Agree to Meet for 2 Days in 2 Weeks : Symphony, Musicians Reopen Talks

For the first time in more than a month, representatives of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra Assn. and musicians met Wednesday in what turned out to be an inconclusive bargaining session.

But the two sides, which have been engaged in a bitter dispute that has forced the cancellation of the symphony’s winter concert season, agreed to meet again in two weeks.

“We met most of the day, all of the day,” said the musicians’ attorney, Liza Du Brul. “There are not any agreements to comment on.” Asked if the tone of the discussions was any different, Du Brul said that Wednesday’s talks were the first time management was represented only by Executive Director Wesley O. Brustad and attorney George Howard. “Basically, the discussions stayed on the subject and were very businesslike,” she said.

Asked if a settlement was imminent, Du Brul said: “Truthfully, I don’t know.”

Both sides declined to comment on the talks, except to say that a two-day meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16-17. A two-day session was chosen because it would be “more efficient,” offering an additional night of talks.

The Dec. 16 date was the earliest that management could schedule a two-day session, Du Brul said.

Called by state mediator David Hart, Wednesday’s 5 1/2-hour meeting, plus a lunch break, was one of the longest sessions since the contract talks began in June.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first session since Oct. 31, when the symphony directors threatened to cancel the winter season if a settlement was not reached by Nov. 10. On Nov. 11, the entire winter season was canceled. The symphony had previously canceled the first six weeks of the season, which was to have begun Oct. 23.

Both sides in the labor dispute have been under increasing financial pressure to come to terms. The musicians have not been paid since Sept. 15.

State, local and federal arts agencies have suspended or canceled symphony funds, totaling more than $400,000, pending the outcome of the contract talks. And half of the symphony’s subscribers have asked for $350,000 in ticket refunds. The symphony also has reached the limit on a $500,000 line of credit extended it by a consortium of local banks.

Before the season was canceled, the symphony had offered the musicians the possibility of a mini-season in March. Going into Wednesday’s meeting, Brustad said the plans for such a season were virtually complete.

The orchestra’s previous three-year contract expired Aug. 31. When they last met, the two sides were more than $500,000 apart on wages and differed sharply over about 50 non-wage issues.

The $500,000 wage disagreement was due to the symphony’s proposal to cut the season to 40 weeks from 45 weeks, resulting in an 11% cut in the base wage and a slightly larger cut for higher-paid players.

Symphony President Herbert J. Solomon has vowed to end the symphony’s history of financial crises. The most recent occurred last spring when the directors, saddled with a $1.9-million debt, threatened to file for protection under federal bankruptcy laws.

Despite a 10-day emergency fund-raising campaign in February and March that generated about $2.4 million, the symphony ended its fiscal year, on Sept. 30, with an unaudited $877,000 deficit.

The symphony had blamed much of that deficit on the 1985-86 pay raise musicians received under their previous contract.

The base rate of pay for San Diego Symphony musicians still is the lowest among the country’s top 30 major orchestras, according to figures provided by the American Federation of Musicians, the musicians’ union.

For years the musicians, despite their low pay, repeatedly supported the board through recurring financial crises. In 1981 and 1982, they played for weeks even though the symphony did not have money to pay them.

Now the players are scheduling their own concerts in the absence of a season sponsored by the symphony.