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Manhattan School of Music
(Photo courtesy: Morningside Area Alliance)

Manhattan School of Music Precollege Faculty Union Authorizes Strike Action

This action follows six months of contract negotiations between the faculty and school leadership

 

Six months after their contract expired on August 31, 2024, the faculty union at New York City’s Manhattan School of Music’s (MSM) Precollege division recently voted for a strike authorization.

Represented by the ARTS-MSM Precollege Faculty Union, Local 6498 NYSUT, the faculty members voted 98% to 2% in favor of a walk-out if contract negotiations continue to stagnate. 

This move is the first strike authorization in MSM’s 100-year history. The parties’ seventh bargaining session is scheduled for this week. 

According to the faculty union, staff pay rates have fallen to nearly half of the current rates at similar institutions in NYC, such as The Juilliard School and the Mannes School of Music, after the union agreed to an extension during the pandemic. 

Moreover, some members have left their teaching roles at MSM, citing its alleged “unwillingness to pay its employees fairly” and handling of the collective bargaining process. 

In 2024, the MSM precollege faculty also launched a petition calling for their salary to be brought in line with the industry standard for pre-college music teaching in NYC, which has since garnered almost 2,000 signatories.  

“In hiring lawyers from Proskauer-Rose … MSM shows a willingness to pay legal fees upwards of $1500 per hour while offering their faculty miniscule increases of 50 cents to $3 per hour in recent bargaining sessions,” reads the union press release. 

“This is a proud moment for ARTS-MSM because virtually our entire membership has banded together to say ‘enough is enough’ to the School’s exploitative behavior,” added faculty union president Adam Kent. “On the other hand, it’s a sad time for all of us who love Manhattan School of Music, precisely because we see no alternative but to take this extraordinary step.”

The Violin Channel reached out to a representative of the Manhattan School of Music, who stated that “for the union to imply fiscal equivalence between Juilliard, Mannes, and MSM is grossly misleading,” adding that Juilliard’s precollege tuition is 41.7% more than the MSM, and that the total endowments at Juilliard and Mannes are significantly higher than at MSM.

Though the union states that publicly accessible tax returns show the MSM has “increased tuition intake from both its College and Precollege Divisions by 233% since 2006,” this figure has been disputed by the school. The MSM proposes that “the total increase (not adjusted for inflation) over that period for the Precollege and College is 81.5% and 103%, respectively,” bringing it under the 20-year average of 126% for private National Universities

As viewed by the The Violin Channel, a statement issued from MSM’s representative reads, “Manhattan School of Music began its history serving children. MSM remains deeply committed to supporting the Precollege Division, and we value every member of the Division. We look forward to the amicable and successful conclusion of negotiations and the signing of a new agreement as soon as possible.”

The media statement shared that the current $61 minimum hourly salary would rise to $70 per hour in the first year of the new contract (14.75% increase) and that the minimum hourly salary would reach $100 in the fourth year of the contract.

The conservatory is alleging that the union is giving misleading information regarding the pace of negotiations, legal fees, and executive compensation.

To elaborate on the latter, the conservatory states that between 2015 and 2022, the salary of the President increased 17.3%, less than 2.5% on average annually. The President voluntarily took a 20% salary deduction in May 2020 through June 2021 (COVID-19 pandemic), and all Vice Presidents and Deans took a 10% reduction in that period.

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