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In an emergency meeting Monday, Utah Symphony and Opera musicians voted 64-8 to reject what had been termed the "last, best and final" contract offer from management, just four days before the orchestra's first season concert on Friday.

The current three-year contract of the American Federation of Musicians expired on Aug. 31, and negotiators haven't yet struck a deal after three months of contract talks, which included meetings with a federal mediator.

"Our position is, they've made a final offer and shut down negotiations," said musicians' union lawyer Joe Hatch. "We are still willing to talk anytime. Their final offer - after four years of no pay increases - doesn't even cover inflation for one year. All we're asking for is to be treated decently."

Hatch said he is "very optimistic" about the possibility of avoiding a strike, and will send a letter to management on Tuesday to start another round of talks. "We still have a lot of time before 7 p.m. Friday. We would never, ever strike for wages. If we would have struck for raises, we would have done it a long time ago."

Management's offer includes a salary increase of 3.5 percent in the first year, with additional 3 percent raises in each of the next two years, and changes in working conditions that would add the equivalent of another half-percent wage hike. Also on the table is another offer, which sets a 4 percent salary increase with the additional 0.5 percent working conditions in the first year, with additional raises subject to future negotiations, said US&O's David Green, interim CEO.

The 4.5 percent increase translates to $301,500 annually, while the 4 percent increase equals $268,000, which would lead to a US&O operating deficit - even with a projected 10 percent increase in donations and a 12 percent increase in ticket sales.

Musicians are seeking a 5 percent salary increase in the first year, which is not a "budget-busting" number in context of the agency's $17.5 million budget, Hatch said.

Violinist David Gray Porter said musicians are seeking salaries that would help maintain the symphony's artistic standard. With a $57,720 base salary, pay for the US&O musicians ranks as one of the lowest in the country for orchestras with a 52-week contract. The next lowest pay for a 52-week contract is the Fort Worth Symphony, with a salary of $52,723.

"The Utah Symphony has always been - to use a silly metaphor - the little engine that could," Porter said. "We're not such a little engine anymore. Utah's a pretty big state, with a healthy economy. And if we're going to remain that paragon of artistic excellence, then we're really going to have to invest in musicians' salaries. We are caretakers of the artistic health of this organization."

Hatch said it would take a raise of 12 percent to equal inflation after four years of salary freezes. Previously, musicians agreed to a three-year, no-raise contract as part of a financial restructuring plan to recover from the orchestra's $3.4 million, two-year operating deficit.

"We're trying everything to make this work," Hatch said, outlining the musicians' offer of a "play and talk" proposal covering this week's rehearsals leading up to Friday's season-opening concert. "It's really not about wages. If it were about wages, we would have been on strike a long, long time ago."

Through Friday's last meeting, both teams worked through "hundreds and hundreds of issues," Green said.

"Everyone recognizes these are not extravagant numbers," Green said. "I've worked for the orchestra for the past 14 years, and this is difficult for me because I have the greatest respect for the musicians. I would commend them for doing everything they could to come down to our number."

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