The National Symphony Orchestra went on strike Friday after unanimously authorizing the action. The musicians, represented by the DC Federation of Musicians, have been negotiating with the Kennedy Center since May on a plan to increase wages over the next four years. The Kennedy Center announced that the Orchestra’s Season Opening Gala on Saturday is canceled. However, according to an Instagram account representing the musicians, the Orchestra remains ready to play if they can reach an agreement with their employers before the event. After authorizing the strike on Monday, the Orchestra agreed to play three sold-out Sara Bareilles shows this week. While attempting to hand out leaflets about the labor dispute to patrons on Tuesday evening, the musicians say they were confronted by security and threatened with police intervention. The union has since filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the National Labor Board. The Orchestra walked out the morning after the last Bareilles concert, taking their music to the picket line. While the Kennedy Center originally offered the Orchestra an increase of 3 percent annually for four years, the musicians claim this increase would not match what they were making in 2019, when adjusted for inflation. In a statement today, the Kennedy Center says it offered musicians a new contract consisting of a 13% wage increase over four years, which would place the starting salary of musicians behind only those at orchestras in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Boston. The NSO musicians are still campaigning for an increase of 6.25% annually, which they say will bring their pay level to the industry standard for major orchestras as well as recoup lost wages voluntarily given up during the pandemic. The Kennedy Center facilities will remain open during the strike, and anyone with tickets to the NSO Season Opening Gala Concert can either donate their tickets back to the Kennedy Center, exchange the tickets for another event, keep the balance on their account, or receive a full refund. The institution has not yet announced other events that will be impacted.The post The National Symphony Orchestra’s Musicians Are on Strike first appeared on Washingtonian.