VANCOUVER - Unionized Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians have officially walked off the job, resulting in several show cancellations this weekend.
VSO President Angela Elster says in a statement that the company recognizes the right of the musicians to take collective action, but is disappointed about the impact to its audiences.
VSO says in a post to its website that the work stoppage means several events will not go ahead this weekend and more information will be communicated directly with ticket holders.Â
Audrey Patterson, president of the board of directors for the Vancouver Musicians’ Association union, says the employer’s current offer is a 15-per-cent wage increase over three years, to which the union countered with a 23-per-cent increase over the same term.
Vancouver Musicians’ Association Local 145 issued a 72-hour strike notice on Monday, saying the employer has turned “a deaf ear” to the union’s proposal, which it said was aimed at securing wage increases that “would ensure the orchestra remains competitive in attracting and retaining top level musicians.”
The musicians began picketing at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Vancouver at 5 p.m. on Thursday.Â
The union says more than 97 per cent of its members voted in July in favour of job action after its last offer to the employer.Â
Elster says management is “eager to negotiate with the musicians’ union” and had immediately agreed to an offer from the BC Labour Relations Board earlier this week to appoint a mediator to help reach an agreement.
She says the union rejected that offer.
“It is difficult to understand how a refusal of neutral and non-binding mediation is consistent with the union’s statements in the media that they want to ‘get back to the table’ and the union’s suggestion that VSO management refused to meet,” Elster says in the release.
“Nevertheless, management and the union met for several hours on Thursday afternoon in an attempt to arrive at a tentative agreement. Unfortunately, this was not achieved.”
When asked about the rejection of a negotiator, Patterson says there was a “breakdown in communication.”
She says she was contacted by the board to see if there was interest in mediation and she had asked whether it was a request from the employer.Â
“I received no request in writing,” Patterson says in an interview. “There was no communication from the society regarding their intent or their request for mediation. It was just a phone call from the Labour Board.”
She says there has been “no communication” about returning to the negotiation table as of midday Friday.
“It is our intent to find an agreement between the two parties so that the musicians can get back on stage (so) that the audience can continue to enjoy the music,” Patterson says.
The shows impacted as posted to the VSO website are Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert on Sept. 25 and 26, TwoSet Violin with the VSO on Sept. 27, and The Path Forward on Sept. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2025.
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