The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have announced that the Orchestra has voted to approve a strike authorization, allowing for a labor action to take place in the near future if a new contract is not reached.

The Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have played for nearly a year without a long-term contract and despite their efforts to negotiate in good faith with management, the Musicians have not been presented with a fair contract proposal to date.

The strike authorization will allow for a labor action to take place should progress continue to stall in negotiations.

In a statement, Dave Gaudry, Violist and Chairperson of the Musicians’ Negotiating Committee said, “We are disappointed that negotiations have come to this point, but after nearly two years of negotiating, it has become clear that we have no choice but to plan for a strike. have continued to negotiate in good faith throughout the summer, but the proposals presented to us are still far below the bare minimum of what an acceptable offer looks like. Management has made it clear they are not willing to come to the table with a fair deal that the Musicians rightfully deserve. If we were to accept management’s current offer, we would not only be committing ourselves to a deal that will negatively impact the Musicians’ lives, but that would also jeopardize the institution’s word-class standing.”

According to a press release despite negotiations taking place throughout the summer, no agreement has been reached and ongoing contract discussions continue to center around compensation, organizational leadership, programming, and the financial health of the institution. A year after the high-profile and unexpected departure of the Symphony’s music director due to disagreements with management and the board, there is still no new announced Music Director, no plan to resume touring, no plan to restore programming, and no known plans from the board to fundraise or increase philanthropy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Musicians accepted pay reductions to support the organization. As of May 2025, these salaries have not been fully restored to pre-pandemic levels. The musicians are the only group among peer orchestras whose pay has not been fully reinstated post-pandemic. Yet, Symphony management has not only restored their own salaries to pre-pandemic levels but have dramatically increased non-musician salaries along with spending on administrative/non-artistic matters.

Symphony leadership has claimed multiple times that the organization is facing financial hardship, citing a cumulative deficit of $116 million over the past decade.