Stalled contractual negotiations have resulted in mediation, after musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra refused an offer from management to maintain a ‘play and talk’ relationship.  The offer they rejected was to continue playing the rest of the season while negotiations over salary remain underway.  According to Timothy Zavadil, a clarinetist and negotiator for the orchestra, "It is not 'play and talk' if there is a predetermined result at the end, which is what that proposal contained. And that predetermined result was a 25 percent pay cut for the musicians."

According to Zavadil, the Minnesota Orchestra Association has attempted to cut musicians’ pay by 30-50 percent.  By agreeing to a ‘play and talk’ arrangement, the managers would have no reason to come to the table and work out a reasonable negotiation.  However, the musicians are happy to enter mediation and hope it would be successful.  If it isn’t, and the orchestra fails to play at an upcoming Carnegie Hall concert, Director Osmo Vanska has threatened resignation. 

Zavadil stated that "a truly independent third-party voice to come in and help rebuild the trust between both parties" is the best course of action at this point.  However, the musicians are currently “locked-out” due to their rejection of the management’s suggestion that they should play for two months under the terms of an old contract.  According to the suggestion, if no agreement is reached in mediation, the musicians would play for another two years under a 25 percent pay cut.