With all due respect, there is a lot more at stake here even that the wellbeing of the MO players, in that orchestra management all over the US will use this situation as a benchmark for negotiations from now on. The union is just doing its job, which is to step up to the plate and be assertive regarding the best interest of the players. Anything can be negotiated. It just takes two sides to do it.
Le Chant du Rossignol...(song of the nightingale) 