After years of effort, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs musicians recently gave a hearty yes to unionize.

The musicians will be represented by Local 154 of the American Federation of Musicians, also known as Pikes Peak Musicians Association, the same union of professional musicians that has represented Colorado Springs Philharmonic musicians for decades.

“We’re feeling really good. Being able to formalize and organize the musicians’ voice is important,” said the orchestra’s Executive Director Jacob Pope. “It feels like a professional standard. Every orchestra in the country that is professional, for the most part, is unionized. It feels like a long overdue step we’re excited to take.”

After last week’s vote to unionize is certified by a Colorado judge, union representatives and Pope, orchestra board members and musicians will begin negotiations toward a collective bargaining agreement that lays out the nonprofit’s policies and procedures. Pope hopes the process will be finished by year’s end.

The timing is auspicious as the orchestra will move the majority of its upcoming concerts into a new performance space at Ent Center for the Arts when the new season begins in September. A new space can present new challenges, which can be addressed in the CBA.

Having representation is the biggest boon to the musicians.

“To have a defined mechanism where they can go to their union representative and say I would like to see some conversation about this, or to consider a rule about that, whatever needs they might have,” Pope said.

“Musicians can say I’m running into this, and I can say talk to your union representative and let’s together see how we can fix the challenge.”

The largest change for administration will be the CBA, which will take policies and procedures the orchestra already has in place and formalize and amend them to make sure they align with the American Federation of Musicians.

“The Colorado Springs Philharmonic has been the one union orchestra we’ve had in Colorado Springs,” said Pikes Peak Musicians Association President Charles Ortega.

“Now there’s a second and I’m excited because we can do some protections for these musicians, anything from temperature considerations to breaks. They’ll be able to have a process in place for auditions and any grievances with management or the conductor. All that is facilitated by the union.”

Founded in 1983 by a group of local musicians, the chamber was originally a community orchestra supported by musician volunteers and contributors. The group transitioned into a paid, professional model in the early 2000s.

“This town isn’t what you’d call a union town,” Ortega said. “For a long time this was a community orchestra, but when the schedule became more robust and musicians were feeling like they were in a professional orchestra, it felt like time to move to the next step.”

Ortega credits principal violist Michael Hart for working more than a decade toward unionizing.

“Unionizing does not mean employees are beholden to or take orders from an office in New York,” Hart said.

“Having a CBA means the members of the orchestra will have a say in their wages and working conditions. A union agreement is brought about by negotiation and consensus with all parties involved. It is about as democratic a process as anything we experience in our work or political lives.”

Pope expects the announcement will attract the attention of the national union due to the administration’s willingness to unionize.

“The majority of the time you hear about a union, and certainly a musicians’ union, it’s about an argument, disagreement, sometimes even work stoppage,” Pope said.

“Hopefully the national union will look at this unicorn of a process and will say wow you worked together and were happy about it? That’s indicative of how the chamber, from the beginning, has valued and prioritized the perspectives and input of musicians.”

Unionizing can also help an orchestra look like a better bet to prospective musicians.

“It comes with more of a guarantee of knowing, of security that we’re treating members in a professional way,” Pope said. “We’ve always done that, but it’s sort of like a Better Business Bureau stamp of approval. Someone who doesn’t know us can say you’re unionized, you have an agreement with the local AFM, so I can be confident you treat your people right. For those looking at us for the first time we’re an unknown quantity and that (unionizing) could attract new talent.”

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