Orchestra. Second flutist Judy Dines is seeking a solo career in Paris.
While it’s possible those on leave will return, Kirk says that’s not common.
“It was a little depressing to go to rehearsal today and look at the empty chairs,” says Kirk. “It’s hard, personally and professionally.”
The strike forced the cancellation of three classical concerts and two pops performances, although Kirk is pleased that the orchestra was back on stage last weekend to begin its season with guest performances by Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie.
However, Kirk is quick to point out that even the new minimum salary of just over $78,000 in the final year of the contract will still be lower than the national average — some large cities pay a minimum of close to $100,000. And with the furlough weeks worked in, musicians are actually receiving a pay cut, though not as brutal as the one the society first proposed.
But Kirk acknowledges new optimism. The musicians asked for — and got — the formation of a symphony advisory committee. It will include musicians, staffers and board members who will work to create better communication between the groups as well as develop funding possibilities. A key complaint throughout the months of negotiating was that the symphony management and board were not aggressive enough in seeking donations, and that musicians were not involved enough in the process.
Meanwhile, the symphony has hired a fund-raising consultant and plans a $75 million capital campaign.
“Coming out of this settlement, it at least offered some hope,” says Kirk, who views the orchestra’s first rehearsal as a metaphor for the entire organization. “It’s a little ragged right now, but there’s a feeling of ‘We can get this together.’ “
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2003.