Tentative Deal Could End Bitter Detroit Symphony Strike

The labor fight that threatened to kill the Detroit Symphony Orchestra could be over by the end of the week as musicians and management reached a tentative contract deal Sunday night, the Detroit Free Press reports.

A formal ratification vote by union members is scheduled for Friday. In the meantime, the musicians voted Monday to return to rehearsals before the vote, a signal that approval is likely, the Free Press also writes.

Both sides declined to discuss details of the agreement, which was hammered out in marathon weekend bargaining sessions after players and management accepted compromise terms proposed by an intermediary outlining a $36.3-million, three-year framework.

Musicians went on the picket line last fall as the symphony – which since 2008 has lost $19-million and seen the value of its endowment slide from $60-million to $23-million – sought to cut their pay by as much as 30 percent and require players to participate in more education and community-outreach programs.