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Musicians in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra put down their instruments in protest at 12:30pm on Thursday, after 15 months of failed contract negotiations. The musicians are members of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 72-147, and decided to strike after management gave them its “last, best and final offer”, which the musicians claim was identical to one they had rejected 4 days ago. The Symphony was forced to cancel the 2016-2017 season opener this weekend and may have to cancel performances on September 16-18th. The rejected contract included pay cuts over the next three years and a pay increase of 3.5% in the fourth year, which would have boosted principal players’ salaries to over $70,000. Management cites a projected deficit of $700,000 this year as the driver of the pay cuts, but the musicians argue that they have taken large pay cuts for far too long and that ticket sales have been on the rise. The musicians took a 13.5% pay reduction in 2010 because of the recession.