Quote Originally Posted by Bearinabox View Post
I think it's more an issue of the type of talent we can attract relative to other orchestras in other cities. The musicians' contention is that these pay cuts will significantly reduce the quality of the orchestra over time, because we'll start to lose our top talent to better-paying orchestras and fail to attract new musicians of that caliber. That, to me, is a claim worth considering, even if we can all agree that $75,000 is a very decent salary.
Exactly. I would guess most if not all of the members of the DSO have other options that may pay better if management's pay scale is imposed. There are some people you can say "take it or leave it" to, and there are others who can entertain better offers. The question is whether the Detroit area [[est. 2008 metro population of 4.5 million) remains in a class with, for example, Philadelphia [[est. 2008 metro population 5.1 million), or whether we belong in a class with, say, Louisville or Columbus.