The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) musicians have stopped getting paid and was locked out of the orchestra's facilities.
According to a statement released on the players' website Tuesday, the ASO musicians have been without health, dental, and disability insurance since August 31 and their access cards to the Woodruff Arts Center have been deactivated.
In the release, the players' union revealed that on Aug. 24, just as the musicians' contract expired, they offered $2 million in cuts for each of the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons - a total of $4 million.
"The $4 million in concessions offered by the 88 current Musicians of the ASO would be combined with parallel income cuts for those on the approximately 75-member ASO administrative staff who are paid at least the minimum salary of ASO musicians," it said in the release.
ASO President Stanley Romanstein, in response, said in a statement, "We cannot settle at this [$4 million] amount if we are to ensure the long-term health of the orchestra."
"We have presented the musicians' union with our last, best, and final offer - they have yet to respond," Romanstein added.
Back in mid-August, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players' Association (ASOPA) proposed to take an 11% pay cut for the symphony's 93 musicians and senior management staff to cover the orchestra's shortfalls.
The orchestra's debt has been accumulated each year, growing from $1.1 million in 2004 to a projected $19.8 million next year. According to the symphony's website, it has trimmed $1 million in operating costs.
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