At the New York Philharmonic, a Contract Aimed at Labor-Management Harmony

The quest to right the ship at the New York Philharmonic moved forward this week when the orchestra and its players reached a new three-year contract at a critical moment of reinvention.

The new contract, which the orchestra announced Friday, was approved Thursday by the Philharmonic and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the players. Under the agreement the musicians will receive a 4.5 percent increase in wages over the next three years, raising the base salary at the orchestra to $153,504 a year from $146,796; musicians will pay more for health insurance.

The deal will help prevent the kind of strife between players and management that led to strikes in recent seasons of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra and a lockout at the Minnesota Orchestra. It comes at a moment in which many American orchestras have faced serious financial pressures.

Deborah Borda, president and chief executive of the Philharmonic, said in a statement that the orchestra’s board and administration respect the skill and artistry of the musicians, and “greatly value the longstanding spirit of partnership that allows the entire organization to move forward and fulfill its artistic mission.”

Borda returned this season to the Philharmonic, which she also ran in the 1990s, after 17 years leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Since her arrival she has helped to extricate the orchestra from a costly, disruptive plan to renovate its Lincoln Center home and raised $50 million to end its string of deficits and give it the resources to welcome a new music director, Jaap van Zweden, who will assume the role next season.

Nathan Vickery, a cellist who is the chairman of the orchestra’s negotiation committee, said in a statement that “the artistic standards that make the Philharmonic world renowned will remain highest when the musicians who make music each and every night are supported.”

Tino Gagliardi, president of Local 802, said that he hoped that the agreement would augur well for the future.

“Contract negotiations are never easy, and as a new music director and leadership team take the helm at this institution,” he said in a statement, “it is our hope that this agreement will mark the beginning of a new era which strives to retain the talent that fuels the institution’s worldwide renown.”

The orchestra’s last labor deal, in 2013, increased waged by 6.5 percent over four years.

The orchestra has already announced plans to strengthen its ties with New Yorkers next season, including by offering $5 tickets to short introductory concerts conducted by van Zweden to teachers and others who work in public service.