SAN ANTONIO — Dozens of Houston musicians protested alongside members of the San Antonio Symphony on Monday. They gathered outside the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts where they have several times before.
The San Antonio musicians' strike has stretched into its eighth week.
The symphony board and management imposed a contract that slashed musicians' pay from about $35,000 to $24,000.
The contract also cuts the symphony's size from 75 to 42 full-time musicians. Striking musicians are also stripped of their healthcare benefits.
Second principal violinist, Mary Ellen Goree, fears this could spell a grim future for the symphony.
"We're doing this to save the orchestra," Goree told KENS 5. "Because our board and management are set on a plan that will only result in the destruction of a full-time orchestra in San Antonio and we want them to change direction before it's too late.
Symphony management said they look forward to meeting the union at the bargaining table to continue the negotiations process.